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Teotihuacan Pyramids are monumental structures within the ancient city of Teotihuacan, located approximately 40 kilometers northeast of Mexico City, Mexico, and listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The Sun Pyramid, the Moon Pyramid, and the Avenue of the Dead connecting them form the ceremonial and architectural heart of the city. Although it is not definitively known who built the city and its pyramids, research continues into possible connections with Toltec, Zapotec, or Maya settlements.
The name “Teotihuacan” means “Place of the Gods” in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, and was given by the Aztecs who discovered and occupied the abandoned city centuries after its decline.
Teotihuacan Pyramids (AA)
Research has established that the history of Teotihuacan extends as far back as 800 BCE. The construction of the pyramids occurred during a later phase of the city’s development. Based on archaeological and ceramic analyses, the construction of the Sun Pyramid is believed to have begun toward the end of the Tzacualli phase of Teotihuacan civilization (approximately CE 1–150). Among the fill materials used in the pyramid, ceramics from the Tzacualli phase have been found alongside earlier Patlachique phase ceramics. This indicates that debris and soil from prior settlements were reused in the pyramid’s construction.
The Sun Pyramid is generally accepted to have reached its current height through a single large-scale construction operation. However, recent tunnel excavations in the pyramid’s uppermost section have uncovered ceramics belonging to the subsequent Miccaotli phase (Teotihuacan II), suggesting that its completion may have been a prolonged process extending into the Miccaotli phase. The structure adjacent to the pyramid’s front facade, known as the Plataforma Adosada, was added during a later period, specifically in the Miccaotli phase.
The Sun Pyramid is recognized as the second-largest pyramid in the Americas after the Great Pyramid of Cholula in Mexico. With a base measuring 222 by 225 meters and a height ranging between 65 and 70 meters according to various sources, it is considered the third-tallest pyramid in the world. It is estimated that approximately one million cubic meters of volcanic stone were used in its construction. The internal fill consists largely of earth and rubble, while adobe blocks were employed as retaining walls, particularly near the eastern and western facades.
The Moon Pyramid, located at the northern end of the ancient city, has a base of 120 by 150 meters and a height of 46 meters. It marks the northern terminus of the Avenue of the Dead and is one of the first structures encountered by visitors touring the city. Stone carvings on its upper levels, now worn by time, depict jaguar heads, claws, and rattlesnake motifs.
The Avenue of the Dead, stretching 1.5 kilometers, connects the Sun and Moon Pyramids. Along its length are secondary temples and platforms. Beneath the Temple of Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent), another significant structure in the city, a 103-meter-long tunnel has been discovered. Inside this tunnel, archaeologists found seeds, animal bones, and pottery fragments.
In 1971, a natural cave extending downward beneath the main staircase of the Sun Pyramid was discovered. Geological studies revealed that this cave is a natural lava tube formed by a volcanic flow over a million years ago. This tunnel, approximately 103 meters long, ends in a cloverleaf-shaped series of chambers directly beneath the pyramid’s center. The cave’s walls were plastered with mud by ancient Teotihuacans, and some sections of the ceiling were covered with basalt slabs.
It is widely believed that the presence of this cave played a decisive role in selecting the site for the pyramid’s construction. In Mesoamerican mythology, caves were symbolic of the womb of creation, life, and the earth. Caves containing water sources were especially regarded as sacred passages to the underworld. Stone drainage channels once directed underground streams or springs within the cave beneath the Sun Pyramid. Consequently, scholars hypothesize that the cave may have served one or more of the following functions:
Sun Pyramid (AA)
Within the Sun Pyramid, tunnels excavated since 1917 by archaeologists such as Manuel Gamio and Eduardo Noguera run along an east-west axis. Investigations conducted in 1959 revealed previously unknown internal structures.
During the Tzacualli phase, when construction of the Sun Pyramid began, Teotihuacan was a major settlement covering an area of approximately 8 to 9 square kilometers. The construction of such a massive monument required a highly stratified social structure, leaders capable of mobilizing large labor forces, and a powerful belief system that motivated the entire population. The fact that the fill material used in the pyramid was gathered from the city’s earlier residential areas—containing domestic refuse and midden deposits—gives insight into the project’s enormous scale.
There is ongoing debate regarding the origins of Teotihuacan civilization: whether its development stemmed primarily from local dynamics or was initiated by an external elite group arriving from regions such as the Gulf Coast. Current archaeological evidence supports the view that the ceramic and architectural traditions of the Tzacualli phase represent a direct continuation of the earlier Patlachique phase, indicating that the city’s growth was shaped largely by internal processes.
Today, the Teotihuacan pyramids are an archaeological site visited by approximately two million people annually.
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Historical Development and Construction Process
Key Structures and Architectural Features
Sun Pyramid
Moon Pyramid
Avenue of the Dead and Other Structures
Theoretical Approaches and Archaeological Findings
Cave Beneath the Sun Pyramid
Tunnels and Internal Structures Within the Pyramid
Cultural and Social Context
