Teotihuacan is a mysterious abandoned city located 50 km northeast of Mexico City. The name translates as "the place where the gods were born" or "city of the gods."
The age of this city is calculated for thousands of years, but it has not yet been possible to establish the exact date of its construction, although it is undoubtedly the oldest city in the Western Hemisphere. According to rough estimates, the area of the settlement was 27 square meters. km, and the population is at least 200 thousand people.
The layout of Teotihuacan is an extensive network of streets exactly perpendicular to the central avenue. Around the center were adobe dwellings closely spaced to each other, forming separate city quarters, with narrow streets and blank walls of houses.
All houses were one-story, without windows and had a flat roof. The only source of air and light was the entrance, which necessarily overlooked the open-air courtyard.
It is worth paying tribute to the skill of the ancient builders, since the idea of such a complex stone structure in those days caused a lot of problems associated with the technologies of processing and laying stone. But the accuracy of the calculations and the quality of construction allowed this creation to stand to this day.
In Teotihuacan, spiritual aspects were highly valued and the ministry was an indispensable part of the generally accepted order. This conclusion can be drawn from the home altars that were located even in the poorest dwellings.
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The city's mythology and art reflect the rich spirituality of its inhabitants. Everyday life was closely associated with several deities, and a special place among them was assigned to Quetzalcoatl, the god personifying a giant snake covered with bird feathers.
During its heyday, Teotihuacan exerted a significant cultural influence over much of Mesoamerica. Teotihuacan pottery and figurines are found from northern Mexico to the mountains of Guatemala and from the Pacific coast to the Gulf of Mexico.
During the era of its power, Teotihuacan controlled the central highlands of Mexico and maintained contacts with the centers of neighboring civilizations - Oaxaca, Monte Alban and the Mayan city-states.
The city was abandoned in the 7th century for completely unclear reasons. The Aztecs who came here much later found only majestic ruins. The reason why residents abandoned their city during the period of its prosperity has not left historians alone for many decades.
The third-party invasion hypothesis is popular. The city was badly destroyed, all caches and tombs were plundered, and the revered statues were desecrated or broken. But some researchers oppose this version, since no traces of violence or rebellion were found.
In the depths of one of the pyramids of Teotihuacan, archaeologists have found a room with the remains of 12 human bodies. All of them had their hands tied behind their backs, and 10 of them were decapitated and spread out in a circle, possibly symbolizing the rays of the sun.
The other two victims were likely to have high positions in society, as they were neatly planted against the wall and wore jade jewelry, including necklaces that mimic human jaws.
The inhabitants of the city believed in the power of occult rituals and sacrifices. According to one of the legends, a sacred child was born in the city, which became a symbol of the fact that Teotihuacan had to be left before the next new moon in order not to incur the wrath of the gods. What really happened - we can only guess …