PYRAMID OF THE SUN

The Pyramid of the Sun, built in the 2nd century AD, dominates the landscape of the ancient city of Teotihuacan in Mexico. Teotihuacan (the place of the Gods), was the first true city in Mesoamerica, at its peak (AD c.600) it housed more than 100,000 people. Orthodox archaeologists have been excavating the ruins for over 100 years. Though the culture that built the city has been lost to history, many scholars outside the established academic circles, have produced extensive evidence that the precise arrangement, proportion and alignment of it's many monuments expresses, at the very least, advanced and detailed astronomical knowledge well beyond that with which they have been credited.

Mexico is mostly mountainous. The volcano Orizaba, located near Puebla in a chain of mountains called the Transverse Volcanic Sierra, is Mexico's highest mountain, with an elevation of 5,747 m (18,855 ft). This Sierra extends east-west across Mexico to the north of Mexico City, the country's capital, and includes the spectacular volcanoes Popcatepetl, Ixtacihuatl and Paricutin.

PYRAMID OF THE MOON

Discoveries At Teotihuacan's Pyramid Unlock Ancient Mysteries September 22, 1999 - Arizona State University An unexpected set of new discoveries in the ongoing excavation beneath the Pyramid of the Moon at Teotihuacan may provide critical clues in reconstructing a 2,000-year old history still mysteriously missing from the ruins of the ancient master-planned metropolis, located 25 miles from current Mexico City.

Announced today, the latest discovery at the site is a tomb apparently made to dedicate the fifth phase of construction of the pyramid, containing four human skeletons, animal bones, large conch shells, jewelry, obsidian blades and a wide variety of other offerings. Excavation is expected to continue for another two weeks. Found by a team of archaeologists led by Saburo Sugiyama, associate professor at Aichi Prefectural University in Japan and adjunct faculty at Arizona State University, and Ruben Cabrera of Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History, the burial contains important evidence that may help archaeologists define and examine a particularly active period in Teotihuacan's history and perhaps one of the culture's "defining moments." The tomb and its offerings appear to differ in important ways from another dedicatory tomb found at the site a year ago. That tomb, clearly associated with the pyramid's fourth stage of development, contained only one human male -- a bound, sacrificial victim -- as well as wolf , jaguar, puma, serpent and bird skeletons, and more than 400 other offerings, including large greenstone and obsidian figurines, ceremonial knives, and spearpoints. "The contents of this new burial appear to be significantly different from the tomb we found last year," said Sugiyama. "But there are many aspects to this burial that seem similar to those we found a decade ago in the tombs under the Feathered Serpent Pyramid." Sugiyama notes the presence of many green obsidian blades in the new burial -- a color of obsidian lacking in the tomb in pyramid four, but common in the Feathered Serpent burials -- and the presence of a greenstone "butterfly" nose pendent that is "exactly the same style as the ones we found at the Feathered Serpent Pyramid."

There also are more military items among the offerings, and a larger number of human sacrifices, both of which are reminiscent of the Feathered Serpent burials, where they found more than 130 human skeletons, most of them clearly soldiers and possibly war captives. "As a result of the final discoveries, we find explicit signs of militarism in the culture since its early periods," said Sugiyama. Beyond the offerings, there are other indications as well of a cultural shift occurring between the two burials. The current find appears to be connected to the phase in the pyramid's development that followed the building of pyramid four-- a distinct stage in the structure's history that has not been recognized until now. The inhabitants of Teotihuacan built successively larger pyramids on top of the previous monuments, often partially deconstructing the previous pyramid in the process. From past research, there were thought to have been five phases to the Pyramid of the Moon, with phase one (dated in the 1st Century A.D.) being Teotihuacan's oldest major monument. Excavations show a major jump in size and complexity occurring with the construction of pyramid four and a change in orientation that puts it in line with the unique and precise city grid structure that we see today in the city's eight square miles of ruins. Sugiyama and Cabrera have found evidence indicating that a significant remodeling of pyramid four -- a fifth period of construction -- occurred before the pyramid received its final addition. This new fifth stage, which contains the recently discovered tomb, appears to be a significant modification of the fourth structure's architecture, position and size. Part of the remodeling involved the first use on the Pyramid of the Moon of the "talud-tablero" architectural style that dominates the structures we see today, including the Feathered Serpent Pyramid and the Pyramid of the Sun, in its "Adosada" portion.

Evidence in the differences in the ceremonial offerings between pyramid four and its remodeled version, pyramid five, thus suggest an important shift in the culture that may also be reflected in the construction of the Feathered Serpent Pyramid and the Pyramid of the Sun. Both of these pyramids were constructed largely at one time and are newer than the earlier phases of the

Pyramid of the Moon. "There's not enough data yet to draw any large conclusions, but one thing that's fascinating is that the mythic images that we see in the war-like murals from late periods of Teotihuacan -- jaguars, coyotes and eagles with shells and head dresses -- are made up of elements that we see literally present in these much older burials," said Sugiyama. "What was going on here seems to have had a lasting effect." Though archaeologists have long been fascinated with the site, Teotihuacan's culture and history are still largely mysterious. The civilization left massive ruins, but no trace has yet been found of a writing system and very little is known for sure about its inhabitants, who were succeeded first by the Toltecs and then by the Aztecs. The Aztecs did not live in the city, but gave the place and its major structures their current names. They considered it the "Place of the Gods" -- a place where, they believed, the current world was created. At its peak around 500 A.D., Teotihuacan contained perhaps 200,000 people, a master-planned city covering nearly eight square miles and larger and more advanced than anyEuropean city of the time. Its civilization was contemporary with that of ancient Rome , and lasted longer - more than 500 years.

The current excavation under the Pyramid of the Moon may be one of the best opportunities to answer questions about the civilization, as its underlying older, primitive loose rock construction may have protected buried secrets by making it difficult to dig under and resistant to looters. Sugiyama hopes to find still more tombs. "We have noticed that this tomb is a few feet to the east of the city's north-south axis line," said Sugiyama. "These people were generally very precise and they rarely did anything unsymetrically. With this in mind, we can suspect to find other burials based on our precise maps." The excavation is a joint project of the ASU Department of Anthropology and Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History and is funded in part by grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Geographic Society. Study and analysis of the burial items and other materials found in the excavation will be conducted at the ASU Archaeology Center in nearby San Juan Teotihuacan. The center, which has quarters and laboratory space for ten archaeologists, was founded with the help of an NSF grant in 1987 to do research on Teotihuacan.

Mexico's Pyramid of The Moon yields some of its mysteries Teotihuancan, Mexico -October 21, 1998-AP Archaeologists digging inside the Pyramid of the Moon in ancient Mexico's biggest ceremonial center have uncovered what could be remnants from a civilization even older than the mysterious Teotihuacanos. The archaeological team said Tuesday that the pyramid was built on top of the remains of at least three buildings, one of which contained a human skeleton surrounded by funeral offerings and other artifacts. The bones were in good condition, buried in a sitting position The tomb was discovered by accident 11 days ago. Teotihuacan, in the valley of the same name 30 miles north of Mexico City, used to be a thriving city and ceremonial center that predated the Aztecs by several centuries. But very little is known about it. Investigators have studied the pyramids and buildings close by, artifacts and a few pictographs, but no hieroglyphs or other writings of any kind. No one knows what their language was. Teotihuacan began declining sharply around 650 AD, and was almost completely abandoned around 750 AD. No one knows why.

The skeleton is still half-buried, and its gender and age have not been determined. A rough guess would place the skeleton between 100 and 150 AD. Around 150 artifacts have been found in the tomb, including figurines, ceramics, statuettes, jade carvings and obsidian pieces. It appear to have belonged to somebody important, because of the amount and quality of funeral offerings surrounding it. Although mummies and other human remains have been uncovered in pyramids in Egypt and elsewhere, human remains deep inside a Mexican pyramid have been almost unheard of. The step-pyramids were built mainly to give height to stone temples to make sacrifice and worship the gods. The research group includes Sugiyama from the University of Tokyo, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Arizona State, the University of the Americas in Mexico and the National Institute of History and Anthropology. The group is also financing the project with the U.S. National Science Foundation, project coordinator Ruben Cabrera Castro said.

OTHER PYRAMIDS IN MEXICO

In Tula, Mexico: Elevation; 6,500 feet. This sites presents a five- terraced Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli Pyramid, featuring possible Atlantean statues. In Cholula, Mexico: Elevation; 7,000 feet. This site features the world's largest pyramid. Pyramid is built of adobe brick. Tzintzuntzan, Mexico: Elevation; 7,000 feet. Site of the longest pyramid in the West (3,100 feet). Medium: Stone. Cuicuilco Pyramid, Mexico: Elevation; 7,350 feet. The only true round pyramid so far found in the Western Hemisphere. It was built of crude rock and veneered with a clay covering. Teotihuacan, Mexico: Elevation; 7,500 feet. This complex features the Sun and Moon Pyramids, the Sun being the largest stone pyramid in the West.

KUKULKAN PYRAMID IN CHICHEN ITZA

An archaeological study of chirped echo from the Mayan pyramid of Kukulkan at Chichen Itza By David Lubman - Acoustical Consultant

Handclaps evoke chirped echoes from the staircases of the Pyramid of Kukulkan at Chichen Itza. The physics of the chirped echo can be explained quite simply as periodic reflections from stepfaces. But until now, no one has bothered to do so.

What is very interesting is that the chirped echo sounds arguably like the primary call of the Mayan sacred bird, the resplendent Quetzal. This magnificent bird, now near extinction, has for thousands of years represented the "spirit of the Maya". Spirits, in many traditions, speak in echoes. Think of the legend of Echo and Narcissus in the western tradition. Echo, lacking a body, was pure spirit.

A Mayan glyph from the Dresden Codex makes the connection between the pyramid of Kukulkan and the Quetzal bird. This glyph shows Kukulkan, the "sovereign plumed serpent" with a gigantic Quetzal behind him. We argue that the Quetzal bird represents the spirit of the Maya. We also argue that spirits often speak in echoes. It seems most appropriate that the spirit echo of the Pyramid of Kukulkan would speak in the echo-voice of the Quetzal." Even today, the Quetzal plays an important part in modern Mayan culture. (Many modern Maya live in Guatemala, and in the Mexican States of Chiapas and Quintan Roo). Examples: the Quetzal is the unit of currency in Guatemala. The Guatemalan government issues a prestigious award named "The Order of the Quetzal." The most recent recipient of this award is the great Mayanist, Dr. Linda Schele. (Dr. Schele passed-on in April, 1998.) Could the Maya have intentionally coded the sound of their sacred bird into the pyramid architecture? I think it is possible. In the millenium since this pyramid was built, though the plaster has eroded from the limestone staircases, the sound is still recognizable.

The Quetzal Bird You will hear two Quetzal bird chirps (recorded in a rain forest) followed by two chirped echoes stimulated by a handclaps at the pyramid (recorded by me in January 1998). We must not expect the sounds to be identical. Just recognizably similar. Think of a scratchy old Caruso recording. We can still recognize the voice of the great Caruso, even if it does not sound perfect. Remember that the Mayan stone recording is many times older than the Caruso recording! Where else in the history of the world have an ancient people preserved a sacred sound by coding it into stone so that a thousand years later people might hear and wonder? Note about the quetzal chirps: The ancestors of the builders of Chichen Itza lived in the cloud forests" In the cloud forest, sound can be more important than vision, because one can hear father than one can see. The acoustic channel in cloud forests is rich with the sounds of birds, insects and animals. The "Quetzal in the cloud forest" sound file will help to familiarize you with the sound of a free quetzal in a cloud forest as the ancient Maya may have heard it.Ê Take the time to download this 821Kb file (about 30 seconds at 28.8 Kb/sec). Listen to it. Turn up the volume. Then listen again to the pyramid echo. It will help you to appreciate why the classical Maya may have heard in the pyramid echo the sound of the quetzal."