About 35 miles north and east of Mexico City are the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. The Sun Pyramid is over 200 ft tall, and the Moon is 130 ft tall. Both were built in the early centuries AD by the Teotihuacan people. They seemed to come to age around 100 BC and grew from a settlement of thousands to more than 100,000 by the seventh century AD.
The ethnicity of the Teotihuacan (Teo – ta – WE can) people is unclear, but it is clear that the Aztec civilization came much later, not before or during the rise of Teotihuacan. Evidence exists of many cultures, like ancient Rome, including Mayan, Otomi, Zapotec and Nahua. Also the Totonacs of eastern Mexico claim lineage, but could just as well be influenced from the rise of Teotihuacan culture.
Scientific observations have been recorded earlier than 1700 for the city, with major modern exploration becoming quite routine by 1900. This contrasts to the recent discoveries of the Mayan city of El Mirador, with La Danta which may be over 230 ft tall. El Mirador dates back to 600 BCE, is in Guatemala and was known to exist in the jungles of the region as early as 1926. As recently as 2009 CNN reporter Brooke Baldwin brought video to television of evidence of what was said to be an area with ‘thousands of pyramids.’ Modern satellite evidence of Mayan mounds and pyramid in the jungles of Guatemala lead scientists to believe that more study is needed.
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