Teotihuacan

The Teotihuacan culture built these magnificent monuments starting around 100 BC and ending around 250 AD. A city of 250,000 people encircled this central ceremonial center. The major monuments were sacked and systematically burned around 550 AD. 600 years later the Aztecs discovered a deserted city sliding into ruin.

This residence of the elite survived with some of its original plaster and carved columns intact.

Courtyard of the Pillars 

Standing atop the Pyramid of the Moon

Looking south down the Avenue of the Dead to the Pyramid of the Sun. The platforms along each side are thought to have been crowned with homes for the elite. 

Notice that some of the rocks have small stones embedded in the mortar around them. Archeologists do this to indicate that this area has been reconstructed.

At the south end of the Avenue of the Dead are a series of shallow reservoirs 

The 216 foot high Pyramid of the Sun. 

The pyramid was coated in plaster and painted. Red and green were popular colors. The stones protruding out of the surface held the plaster in place.

Atop the Pyramid of the Sun.