Facts About the Pyramid of the Sun

The Pyramid of the Sun is one of the most famous pyramids of the ancient Mesoamerica region, an area that is now part of Mexico. When the pyramid was built in Teotihuacan, the city was one of the largest in Mesoamerica, with about 100,000 people.

The Mexican city of Teotihuacan and the Pyramid of the Moon were built along with the Pyramid of the Sun between 1 A.D. and 250 A.D. The pyramid was discovered in the early 1900's. In the early 1970's, a cave was discovered under the Pyramid of the Sun, leading down a long corridor to a room with artifacts. The artifacts suggest the room was used as a religious shrine before the pyramid was built.

Mexican folklore says the two pyramids, the Pyramid of the Moon and the Pyramid of the Sun, were built to honor the birth of the sun and moon gods. To honor the gods, priests were said to perform daily ceremonies at the pyramids. The location of the pyramid and its design are thought represent the three levels of their cosmos: celestial, terrestrial and subterranean.

The base of the pyramid is square, with each side measuring about 730 ft. and rising to 200 ft. Five tiers are placed around on the pyramid, and a staircase leads up the west wall. Although the Pyramid of the Sun was probably made of plaster and painted red, both the color and plaster are now gone and the pyramid is stone-colored. The University of Minnesota, Mankato, suggests the pyramid was built primarily of rubble, with abode bricks put on the surface and covered with cobblestone. Of the two pyramids at Teotihuacan, the Pyramid of the Sun is the taller.

Not only is the Pyramid of the Sun one of the most significant historical pieces in the Mesoamerica region, it is also the third-largest pyramid in the world. To the Aztecs, according to DifferentWorld, the city of Teotihuacan “was a holy place, where the sun, moon and universe were created.” The location of the Pyramid of the Sun, built over a religiously significant cave system, led the city of Teotihuacan to be a religious and economic hub in the area.