The city of Teotihuacan preceded the
Aztecs by about a thousand years. When the Aztecs saw the ruins of the city,
they thought that it was built by the gods. The dominant structures are
the Pyramid de Luna and the Pyramid de Sol. This is the site we were to see
today.
We took a bus from the Northern Bus Station. On the bus were a mixture of Mexican tourists, vendors, two musicians and American tourists. It is so unusual to see American Black people in Mexico, especially guys in their twenties. They sat near us, and I could tell from their conversation that they were rappers and they just finished a concert in the city. They were accompanied by a group of Mexican girls who giggled the whole way there. The guys were very nice and polite but did not speak a word of Spanish. Also the two (other) Mexican musicians were young men who played the guitar and harmonized. They really did a beautiful job and Truckee and I both tipped them.
Speaking of hucksters,
the town is loaded with them- in buses, on the streets and especially in
subways. Many have an amp attached to their back. Some are hawking
cookbooks, their own music mix which they are blasting in the subway car, flash
lights, candy, soda, tamales, hats, toys, - just anything imaginable.
Teotihuacan had particularly aggressive hucksters. One of the first things we
saw were tomahawks with obsidian blades. I joked with Truckee that we
might have trouble getting on the plane with two foot weapons, sporting a six
inch long piece of sharpened obsidian. Many of the vendors sold obsidian
artifacts -balls, eagles, snakes, pyramids. Strangely the theory as to why the
early inhabitants of this place became so wealthy was that they had a lock on
the obsidian trade. The sales people here sold much more and were extremely
aggressive. I must have been approached by about 100 vendors there today.
No exaggeration.
Here are a few more photos from today.
When Truckee learned
about Teotihuacan he was stoked. He told me, " Imagine, I will be
able to climb to the top of one of the tallest pre-columbian monuments in the
world. I was not so sure that I could do it. I thought that I might prefer to
climb the pyramid of the Moon- at a slightly lower height. Also I thought
that it would be a nice tribute to the female spirits. When we got there, the
upper half of the Tower of the Moon was closed. I decided to give it a try.
New Age Adherents are Thankful that the world did not end.
Ed makes it to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun wearing a stupid had.
Going down.
View of the Pyramid of the Moon from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun
Drawing of the Pyramid of the Sun to show its complex archetecture
In case you didn't know,
the world was suppose to end today. Apparently some new agers came here
today to give thanks for their extended life span. In the photos, you might
make out a group dressed in white sitting in a circle at the bottom. I also got
a photo of a group praying with extended arms at the top. Oh yes, I did
make it to the top- all 246 stairs and Truckee and I have a photo to prove
it.
Back to the history of
the site.
It was settled
originally about the time of Christ. The first major structures were begun
about the year 100 ad. The pyramid of the sun and the moon were finished by
about 400. It was such a great celebration when they finished it, they
sacrificed 200 enemy warriors for the dedication. We saw ten of them at the
archeological museum- actually we just saw their skeletons. Around their
necks were two kinds of necklaces- the standard- made of precious stones and
one of human jar bones- around five jaw bones around each neck. That was one
hell of a celebration! Not only were 200 warriors sacrificed- apparently at
least 1000 more were sacrificed, just to provide the ceremonial neck
wear.
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