Teotihuacan Sources/Evidence

Burials

Pyramid of the Moon

Burial 2
● 3rd Century
● Males aged 40-50
● War captives who were not Teotihuacan natives → were part of the elite class
● Shells, ceramics and Mesoamerican animal figurines

Burial 6
● 3rd Century
● 12 males → 10 whose heads were decapitated
● 2 males wore lavish ornaments
● 43 animal skeletons → canines, birds and felines
● Obsidian, pyrite and ceramic objects
● Burial layout was structured → indicates sacrifice was initiated to ensure the
successful construction of the Pyramid of the Moon

Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent

● 200 sacrificed males
● War captives who were not Teotihuacan natives → possibly served Teotihuacan’s
elite
● Weaponry and necklaces of human teeth
● Sacrifice dedicated to the Pyramid itself

Murals

‘Paradise of Tlaloc’
● Located in the Tepantitla apartment compound
● Depicts Tlaloc → deity of rain, water and fertility
● Yellow, blue and red people → hues indicate distinguished social classes
● Conventional activities e.g picking flowers, playing ball games
● Mountain (centred) → fish and hydrological source that descends to waterways
● Humans are sacrificed to the mountain → blood flowing down mountain, figures
with their heads decapitated
 ● Amplifies that human sacrifice must be initiated in order for Tlaloc to provide
Teotihuacan with hydrological supply to meet agricultural needs → allow
Teotihuacan supremacy in the Valley of Mexico

‘The Great Goddess’

● Situated above the ‘Paradise of Tlaloc’ at the Tepantitla compound → reinforces
significance of the Great Goddess
● Deity of war, death, fertility, the underworld and Earth
● Frontal view and centring of the Great Goddess amplifies her importance
● Water falls from her outstretched hands → providing water supply to Teotihuacan
● Warriors and priests as her sides present offerings in one hand, whilst water and seeds
descend from the other
● Shows importance of offerings and sacrifice in providing agricultural resources to
Teotihuacan

‘Priest Sowing Seeds’

● Located in the Tepantitla compound
● Shows a priest wearing ritual attire whilst sowing seeds
● Headdress that combines an owl’s eye and a crocodile snout → affiliated with war
● Front of the tunic has the composition of a temple with an insignia on top → may
be a glyph for a locality/city
Jaguar mural
● Located in Tetitla apartment compound
● Orange jaguar wears a headdress with serpent patterns (symbolic of supremacy)
● A red heart is carried in its mouth (symbolic of human life) and on the floor beneath
● The jaguar sits on a white bench (symbolic of governance)
● Elite class believed that human sacrifice would ensure Teotihuacan’s political
supremacy and order was maintained

Apartment compounds

Tetitla
● Excavated in 1963-64
● Small rooms → rest areas
● Large rooms → storage and cooking
● Courtyards were small, medium and large → indoors and outdoors → murals,
interactive spaces, ritualistic practice
● Inhabited by the mid-upper class as evidenced through the large rooms and intricate
murals which entailed allegories of supremacy e.g Jaguar mural

Caves/tunnels

Underneath the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent

● Excavated by Sergio Gomez in 2003 and is ongoing
● Revealed a plethora of interconnected chambers and tunnels
● Pyrite balls and mirrors → symbolic of creation myths → an arrow was believed to
be shot from the sun to the mirror house which emitted a serpent
 ● Liquid mercury → symbolic of water
● Pyrite inscribed in rock → symbolic of galaxies/other dimensions in the creation
stories
● Jaguar bones
● Animal and human skin fragments
● Greenstone masks and Mesoamerican animals figurines → jaguar about to strike

Underneath the Pyramid of the Sun

● Chamber
● 11 clay pots dedicated to Tlaloc
● Canine and feline skeletons
● Obsidian knives
● Underground cavities → used as bases for pyramid construction (Rene Millon)
● Four sacrificial burials locations → three included children

Monumental Structures

Pyramid of the Sun

● 100 A.D
● Not well conserved
● Was believed to have been dedicated to a deity
● Was possibly painted in red and a layer of plaster

Pyramid of the Moon

● 250 A.D
● Dedicated to the Great Goddess
● A 22 tonne statue of the Great Goddess was believed to have stood on the apex

Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent

● Relief of the feathered serpent situated on the exterior → creation, fertility
● Excavations of caves underneath reveal its affiliation with the creation myths

The Ciudadela
● South end of Teotihuacan
● Large square courtyard believed to have been used for shopping and community
gatherings
● Could accommodate all of Teotihuacan’s population

The Palace of the Quetzalpapalotl

● Quetzalpapalotl → owl affiliated with warriors, priests and the elite
● Symbolic of supremacy
● Vestibules, carved pillars embedded with obsidian, a courtyard and painted lintels
The Palace of Jaguars
● Close proximity to the Pyramid of the Moon reinforces its significance
● Jaguar murals → jaguar blowing into a conch shell that drips with blood → conchs
were utilised by Teotihuacan military before warfare commenced
● Cryptic art → reveals that warriors and priests gathered in the palace to plan rituals
that were performed in the Pyramid of the Moon

The Teotihuacan Mapping Project (streetscapes) - see notes