Spoiler alert: They were neither!
It is possible that your travel agent advised you to go see the “Aztec Pyramids” in Teotihuacan. They might have called them Aztec because it is the easiest way to convey the magnificence and importance of this place in just a few words. After all, the Aztecs and the Mayas are Mexico’s most famous pre-Columbian civilizations worldwide.
However, the Aztecs and the Mayas are far from being the only civilizations. There were hundreds of them! Throughout time and across the territory. In fact, these pyramids were built more than a thousand years before the Aztecs appeared on the stage. And they were likely far more impressed than you might be when they first cast an eye on these solid rock giants. There were no higher or more massive buildings around; the pyramids were to them what the Burj Khalifa or the Petronas Twin Towers are for us today. By the time the Aztecs appeared, the complex had already been abandoned for centuries!
So, who the heck built the Pyramids in Teotihuacan? Archaeologists believe Teotihuacan could have been a multi-ethnic confederation, and that they chose this valley because of its strategic location, controlling trade routes from all four cardinal points. But safety could have been another reason: this spot protected the city from volcanic eruptions. Before the rise of Teotihuacan, an important village named Cuicuilco had been devastated by this phenomenon, and the sacred city of Cholula was continuously threatened by its nearby active volcano. Some archaeologists suggest that the massive size of the pyramids was a direct consequence of the psychological impact these eruptions had on them.
No Shit Trips
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