The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1889-04-06
TEOTIIlUACAN
AN INTERESTING CITY OF TIL: ABo-
RlGlNES IN MEXICO.

Sun and Moon \ Great City Under
Ground The Toltecs We're builders SUI
pcrior to Their Successors.
The ruins known by the name of Teotihua
can are found situated twenty five miles to
the northeast of the City of Mexico The
line,l extension which the ruins of the
grand T"ltec city occupy is from north to
south two miles and half and from east to
west mile and thrce-quartcrS To the
north of the great city is encountered trun
Gated pyramid, rectangular, squared to the
points of the compass. an,l known as the
Pyramid of the Moon In the Aztec language
it is called "Metztl ltzarual &" South of it.
II, u distance of 4,uDO feet. is found another
Pyramid of the Sun, or "Tonatiuh Itzacual. "
Its base measures from north to south sou
feet, and from east to west tt;6 feet Its per
pcnlirular height is 22l feet.
The two pyramids are united by straight
street which starts from the circular plaza
at the south side of the Pyramid of the Moon,
and which loses itself i'll the barranca south
the Pyramid of the Sun Latest measure,
mcnts make the base of the Pyramid of the
Moon about 450 feet square and its height l37
feet The Pyramid of the Sun is $50 feet
square at the base and is about S5 feet high
The permeter of tho city is limited on the
south 10y ruined edilicc which was erected
on two low terraces Its extreme height is
about meters lrhc meter is 3!,,3t;s inches
Ii has the form of rcctanglc. whose longer
side measures GAN, meters ald the shorter side
om meters On the upper terrace arc found
the ruins of buildings buried beneath the
rubbish. This singular edilicc has received
the name of 1.-The Citadel"
WONDERFUL BUILDERS.
These immense mounds, these colossal pyra.
nids are our most ancient records of the eX.
lstcnre OF the Toltcr race, Notwithstanding
It's domain throughout tho American cont.
ncnt alnost-lrft in the places where it
dwelt immrishable mcmcntors of its great
hess. These pyramids. remains of IL primitive
civilization. demonstrate not only the per
severance which must have characterized
that race but show also that it possessed the
powerful means necessary for handling lh,
immense alocks of volcanic stone with whirl,
tho pyramids were constructed To this day
even the ulcniis which those builders made
use of i'll their work is unknown "'roItrc' i.
an Aztec word meaning builder" One of
the ;rrnttst factors "n which they counted
must certainly have ncn time Another was
doubtless the willing Labor ni thousands. of
the fai'itui Ii seems very probable tia, tho
pyramids were constructed little by little
the work tn:'lnning. wr may say. with Il
snail central pyramid. or core. which con
timuHl I" grow with successive layers OF rock
AMI rarlh"ork until it reached the .limcn
slons 1t preserves to-day
Other ruins are found scattered over tho
extensive plain in which these two great
pyrani'S nrr situated. and these ruins custi
tuled the great city which is today fnlln,
buried lcm,"t. its own rubbish These rum
are found IN the character of the littl,
mounds, varying from ten to fifteen meter
in height
The street or avenue which unitcs tile twt
pyramids isralrl the Road of the Dead
or. in Aztec, Mircontl 1t is twenty meter
in with Along its entire length parallel Il
it on l";;l si'lrs scSist terraces constructed %
cement ri;:y and broken lava 'tczontle, face,
With coating of mortar or plaster highl,
polished and painted rcd and white
Til" ha arlicd French explorer Desire Char
nay, removed the rubbish from one Of th,
largest of the mounds on one side OF thi.
"lsoal of the Dead, and discovered Il palace
with various small rooms, two large halls and
six pil;lsters, which probably served aScoumn:
for tho support of the roof
In the year lSSG made an excavation il
the mound found there two poyrllrolnt
frcScocs painted on the walls of the building
laid bare
1t i, truly wonderful and almost incompre
hensiblc how tho destruction of that gram
city was accomplished Was 1t by an earth
quaict Or was it by the hands of those who
themselves had built it who, fleeing befor,
the invasion of the barharolls tribes from the
north, and with the hope of returning som.
day, Jealous Of the respect and venerutior
With i!itihtsti 10 protect them from The nrof.
'anation Of the sacrileeituss If dlis iast
con3sssdrp DltbSrect. thu ssss.'a qt I,rsgfss
these tenir'les WIS as great as thai of con
Struggling ,betn ,Onlyaby personal. I. sisit. n
the place can one appreciate she ,yiEAqf1
nature OF The task, ! ain inclined t01saks
lief that the Toltec city was nterred sby III
hand Of fnan hase my opinion upon "a
eart fhdt in'thc excavations made I f6lint
the roofs of the houses that uncovered per
lectly preserved. and my attention wa
called to the fact that the interior of tn
rooms was in every case filled with stone
nettly fitting into the spaces, and joined on
with another by u clayish cement, and form
ing thus compact mass which ! had to TAX
to pieces and remove with much care in orde
to avoid injurinS the mural decorations
If a good method is observed and the rub
bisb carefully removed. here will hc fount
one of the most interesting cities in the entir
world of archaeology
THEORIES ABOUT TIE RUINS
The judgment that have been able t,
form respecting the ruins of Tcotihuacan
the following The pyramids are nothing
but two greut tcocalls or temples erected t
two 'rotec divinities The primitive form
of these temples was pyramilul Each pyra
mid consisted of five bodies or terraces dimin
lshing in size until the height ot sixty eigh
one Of its sides u stairway two meters il
width-thc steps being twenty centinetcrs il
height Each stairway makes five turns ol
'ziGzafs and led to the sanctuary or Shrn,
on the summit containing the idols to whom
worship was rendered The outer surface o
the pyramids. and perhaps the interior a!
well was plaetrrci over with mortar ol
lime I.r'l and smoith. and decorated with
poycnronlc trcaocs which represented re
lSio-l:istorical events and scenes
Near the Pyramid of the Noon is seer
anlon, the rubbish Il nunolthc statue of co
lossal dimensions. wLirh represents the figur,
of woman with the neck a,lorucd with follI
strings OF heads. and u head dress of the char
actcri.tr form qucrquemitl This sphinx
is commonly known Us the Sacriticial Stone
This very inappropriate name was born of G
phanta>y prroccupieL with the traditions oi
human sacrifices aul,-uy the Aztecs since 1t i.
known that the 'ioltecs never made human
sacrifices nor offered the cntrails of their fel
low beings to their gods, 4nr.tAs contrary
the offerings which they hofs 70 their templal
we're thr products Of ii !, earth, q. for, a.
ample, flowers seeds, fruia NH ioually
birds. l't3s ,tll't3sts 5 sa'is2sI1 80
The Toltec race was emincntly religion!
and artistic, but not warlike. In the e1cava
tons no arms nor any objects indicative d
war we're found. .-t;itv Of Mexico Two Es
publics.