World Tourism / The Best Pyramids in the World / The Pyramid of the Moon

The wonderful  city of Teotihuacan is located 50 kilometers north -east of the center of Mexico  and it is a great destination for at least  one or two days of exploration. The city hosts many restored buildings that are worth to be explored, artworks and artifacts recovered from the site, and two huge structures that make the city very famous, the Pyramid of the Moon, shown here, and the Pyramid of the Sun. Unlike all the Egyptian pyramids,  those  at Teotihuacan are not erected of solid stone, instead they comprise stone and brick rubble covered with layers of cut stone. Anyway these structures are still a spectacular  achievement, because  all this was made without the benefit of pack animals, metal tools or the wheel.

The Pyramid of the Moon, positioned at the northern end of the Street of the Dead, thought to be finished around 250 A.D. The Pyramid of the Moon is the second largest pyramid in Teotihuacan following  the Pyramid of the Sun.  Some people have named it Tenan, which  means "mother or protective stone” in their native language. The  foundation of the pyramid that took place between 200 and 450 AD finished the bilateral symmetry of the temple complex. A slope made in front of the staircase opens easy access to the Avenue of the Dead, a platform atop the pyramid was used to host the ceremonies and rituals dedicated to the Great Goddess of Teotihuacan, the goddess of water, fertility, the earth, and even creation itself. This amazing platform and the sculpture that were discovered at the bottom of the pyramid are thus dedicated to The Great Goddess.
Opposite the Great Goddess's altar is the Plaza of the Moon, which includes  a central altar and an original construction with internal divisions, comprising four rectangular and diagonal bodies that created the well-known  "Teotihuacan Cross."

Interesting history of the Pyramid of the Moon

Between 150 BC and 500 AD, a mesoamerican culture founded a flourishing metropolis known as  Teotihuacan on a plateau of about 22 square kilometers . The ethnicity of the inhabitants of Teotihuacan is a subject still discussed. During the initial phase of Teotihuacan, called Tzacualli, interesting  systems of buildings were developed to raise up  the monumental bases of the Pyramids of the Moon and the Sun. The Teotihuacan metropolis has a  well-organized urbanization with main axis, including also a huge palace surrounded by 15 monumental pyramids. It was said by the Aztecs to have been overcome by a massive stone figure related to the moon but this figure was left uncovered and it depicts  the Great Goddess as a water deity. Scholars have suggested that the water that flows through the goddess  hands is living water and represents a life giving force and fertility.
Archeologists believe that the answers about the ancient city of Teotihuacan  are hidden in this structure and they are currently making explorations on the inside. Teotihuacan was a large ancient city which collapsed around 700 AD. A great number of treasured artifacts have  been discovered in the Pyramid of the Moon. An example of the monuments found in this pyramid  is the tomb of the Aztec goddess Chalchiuhtlicue.
The recent excavations made near the base of the pyramid staircase discovered the tomb of a male skeleton, that featured many grave goods of obsidian and greenstone, and also sacrified animals. One of the most significant tombs yet discovered at Teotihuacan,  might indicate that even more important tombs are buried in the very heart of the pyramid. So this amazing pyramid has a great importance for the city that houses it, hidding many precious sculptures, tombs and even unknown events, that played a great role in the resident’s life. It is a pleasure to visit this pyramid, which relates fantastic memories, hidden secrets and mysterious legends, that seem to be forgotten .
 

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Maps of The Pyramid of the Moon