Teotihuacán

Mexican archaeological site about 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Mexico City, that contains the remains of the largest pre-Columbian city in the western hemisphere.

The great civilization of Teotihuacán is considered to have begun around 200 BC. It developed into an important city in the 1st century AD and flourished until about AD 650.

At its greatest extent it covered about 21 sq km (about 8 sq mi) and had a population of as many as 200,000.

Sapieha/Art Resource, NY

The Temple of the Sun at Teotihuacán, Mexico, was built between AD 50 and 200. The pyramidal structure is made of layers of clay faced with stone, and it stands about 61m (200 ft) high. Flights of stairs lead to the top, where a temple to the sun god Uitzilopochtli originally stood. The site is aligned with the rising and setting of the sun on the summer solstice.

Its noteworthy monuments include the Pyramid of the Sun -one of the largest structures ever built by Native Americans- the Pyramid of the Moon, and the Avenue of the Dead, which is a broad thoroughfare flanked by ruins of temples.

The people of Teotihuacán had close contacts with the contemporary Maya culture of the Yucatán and Guatemala, and their civilization had an important influence on later Mexican peoples such as the Aztecs.

"Teotihuacán," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000 http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.