Interactive Google Earth
satellite map of Teotihuacan
Below is an interactive Google Earth
satellite map of Teotihuacan.
Use the buttons on the map to zoom in; drag the map with your mouse to
move around.
Teotihuacan used to be a thriving city and ceremonial center that
predated the Aztecs by several centuries. Most likely it was Mexico's biggest ancient
city at its peak and the sixth largest city in the world in AD 600. Teotihuacan began declining sharply around 650 AD, and was almost
completely abandoned around 750 AD. No one knows why.
 
At its peak around 500-600 A.D., Teotihuacan contained perhaps
200,000 people. It was a well planned city covering nearly eight square
miles and larger and more advanced than any European city of the
time. Its civilization was contemporary with that of ancient Rome ,
and lasted longer - more than 500 years.
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.
History of Teotihuacan
- 100 BC - 0 AD Proto-Teotihuacan (two small hamlets in northern
pocket of Valley of Mexico, population = 5000)
- 0 BC - 150 AD Teotihuacan I - (Avenue of the Dead, Pyramid of the
Sun established)
- 150 AD - 300 AD Teotihuacan II - (Grid pattern established)
- 300 AD - 650 AD Teotihuacan III - (Pinacle of development,
population = 85,000-200,000)
- 650 AD - 750 AD Teotihuacan IV - Decline and fall
Besides the major ceremonial pyramids, there were also palaces and
temples, especially near the north end of the city surrounding the
plaza in front of the Pyramid of the Moon. These included the Palace
of Quetzalcoatl, the Butterfly Palace, the Temple of the Feathered
Conches, and the Palace of the Jaguars. The sophistication and
artistry of the Teotihuacanos can be seen everywhere in the
magnificent murals and stone carvings which adorn the walls of the
palaces and apartment compounds.
The city met its end around 700 AD through deliberate destruction
and burning by the hand of unknown invaders. Although a century earlier,
around AD 600, almost all of Teotihuacan's influence over the rest
of Mesoamerica had ceased, indicating some sort of internal malaise
or decline before the destruction.
The first strains appeared about AD 650. A century later,
Teotihuacan was a shadow of its former self. The population had
declined so rapidly that the once-proud city was now little more
than a series of hamlets extending over an area of about a square
kilometer.
Some great catastrophe apparently struck the city in AD 700,
reducing its population to below 70,000. Many of its people moved
eastward. The city was deliberately burnt and destroyed. Over the
years, its buildings collapsed and the pyramids became overgrown
with dense vegetation.
Teotihuacan's decline was almost as rapid as its rise to
prominence. Even so, eight centuries later, Teotihuacan was still
revered far and wide as an intensely sacred place. But no one
remembered who had built it or that tens of thousands of people had
once lived there.
Away from the Avenue of the Dead, the city continued to live on
for another two centuries, although the population of Teotihuacan
sunk to only a quarter of its former total. Some sort of crisis
overtook all the Classic civilizations of Mesoamerica (including the
Maya) two centuries later, forcing them to abandon most of the
cities. Some anthropologists believe the crisis may have been a
lessening of the food supply caused by a drying out of the land and
a loss of water sources to the area.
They speculate that this might have been brought about by a
combination of natural climactic shift towards aridness that appears
to have happened all over Mexico during the Classic period and the
residents having cut all the timber in the valley. Originally there
were cedar, cypress, pine, and oak forests; today there are cactus,
yucca, agave, and California pepper trees. This change in vegetation
indicates a big climate shift.
Although Teotihuacan presents a puzzle to archaeologists because
it was a huge city that appears to have arisen without antecedents,
the single most important fact which archaeologists have learned
about the Classic period in Mexico was the supremacy of Teotihuacan.
As the urbanized center of Mexico, with high population and
tremendous production, its power was imposed through political and
cultural means not only in its native highland habitat, but also
along the tropical coasts, reaching even into the Maya area. It's
trading and tribute empire was comparable with the Aztec empire that
eventually followed it. All other Mexican states were partly or
entirely dependent upon it for whatever achievements they attained.
When Teotihuacan fell, around 650 AD, the unifying force in
Mesoamerica was gone, and with it widespread inter-regional trade.
The Late Classic period saw increasing fractionalization among
cultures. In the place of great states, petty kingdoms and
militarism arose. From the highpoint of civilization at Teotihuacan,
wars became the rule of the day, and for those unfortunate enough to
be captured, sacrifice to the gods. Military empires, such as the
Toltecs in the twelfth century AD (and later the Aztecs, starting in
fourteenth century AD), which grew up from these warring factions
were the cultures met by the Spanish in 1519 and largely eradicated
by 1521.
Probably the reason that the Spanish were able to conquer the
Aztecs in such a short amount of time had less to do with their
skill as soldiers and more to do with the fact that the Spaniards
physically resembled the descriptions in Aztec legends of the god
Quetzalcoatl.
Quetzalcoatl, while symbolized as a feathered serpent, appears
also to have been an historic figure - the man credited with
bringing civilization, learning, culture, the calendar, mathematics,
metallurgy, astronomy, masonry, architecture, productive
agriculture, knowledge of the healing properties of plants, law,
crafts, the arts, and peace to the native people. He is pictured as
a quite different physical type than the natives - fair skinned and
ruddy complexioned, long nosed, and with a long beard. He was said
to have arrived by boat from the east, and sailed off again years
later promising to return someday.
The Pyramid of the Sun, built in the 2nd century AD, dominates
the landscape of the ancient city of Teotihuacan in Mexico.It is the third largest pyramid in the world and the largest in
the Teotihuacan complex.
Image Source:
Mexico and Its Ancient Ruins - PHOTO CD
This
sacred, truncated edifice stood 210 feet high and 650 feet square, a
vast pyramid of rubble, adobe mud, and earth all faced with stone. A
wooden temple on the summit of the pyramid afforded a spectacular
view of the sprawling city below.
The pyramid is
actually a succession of pyramids built one on top the other over
the centuries. The pyramids and many other structures at Teotihuacan
are stepped, rather than smooth sided like the Egyptian pyramids,
and the stones of which they are made are not as large as stones
used to build Egyptian pyramids.
At its peak time - most of Teotihuacan was plastered, and the
pyramids were painted bright red.
Another fascinating feature of some of the pyramidal structures
is that they contain a broad, thick layer of mica, which had to be
brought from Brazil, over 2000 miles away! Mica is very flaky and fragile, yet it was brought in very
large pieces from great distances (and without wheeled vehicles).
Then the mica was used on an inner layer of the pyramid, not where
it could be seen. Why? One characteristic of mica is that it is used
as an insulator in electronic and electrical things. Was that its
purpose here? Another mystery of Teotihuacan.
In 1971, a large cave underneath the Pyramid of the Sun was
discovered which throws light on why the pyramid was constructed,
and perhaps even on why Teotihuacan itself was built where it was.
The cave is actually a natural lava tube enlarged and elaborated
in ancient times. The Teotihuacan Valley is a side valley of the
Valley of Mexico and is one of a number of natural basins in the
midst of an extensive region of volcanoes, therefore, there are many
caves formed from the tubes of old lava flows.
The ancient use of the cave predates the pyramid. Aztec tradition
placed the creation the Sun and Moon, and even the present universe,
at Teotihuacan.
In Pre-Spanish Mexico, such caverns were symbolic wombs from
which gods like the Sun and the Moon, and the ancestors of mankind,
emerged in the mythological past. This is an immensely holy spot and
the memory of its location persisted into Aztec times.
The Pyramid of the Moon
The Moon Pyramid is located at the northern end of the Avenue of
the Dead, which is the main axis of the city. The pyramid, facing
south, was built as the principal monument of the Moon Pyramid
complex.
Image Source:
Mexico and Its Ancient Ruins - PHOTO CD
The five-tiered platform was attached to the front of the
Moon Pyramid. It is said that the present pyramid has interior
structures within it. However, the pyramid still remains as one of
the least understood major monuments in Teotihuacan.
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.
 The
Ciudadela is a huge enclosure located at the geographic center
of the city. It measures about 400 m on a side (i.e. about
160,000 m2), and the interior space is surrounded by four large
platforms surmounted by pyramids.
The main plaza had a capacity of about 100,000 persons
without much crowding (Cowgill 1983). One of the main functions
of this closed huge space may have been ritual performance.
The Feathered Serpent Pyramid was the central pyramid of this
large complex. Adorned with large sculptural heads, it was one
of the most monumental structures in Teotihuacan. A major
portion of the principal facade of the pyramid was later covered
by the Adosada platform; afterward, the Feathered Serpent
Pyramid was not clearly visible to people standing on the main
plaza, as is shown in this photo.
Model of Ciudadela at Teotihuacan. Source:
Wikipedia.org
Mysterious Layout of Teotihuacán
The city of Teotihuacán is meticulously laid out on a grid which
is offset 15º.5 from the cardinal points. Its main avenue, the
"Street of the Dead," runs from 15º.5 east of north to
15º.5 west of south, while its most impressive structure, the
Pyramid of the Sun, is directly oriented to a point 15º.5 north of
west -- the position at which the sun sets on August 13.
There is one very peculiar thing
about the city of Teotihuacan;
It is oriented 15.5 degrees east of True North!*
Click for more detail ( 322KB
)
Teotihuacan satellite photo courtesy
of ©
Space Imaging LLC
Click on the image above to enlarge (1.9MB JPG)
Do not miss this incredible website:
Space Imaging :: Satellite Image Gallery of Ancient Observatories..,
The sitting of the Pyramid of the Moon at the far end of the
avenue was likewise done with such care that a sight-line directly
over the top of the Pyramid of the Sun marks the meridian, thus
allowing the priests of the city to fix the times of noon and
midnight with complete accuracy.
Several attempts had been made to explain the layout of
Teotihuacán by means of astronomy. The only credible solution to
the mystery of the orientation of Teotihuacán (and other
Mesoamerican cities and archaeological sites) is provided by Dr.
Vincent H. Malmström in his 1997 volume, "Cycles
of the Sun, Mysteries of the Moon: The Calendar in Mesoamerican
Civilization" published by the University of Texas Press.
Here (with his permission) is a link to Chapter
5 of his book where he presents the main gist of his argument.
_________________________________________________________
* 15.5 degrees
"misalignment" - Related links:
Geometry of the sunset at Teotihuacan on
Aug 13
The following images are the result of amazing
hi-tech combination of satellite images with program called
The Photographer’s Ephemeris
which shows you the exact direction of where the sunrise
and moonrise will be at any particular location and time using Google
maps.
Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan. Orange line shows sunset on
Aug 13. Click to enlarge.
Image generated by
The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE) -
stephentrainor.com/tools
The
Ciudadela at Teotihuacan. Orange line shows sunset on Aug 13. Click to enlarge.
Image generated by
The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE) -
stephentrainor.com/tools
Don't miss related
example:
Geometry
of the sunset at Chichen Itza on the Vernal Equinox
HOT The
Photographer's Ephemeris
The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE) is a free
application for Mac/Windows/Linux designed for landscape
photographers.
It shows you the exact direction of where the sunrise
and moonrise will be at any particular location and time using
Google maps. Landscape photographers typically wishing to plan their
shoots around the times of sunrise/sunset or twilight, or
alternatively when the moon is in a particular place or a particular
phase. Click on the logo to learn more and download this free
program.
stephentrainor.com/tools
ORIENTATIONS AND
ALIGNMENTS: MARKING TIME IN SPACE
The largest metropolis of the pre-Columbian New
World, Teotihuacán numbered in its heyday perhaps as many as
200,000 inhabitants. It is meticulously laid out on a grid which
is offset 15º.5 from the cardinal points. Thus, its main avenue,
the "Street of the Dead," runs from 15º.5 east of north to 15º.5
west of south, while its most impressive structure, the Pyramid
of the Sun, is directly oriented to a point 15º.5 north of west
-- the position at which the sun sets on August 13. The siting
of the Pyramid of the Moon at the far end of the avenue was
likewise done with such care that a sight-line directly over the
top of the Pyramid of the Sun marks the meridian, thus allowing
the priests of the city to fix the times of noon and midnight
with complete accuracy.
A brief examination of the ephemeris reveales
that the sun passed through the latitude of 14º.8 N on April 30
on its way northward and again on August 13 on its way
southward. That
happens to be the latitude of Izapa, in southernmost Mexico, and
August 13 happens to be the date that the Maya believed the
world began -- and here we find that date commemorated in the
layout of the largest pre-Columbian city ever to be constructed
in the New World, a thousand kilometers and a thousand years
away from where it all began.
A word about solsticial alignments in
Mesoamerica: Even though the region extends through 10 degrees
of latitude -- from about 13 to 23º N -- because it lies so near
the equator, sun angles scarcely differ by more than a degree
across the entire region, in other words, less than could be
distinguished by someone practicing naked-eye astronomy as these
people did. For all intents and purposes, the azimuth of the
summer solstice sunrise can be equated to 65º throughout the
region, or 25º north of east. Similarly, the winter solstice
sunrise can be equated to 115º, or 25º south of east. Sunset
positions on each of these days may be marked against the
corresponding positions along the western horizon -- i.e., 295º,
or 25º north of west for the summer solstice, and 245º, or 25º
south of west for the winter solstice. Naturally, none of the
Mesoamerican peoples reckoned in terms of angles or degrees, so
although we express such measurements in these units, the
alignments which they established were done solely through
repeated observations in the field. It is, however, not
inconceivable that, having once realized what the extreme points
of the sun were, they made a graphic representation of its
limits. If so, the resultant diagram would have approximated a
recumbent cross -- a so-called Saint Andrew's cross -- which
indeed has been recognized as one of the most frequently
repeated artistic motifs used by the Olmecs.
Sometime during its six to eight centuries of existence, La
Venta witnessed the construction of a new series of structures
(the so-called Stirling Complex) near the southern end of its
great plaza. Interestingly, when these structures were first
mapped, they were shown to have deviated some 23º.5 from the
site's axis, which, as we have explained, is aimed 8º west of
north. The fact that this angle corresponds to the inclination
of the earth's axis is probably strictly a coincidence, but in
any case, it means that the walls of the Stirling Complex are
oriented 15º.5 off of the cardinal points. Thus, in a northerly
direction it has an azimuth of 15º.5, in an easterly direction
it faces 105º.5, to the south the azimuth reads 195º.5, and to
the west, 285º.5. Only the latter of these azimuths is of any
interest, because it marks the sunset position on August 13 --
"the day that time began," according to the sacred almanac.
Could this alignment be an architectural "reinforcement" of a
topographic orientation toward Cerro San Martín and/or Cerro
Santa Martha? If so, it could mean that by about 1000 B.C.,
priests at La Venta had come up with a formula for recording
when the zenithal sun was passing overhead at Izapa!
(It should be noted that in a more recent survey of La Venta
carried out by the National Institute for Archaeology and
History [a copy of which is reproduced in Adams, 1991, 56 - 57],
the structures of the Stirling Complex are shown to have the
same axial alignment as the remainder of the site -- i.e., 8º
west of north. If the original survey was in error, naturally
the arguments presented above are no longer valid. However, this
does not invalidate the discussion which follows for how the
"formula" itself was derived.)
In reality, the formula was as simple as it was ingenious.
The problem at San Lorenzo had been that the priests had no way
of knowing when it was August 13, because in their part of the
world the zenithal passage of the sun did not occur on that
date. Thus, they had settled on using one of the solstices
instead, because the date of the sun's turning point was the
same everywhere, they had discovered. Whereas at San Lorenzo
they were obliged to use the winter solstice sunset to calibrate
their calendar, when La Venta was founded it appears that they
could once more think in terms of the summer solstice, as had
originally been done in Izapa. Indeed, the only difference was
that instead of marking the sunrise as they did at Izapa, they
were obliged to use the sunset at La Venta.
Once back in the mental groove of using the summer solstice
to calibrate the secular calendar, it would not have been long
before some priest realized that the beginning date of the
sacred almanac can itself be calibrated by reference to the
summer solstice. In effect, he was recognizing that, if the
solstice occurred on June 22 and the "beginning of time"
occurred on August 13, there was a fixed interval of time
between these two dates. Using our modern calendar to
demonstrate his thought process, we would count 8 days to
complete the month of June, add 31 more for the month of July,
and then count 13 until the sunset of August 13, yielding a
total of 52 days. (For anyone used to thinking in "bundles" of
20's and 13's, what a neat package this was -- 4 rounds of 13
days = 52 days.)
Thus, no matter where one wanted to build a ceremonial
center, one could always find out when it was August 13. All
that was required was to count 52 days from the time that the
sun turns around in the north and mark the horizon at sunset!
Source:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~izapa/CS-MM-Chap.%205.htm
Comparing the Pyramid of the Sun with the Great Pyramid in Egypt
Many scholars outside the established academic circles,
have produced extensive evidence that the precise arrangement,
proportion and alignment of many ancient monuments expresses, at the
very least, advanced and detailed astronomical knowledge well beyond
that with which their builders have been credited.
The Pyramid of the Sun and the Great Pyramid of Egypt are
almost or very nearly equal to one another in base perimeter. The Pyramid of
the Sun is "almost" half the height of the Great Pyramid.
There is a slight difference. The Great Pyramid is 1.03 - times
larger than the base of the Pyramid of the Sun. Conversely, the base
of the Pyramid of the Sun is 97% of the Great Pyramid's base.
The ratio of the base perimeter to the height:
| Great Pyramid |
Pyramid of the Sun |
6.2800001... : 1
(deviates by 0.05 % from the
6.2831853 value for 2 x pi) |
12.560171... : 1
(deviates by 0.05 % from the
12.566371 value for 4 x pi) |
The ratio of their height to the perimeter of their base are both
based on the mathematical ratio 'pi'. The perimeter of the base of
the Pyramid of the Sun is 4pi times its height, whereas the Great
pyramid of Giza's base perimeter is 2pi times its height. The
mathematical ratio 'pi' is based on knowledge of geometry, so the
use of 'pi' implies knowledge of sophisticated mathematics also.
Related links:
As with other ancient cultures, observatories, pyramids and temples were
erected based on celestial alignments.
Prior to the Maya rising to power circa 400 AD in Central America and Mexico,
there is evidence that the Olmec people had already begun to use astronomical
orientations to direct the layout of several ceremonial centers, with the
Pyramids of the New World oriented to observing and predicting the motions of
the Sun and Mon. As with the Egyptians, we can deduce that Mayan astronomical
endeavors, heavily relied upon the ritual and ceremonial worlds of the culture,
however, here we have a wealth of evidence to substantiate such claims. Left
behind are codices, or systems of hieroglyphic recordings of the Maya, and which
include celestial sightings and how these sightings and predictions are woven
into the entire cultural complex.
'The Dresden Codex' has perhaps proved the most fruitful in helping to
recreate the ancient environment, and containing an elaborate calendar used to
record the observations of Venus, which seems to be an object of utmost
importance to them. Working with both a solar calendar and a ritual calendar,
the ancient Maya imparted much meaning in the helical rising of Venus, which is
made evident in the structure of several ceremonial centers throughout the area.
Unlike the Megalithic and Egyptian complexes, scientific observation can be
better deciphered here, because of the elaborate records left behind, and
because of the fact that so many of the deductions the Maya made so closely
resemble recent calculations of the same recorded cycles.
Like the Egyptians, the Maya had devised two calendars, one solar and one
ritual which interacted and depended upon one another for the dictation of
certain ritual events to be carried out. The sky for the Maya was a seeming
personification of Gods and deities who played important roles in the daily
lives of the population. Most significantly, the relationship between the Sun
and Venus (talked about previously in the helical rising, conjunction, phases)
was representative of Kutaikcan, the God of Venus , and "symbolizes the cyclic
myth of departure and return or death and resurrection." (Aveni 1984). In
addition other objects may have been tracked in order to predict certain
'natural' phenomenon in accordance to seasonal changes therefor placing major
importance on the accurate predictions undertaken to better predict the earthly
events thought to be under the control of the Gods.
 A great many structures are indicative of the devotion to and dependence upon
Venus, to the Maya, and can be found in the architecture ceremonial centers
throughout the region. Caracol, at Chichen Itza sits atop a large earthen mound
and is a structure obviously intended for observing Venus at its most extreme
points on the horizon.
Just as famous, is the Governor's Palace at Uxmal, constructed so that it
would center on the helical rising of Venus at its southernmost point during the
eight year cycle it follows. Such an alignment can be further substantiated by
the fact that the Palace deviates from the remainder of the buildings at Uxmal
by twenty degrees, indicating the care taken to insure the sight lines of the
observation windows. The careful planning inherent in the design and building of
such structures is made evident in the precision of their alignments, however
this precision was indispensable to the planning of ritual events and the
prediction of natural processes that so dictated the lives of the Maya.
In Chichen Itza, in Mexico there is a celestial observatory to the stars that
was aligned along the line of the summer and winter solstice. It was built by the
ancient Maya and / or their God Quatzequatl. The western orientation of the Castillo at Chichen Itza faces within a degree
the zenith passage sunset. The east faces sunrise at the time of solar nadir.
The Upper Temple of the Jaguars and the Temple of the Warriors align to the
zenith sunset. The Castillo has 365 steps. The Caracol at Chichen Itza is
recognized as an astronomical observatory (Milbrath 1988). The Caracol has three
Venus alignments, including the building's alignment to the northerly extremes
of Venus. A pair of turret window alignments and a pair of base alignments point
to Venus' western horizon standstills around 1000 A.D. The Caracol's platform,
an irregular rectangle, has a diagonal directed toward the winter solstice
sunset and summer solstice sunrise (Broda 1986). The platform staircase faces
the Venus extreme north position.
Note: The following information about Machu
Picchu courtesy of
SacredSites.com
 Astronomical alignments are also obvious in Peru. One of Machu Picchu's primary functions was that of astronomical observatory.
The Intihuatana stone (meaning 'Hitching Post of the Sun') has been shown to be
a precise indicator of the date of the two equinoxes and other significant
celestial periods. The Intihuatana (also called the Saywa or Sukhanka stone) is
designed to hitch the sun at the two equinoxes, not at the solstice (as is
stated in some tourist literature and new-age books). At midday on March 21st
and September 21st, the sun stands almost directly above the pillar, creating no
shadow at all. At this precise moment the sun "sits with all his might upon the
pillar" and is for a moment "tied" to the rock. At these periods, the Incas held
ceremonies at the stone in which they ?tied the sun? to halt its northward
movement in the sky.
There is also an Intihuatana alignment with the December
solstice (the summer solstice of the southern hemisphere), when at sunset the
sun sinks behind Pumasillo (the Puma's claw), the most sacred mountain of the
western Vilcabamba range, but the shrine itself is primarily equinoctial.
Shamanic legends say that when sensitive persons touch their foreheads to the
stone, the Intihuatana opens one's vision to the spirit world (the author had
such an experience, which is described in detail in Chapter one of Places of
Peace and Power, on the web site, www.sacredsites.com). Intihuatana stones were
the supremely sacred objects of the Inca people and were systematically searched
for and destroyed by the Spaniards. When the Intihuatana stone was broken at an
Inca shrine, the Inca believed that the deities of the place died or departed.
The Spaniards never found Machu Picchu, even though they suspected its
existence, thus the Intihuatana stone and its resident spirits remain in their
original position.
 The mountain top sanctuary fell into disuse and was abandoned
some forty years after the Spanish took Cuzco in 1533. Supply lines linking the
many Inca social centers were disrupted and the great empire came to an end. The
photograph shows the ruins of Machu Picchu in the foreground with the sacred
peak of Wayna Picchu towering behind. Partway down the northern side of Wayna
Picchu is the so-called Temple of the Moon inside a cavern. As with the ruins of
Machu Picchu, there is no archaeological or iconographical evidence to
substantiate the new-age assumption that this cave was a goddess site.
The Intihuatana Stone. Machu Picchu - The Hitching Post of the Sun.
Image courtesy of
SacredSites.com
|
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-
Schwaller de Lubicz, Rene A. The Egyptian
Miracle (Rochester: Inner Traditions International, 1988). To
order this book from Amazon.com, click
here.
-
Schwaller de Lubicz, Rene A. Sacred Science
(Rochester: Inner Traditions International, 1988). To
order this book from Amazon.com, click
here.
-
Schwaller de Lubicz, Rene A., The Temple of
Man. 2 volumes (Rochester: Inner Traditions International, Ltd.,
1998. To order this book
from Amazon.com, click
here.
-
Thompson, D'Arcy Wentworth. On Growth and Form
(New York: Dover Publications, 1992). To
order this book from Amazon.com, click
here.
-
Tompkins, Peter. Mysteries of the Mexican
Pyramids (New York: Harper & Row, 1976). To
order this book from Amazon.com, click
here
-
Tompkins, Peter. Secrets of the Great Pyramid
(New York: Harper Collins, 1971). To
order this book from Amazon.com, click
here.
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National Geographic's Lost Kingdoms of the Maya
VHS
Release Date: April 14, 1997
Run Time: 60 minutes
Long before Columbus, the Maya established one of the
most highly developed civilizations of their time in the
jungles of Mexico and Central America. Yet this advanced
society of priests, astronomers, artisans, and farmers
suddenly and mysteriously collapsed more than a thousand
years ago. Accompany archeologists to Copan, Dos Pilas, and
other spectacular Classic Maya ruins as they unearth
artifacts and huge temples of incredible beauty. Recently
deciphered hieroglyphics and other new discoveries offer
astounding clues to the lives of these ancient people.
You'll hear the startling story of one kingdom's downfall
and its final desperate hours of violent warfare. Through
spine-tingling recreations, witness ancient rituals
reenacted on sites where they originally occurred. And meet
the enduring Maya who still maintain many of their
ancestor's traditions. You'll hear the voices of a
magnificent civilization as you uncover LOST KINGDOMS OF THE
MAYA.
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Secrets of Mayan Science/Religion
Hunbatz Men |
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The
Art of Mesoamerica :
From Olmec to Aztec (World of Art)
Mary Ellen Miller
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Mexico and Its Ancient Ruins - PHOTO CD
Photographs from Mexico include ancient ruins of Teotihuacán,
Chichen Itza and Palenque as well as images of small towns,
magnificent
churches, and a bullfight. This Photo CD contains
50 Royalty Free images: Win/Mac format
.TIF images 9 x 6 inches
at 300 dpi.
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An Introduction to the Study of the Maya Hieroglyphs
by Sylvanus Griswold
Morley, Eric S. Thompson (Designer) |
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Fall of the Aztec and Maya Empires
VHS Release Date: June 22, 1999
Run Time: 65 minutes
When Europe was in
the Dark Ages, great cities were flourishing in Central
America. This video explores how the Aztec and Mayan empires
rose to startling heights and then mysteriously collapsed.
When the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés landed in 1519
in what is today Mexico, he and his soldiers were
dumbfounded by the large cities they encountered. Using
innovative computer graphics, this video shows what the
great Aztec urban centers might have looked like when
Cortés and his men first saw them.
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The Mayan empire, which flourished before the Aztecs, from
approximately 300 to 900 A.D., is also examined in this video,
which pays particular attention to how some Mayan influence
still resonates in contemporary Mexico. The Mayans and Aztecs
developed complex and intelligent societies, and much of their
culture is still mysterious to us, but this video does a good
job of explaining the basic history of who these people were
and how they lived. The video also presents the story of New
Yorker John L. Stephens, who traveled to Central America in
1839 and brought back tales of great pyramids rising out of
the jungle to an astonished public. The history in this video
is intelligent and the technical innovations, such as the
computer-generated lost cities of the Mayans and Aztecs, make
for an enjoyable and interesting presentation.
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