Teotihuacan
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How it came to be
Teotihuacan lies about 50 km north-east of Mexico City. Building began around 100 BC, and between the 1st and 7th centuries AD it grew into one of the largest cities in the Americas, covering 36 km² at its peak. The name was given centuries later by the Aztecs and means 'the place where the gods were created'.
The north-south Avenue of the Dead runs about 4 km, and the planners even altered the course of the San Juan River so that it crossed the avenue. The Pyramid of the Sun, finished by AD 100, measures 225 by 222 metres at the base, stands 75 metres high and holds about one million cubic metres. The Pyramid of the Moon and the Temple of the Feathered Serpent also line the avenue.
The central buildings were burned and the city abandoned between the 6th and 7th centuries. Sixteenth-century writings record that the Aztec ruler Moctezuma made sacrifices here every 20 days. Between 1905 and 1910 Leopoldo Batres restored the Pyramid of the Sun for the centennial of Mexican independence, adding a fifth tier in the process.
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