A team of archaeologists guided by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) has clarified the function of the Pyramid of the Moon in Teotihuacan, an ancient city located about 50 kilometers from Mexico City. The findings were published on INAH’s official site, presenting new evidence about one of pre-Columbian America’s most impressive monuments.
Teotihuacan prospered roughly between 100 and 800 CE, at a time when the city is believed to have housed nearly 100,000 residents. The Pyramid of the Moon, towering at about 42 meters, stands among the largest structures from that era in the Americas, a testament to the scale and organization of Teotihuacan society.
The research involved extensive measurements that showed the northeastern corner of the Moon pyramid aligns with the sunrise at the summer solstice, as seen from the vantage point of El Sijuingo volcano. This solar alignment indicates that celestial events were woven into the city’s planning and ritual life long before the Aztec era.
Further analysis revealed that the southwestern corner aligns with the sunset behind the same mountain during the winter solstice. Such solar markers suggest deliberate design choices that connected the pyramid with the sun’s annual journey, reinforcing the site’s cosmological significance for its builders.
According to the researchers, the pyramid’s solar orientation influenced the broader layout of Teotihuacan. The city’s streets, plazas, and major structures appear to echo these celestial cues, implying that the builders used astronomical alignments to organize urban space and social activity across the urban landscape.
Scholars note that the structure known as the Moon Pyramid earned its name from later Aztec inhabitants who encountered Teotihuacan’s remains after the city’s decline. The original builders did not leave a record of what the monument itself was called, so the name reflects later interpretations rather than a surviving label from Teotihuacan’s own residents.
In related discoveries, researchers have continued to uncover features that deepen understanding of Teotihuacan’s urban design, religious practices, and engineering capabilities. The new findings about the Moon pyramid complement existing knowledge about ceremonial architecture and the role of celestial observation in daily life at Teotihuacan, offering a richer picture of how an ancient metropolis organized time, space, and ritual around the sun and the cosmos.