The American Pyramids

As one who's spent a fair amount of time in Mexico, the recent discovery of a previously unknown Teotihuacan pyramid fascinates me.

Mexico is home to a fascinating pre-Columbian series of civilizations - from the Toltecs, to the Teotihuacanas, to the Mayans and Incas in the southern part of the country, and the Aztecs. The Aztecs - who offer a certain fascination because of their warlike nature and human sacrifice - ruled Mexico for a very short time, really. Their island capitol of Tenochtitlan was founded in 1215, and their rule was over by the early 1500s. The Toltecs, Teotihuacanas, and others lasted much longer.

The city of Teotihuacan is located about an hour's drive Northeast of Mexico City, and if you've never been, it's well worth a trip. While only a 2 mile stretch of the former city center survives, the hike through it can be physically demanding, provided you choose to climb the pyramids. This can be especially so for American tourists, most of whom will take a while to acclimate to the elevation (somewhere north of 5,000 feet). At its peak population, Teotihuacan is believed to have been the sixth largest city in the world - with a population of perhaps 150,000. You'll find some good pictures here.

The Teotihuacanas were the cultural center of middle america in the first few centuries after the death of Christ. Their trade linked the Mexican coasts, and the region down to South America. The city featured settlements of traders from places like Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico and Monte Alban (near Oaxaca) in the South. The city was destroyed by fire and abandoned somewhere around 800 AD, and no one really knows why. There are clear indications of fire, but there is no real agreement as to the cause - war, or something else. The other thing you notice when visiting is that the area is extremely dry; there are only two small streams that cut through the area. It couldn't have been so dry two thousand years ago.

We know very little about the people who built the city. The name Teotihuacan in fact, was given by the Aztecs, who considered it a very holy place. In the Aztec language - Nahuatl - Teotihuacan means 'place where men go to become gods.'

The discovery of this new pyramid interests me because there was previously no indication that the Teotihuacanas built pyramids outside their own city. And there was nothing of significance in Mexico City at the time - just a large shallow lake, presumably with small fishing villages on the shore, and perhaps at the island center. If I understand the maps correctly, it appears that this pyramid may have been on the central island, where the Aztecs later built the city of Tenochtitlan. This might indicate more of a direct link between the two cultures - although they're separated in time by 400 years.

I suppose I find all this fascinating because no one seems to know about it - at least in the States. We spend plenty of time studying Egypt, Rome, the Holy Roman Empire, and other European history, but know almost nothing about the pyramid builders and empires of this continent. It's worth reading about.