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Teotihuacan Gallery

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The Sun Pyramid

The Sun Pyramid was extensively excavated in the first decade of this century by Leopordo Batres. Since that time, two tunnels have been excavated into the core of the pyramid, providing more information about its chronology and substructure. Another extensive excavation by INAH, directed by Eduardo Matos Moctezuma in 1992-93, exposed more of the pyramid complex, especially on its north and east sides.

As originally built, the Sun Pyramid was approximately 215 by 215 m at the base, and about 63 m high. It was significantly enlarged at least twice in later periods, resulting in a final size of 225 m along each side. The pyramid was located on the east side of the Avenue of the Dead in the northern half of the city. If the area of monumental construction between the Moon Pyramid and the San Juan Canal is regarded as the central zone of the city, the Sun Pyramid is located at its middle. In addition to its geographic centrality, the importance of the pyramid is indicated by a cave located under the structure. It is believed by certain scholars that the cave was used for ritual activities, and why the pyramid was constructed where it is today.

The pyramid was actually reconstructed as five stepped platforms. However, the forth platform seems to have been erorneously reconstructed by Batres early this century. The pyramid originally consisted of four stepped platforms, a surmounting temple, and the Adosada platform, which was built over what was originally the principal facade of the pyramid. No information about the temple itself is available, since, along with the upper-most portion of the pyramid, it has been completely destroyed.

The Avenue of the Dead

The Avenue of the Dead was the main street of Teotihuacan. It ran for more than 2.5 km, beginning at the Moon Plaza to the north and extending beyond the Ciudadela and the Great Compound complexes to the south. According to Millon (Cowgill 1992a:96; Millon 1981:221), the avenue continued even further south, terminating near the edge of the mountains that can be seen in the background of this photo.

The avenue divided the city into two sections. Apartment compounds with pyramidal constructions were arranged on both sides of the avenue, often symetrically and sharing the same orientation. This highly planned city-layout suggests that the avenue may have been planned since its earliest phases of urbanization.

The main sector of the avenue was evidently the section between the Moon Pyramid and the Rio San Juan channel. This part of the avenue was lined with long talud-tablero platforms. Access to flanking residential zones was confined to masonry stairways with balustrades. The width of the avenue varies significantly between different sections, ranging from 40 to 95 meters. A large long channel under the floor of the avenue gathered rain water from neighboring architectural units and drained it into Rio San Juan.

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