Top Ten Teotihuacan Facts

Here are my top ten facts about the Aztec pyramids of Teotihuacán.

1.They’re not pyramids.

They are actually temples that are part of a large ancient city.

2. They’re not Aztec.

The temples were made by people who lived around 1,000 years before the Aztecs. Construction started around 200 BCE. We don’t know a lot about the people who lived there because they had abandoned the city before the Aztecs found it. Archeologists think that maybe there was droughts and famine that led to fighting between the ruling class and the working class, and it resulted in people fleeing the city.

3. They are not as colourful as they once were.

The temples are beige and dusty now. When people lived there, they were really colourful. People used natural pigments from plants to paint the rocks red and green. To make sure the rain didn’t wash it away, they used a glaze. In other parts of the world, people used egg whites, but there were no chickens in Mexico at this time. So they used chia seeds mixed with water, which turns into a gloopy paint.  

4. It was one of the largest cities of its time.

At its peak when the world’s population was only in the millions, around 125,000 people lived in Teotihuacán making it one of the largest cities in the world; even larger than London at the time.

5. The Temples were for worshipping the sun and moon.

There are two large temples opposite each other and the largest was for worshipping the moon and the other for the sun. We’re not exactly sure how they worshipped the sun and the moon, but there are lots of stories floating around (check out fact 9).

6. The people of Teotihuacán were astronomers.

Throughout the city, the houses had skylights for star-gazing. Have you ever noticed how if you look up at the stars for a long time you can get a sore neck? The people of Teotihuacán had a clever solution. They built giant shallow baths on the ground that they filled with water so they could star gaze through the reflection in the water.

7. They worked out how to look at the sun.

Using a round disk of obsidian (a type of volcanic rock) they could look through the disk without hurting their eyes. I tried this myself and the sun looks like a big orange orb with no rays.

8. They were into body modification.

When babies were born, they tied a band around their head to squeeze and elongate their foreheads. We know this because of the skulls found by archeologists. Not every person did this; it was seen as a sign of status for the elite class.  

9. They were into human sacrifice….or were they?!?

There are many gory stories about the human sacrifice that took place at these temples. The idea promoted is that people were slaughtered as an offering to the gods of the sun, moon and rain. But these ideas are now being challenged. Our guide suggested that the Spanish colonisers made up these stories as part of their argument that old indigenous traditions were bad and they needed to follow the teachings of the Catholic church.

10. One of the temples was blown up.

In the beginning of the 20^th century, the president of Mexico at the time wanted to quickly excavate the temples. The theory was they would be like the Egyptian pyramids and have chambers inside filled with ancient treasures. He got impatient with all the archeologists told him to go slowly and carefully, so he found a business man who said he could do it quickly. He used dynamite and destroyed about 40% of the temple. Instead of finding treasure, they discovered the temple was built on a mountain. Their stupidity resulted in huge damage to one of the greatest wonders of the world!