Today, I travelled back in time over 2,000 years to the ancient city of Teotihuácan. I was surprised to find such impressive pyramids on the North American continent. They were truly incredible!

So much about Teotihuácan is still a mystery. It is an active excavation site where archaeologists continue to piece together clues in an attempt to identify the civilization responsible for building this site. The builders have simply been called Teotihuácanos. Even the Aztec were unsure of who built these pyramids. They were so amazed by the size and construction of Teotihuácan that the Aztec believed it to have been the birthplace of the gods.

The pyramids of Teotihuácan have often been compared to those found in Egypt, however these were not used as tombs. What was the purpose of these two massive pyramids and the surrounding structures?

At its peak (around 500 CE to 600 CE) Teotihuácan was home to approximately 200,000 Aztec people, about the same population as modern-day Montgomery, Alabama. Around 700 CE the city was completely abandoned, and though there are theories of drought and invaders, the exact reason for the city’s decline remains a mystery.

The things that fascinate me most about Teotihuácan are its design and construction. The sheer volume of the Pyramid of the Sun was sensational. There are about 250 steps to climb in order to reach the summit, making it the largest climbable pyramid in the world. While the Pyramids of Giza are larger, they have smooth exteriors making them unclimbable.

Teotihuácan’s builders also possessed great knowledge of our solar system. Scientists believe that the placement of the buildings demonstrate knowledge of astronomy. On one day of the year, the Sun Pyramid aligns with the path of the Sun to cast a fantastic snaking shadow across its front. It is believed that this clever design provided an accurate way of keeping time. While I would be lost without my watch and calendar, the builders of Teotihuacán were people truly advanced in the field of time-keeping.

Do you dig all this archaeological stuff?

Keep going: Learn about the last days of the Aztec Empire.

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