Pyramid of the Moon

The Pyramid of the Moon is the second-largest pyramid in Teotihuacan, after the Pyramid of the Sun, and stands in modern-day San Martín de las Pirámides, Mexico. It lies in the western part of the ancient city, at the end of the Avenue of the Dead, and mimics the contours of the mountain Cerro Gordo just to the north. Cerro Gordo may have been called Tenan, which in Nahuatl means mother or protective stone.

The outer layer, which is currently visible, has a talud-tablero shape. The pyramid is 43 meters tall, and its base measures 147 meters from west to east by about 130 meters from north to south. It has 7 layers of buildings built on top of each other. Building 1, the oldest monument in Teotihuacan, dates from approximately 100 CE, and Building 4 was completed in approximately 250 CE. The construction between 100 and 450 AD completed the bilateral symmetry of the temple complex.

A platform atop the pyramid was used for ceremonies in honor of the Great Goddess of Teotihuacan, goddess of water, fertility, the earth, and even creation itself. The pyramid also served as a stage for ritual sacrifices of animals and humans and as a burial ground for sacrificial victims. These burials were done to legitimize the addition of another layer over the existing one. The Aztecs said the pyramid had been surmounted by a huge stone figure related to the moon; a figure weighing 22 metric tons was uncovered and represents the Great Goddess as a water deity.

Beginning in 1998, archaeologists excavated tunnels beneath the pyramid and found that it underwent at least six renovations, each larger than the last. A tomb dedicated to the Great Goddess, dated to the fourth stage of construction, held a single male sacrificial victim, a wolf, a jaguar, a puma, a serpent, bird skeletons and more than 400 other relics, including greenstone and obsidian figurines. In 1999 a team found a tomb apparently made for the fifth phase, with four human skeletons, animal bones, jewelry and obsidian blades, estimated to date between 100 and 200 AD.

Teotihuacan was a flourishing metropolis built between 150 BC and 500 AD on a plateau of about 22 km2 (8.5 sq mi). The ethnicity of its inhabitants is debated, so the name Teotihuacan refers both to the civilization and its capital. Its urban plan incorporated cosmology into every aspect, and its north–south axis was linked to the ritual 260-day calendar.

Between 150 BC and 500 AD, a Mesoamerican culture built a flourishing metropolis on a plateau about 22 km2 (8.5 sq mi). The ethnicity of the inhabitants of Teotihuacan is a subject of debate, therefore "Teotihuacan" is the name used to refer to both the civilization and the capital city of these people. Teotihuacan was a highly influential civilization in Mesoamerica. The city was home to a religious complex which was the religious center of all of Mesoamerica. The people who lived there constructed a city conducive to religious life and worship by incorporating cosmology into every aspect of the urban plan.

During the initial phase of Teotihuacan, called Tzacualli (0–150 AD), ingenious building systems were developed to erect the monumental bases of the Pyramids of the Moon and the Sun. The Teotihuacan metropolis has a planified urbanization with main axis, and a huge palace surrounded by 15 monumental pyramids. It was said by the Aztecs to have been surmounted by a huge stone figure related to the moon. This figure was uncovered (weighing 22 metric tons and was somehow lifted to the top of the pyramid) and it represents the Great Goddess as a water deity.

Beginning in 1998, archaeologists excavated beneath the Pyramid of the Moon. Tunnels dug into the structure have revealed that the pyramid underwent at least six renovations; each new addition was larger and covered the previous structure.

As the archaeologists burrowed through the layers of the pyramid, they discovered artifacts that provide the beginning of a timeline to the history of Teotihuacan. In 1999, a team 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, found a tomb apparently made to dedicate the fifth phase of construction. It contains four human skeletons, animal bones, jewelry, obsidian blades, and a wide variety of other offerings. Archeologists estimated that the burial occurred between 100 and 200 AD.

Another tomb dedicated to The Great Goddess was discovered in 1998. It is dated to the fourth stage of construction. It contained a single human male sacrificial victim as well as a wolf, jaguar, puma, serpent, bird skeletons, and more than 400 other relics which include large greenstone and obsidian figurines, ceremonial knives, and spear points.

Shooting

On April 20, 2026, a gunman opened fire from atop of the Pyramid of the Moon killing one Canadian tourist and injuring 13 others. The shooter died by suicide at the scene.