pre-Columbian Mesoamericans did not use horses as beasts
of burden, basalt stone was moved solely by human eff ort
from the neighboring Tuxtla Mountains. Basalt, therefore,
would have been used only for elite buildings or other monu-
ments of particular sociopolitical importance.
Th roughout pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, civilizations
also engaged in what is commonly referred to as an ancient
ballgame, which was played on a large, outdoor rectangular
court, with high walls along either side. Th e ball was made
of rubber, which was abundant along the Gulf Coast. An an-
cient example of what is believed to have been a ball court
remains at San Lorenzo.
Th e Olmec city of La Venta rose in prominence with the
decline of San Lorenzo and had a relatively large population
until its own decline. Th e city’s layout seems to have been di-
vided into two halves, partitioned by the Central Plaza. As
ritual practice was central to Mesoamerican public life, it
is likely that the Central Plaza was the site of such practice
and was therefore the heart of Olmec life at La Venta. Th e
city’s most impressive monument is the Great Pyramid (also
known as Complex C), a stepped pyramid located near the
Central Plaza. Rising about 105 feet above the ground, the
Great Pyramid is larger and refl ects more impressive engi-
neering than other monuments of its era. Archaeologists have
not determined its purpose, though scholars have put forth
at least two possibilities. First, the building may be a funeral
monument, storing remains or off erings (similar to the pyra-
mids of the ancient Egyptians). Second, the pyramid might
have served as a site for ritualistic ceremony. Th is theory is
supported by the discovery of two several-ton, monolithic
thrones on the south side of the building. Archaeologists also
found other stone monuments near these thrones, which at
some point were intentionally destroyed and buried in a ritu-
alistic act.
Another signifi cant discovery at La Venta was Tomb
A, which was made of basalt stone carved into numerous
six-foot-tall columns. Th ese were then arranged tightly like
dominoes. Marking the entrance to the tomb were fi ve more
columns that leaned diagonally against the horizontal stones.
Packed mud and fl agstones covered the earthen fl oor inside
the tomb. Beneath the fl agstones were burial off erings.
Other architectural complexes at La Venta contain simi-
lar mounds and plazas whose functions remain unknown, as
well as a ball court, ruler residences, ritual areas, and stone
monuments. Th e Olmec remain largely mysterious to cur-
rent-day scholars; many of their buildings, sculptures, and
monuments were damaged or destroyed during the civiliza-
tion’s downfall, and all have been vulnerable to several mil-
lennia of erosion in the Gulf Coast’s tropical climate.
TEOTIHUACÁN
Teotihuacán was the largest, most powerful city in pre-Co-
lumbian Mesoamerica. It was located in the Teotihuacán
Valley, about 25 miles from modern-day Mexico City, and
covered eight square miles. Its population was perhaps as
much as 200,000 people during its peak, placing it among the
top 10 largest cities in the world during its time. Teotihuacán
was occupied to a degree during the Early Preclassic Period
(1800–1200 b.c.e.), but the bulk of its building activity oc-
curred centuries later. Teotihuacán’s greatest structures were
completed before 300 c.e. (the Classic Period), contemporary
with the early Maya. Surrounding its central structures were
living compounds of varying sizes.
Teotihuacán was designed on a grid system, the cen-
terpiece of which was the Avenue of the Dead, a boulevard
extending several miles across the city. Much city planning,
especially that of the Avenue of the Dead, probably took place
between 150 and 200 c.e. Th e Pyramid of the Moon stands
at one end of the Avenue of the Dead, against the backdrop
of the inactive Cerro Gordo volcano. Its position in front of
the volcano is strategic, as its massive presence (700 feet long
and 200 feet tall) echoes that of the Cerro Gordo, suggesting
a spiritual relationship between man-made structures and
the land. Many Mesoamerican pyramids were designed to
imitate the natural form of mountains. Th e Pyramid of the
Moon, which was rebuilt several times during the era of Teo-
tihuacán, also has at its base evidence of another pyramid as
well as an open courtyard.
Teotihuacán’s oldest structure, the Pyramid of the Sun
(constructed between about 50 and 125 c.e.), is located along
the eastern side of the Avenue of the Dead. One of the largest
structures in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica at over 200 feet
tall, the Pyramid of the Sun has fi ve levels and an enormous
staircase. Builders constructed the pyramid in several phases,
the second of which was around 225 c.e. Th e pyramid was
built over a cave that had been formed by a lava tube; the cave
is 330 feet in length (with portions enlarged by human eff ort)
and located 20 feet beneath the pyramid. Th e cave’s fl oor was
covered with basalt stones and its walls with mud. Inside the
caves archaeologists have discovered U-shaped troughs simi-
lar to the aqueducts at San Lorenzo and which likely served
a similar purpose. Caves are extremely important in pre-Co-
lumbian Mesoamerican origin myth, so the Pyramid of the
Sun’s location is particularly signifi cant and would have been
directly linked to religious practice in the city. It was arguably
the religious and sociopolitical heart of the city—the most
important building in Teotihuacán.
At the other end of the Avenue of the Dead, 2 miles
south of the Pyramid of the Moon, is the Ciudadela com-
plex, constructed in about 150–300 c.e. Th e Ciudadela’s plaza
is roughly 144,000 square feet, and it houses the relatively
small Temple of the Feathered Serpent. Th is temple is distin-
guished primarily by its talud-tablero construction, a style of
architecture that is characterized by a system of sloping and
vertical surfaces. Archaeologists have speculated that the ta-
lud-tablero method of construction may have been developed
several centuries earlier in nearby Tlaxcala, where talud-
tablero buildings have been dated to 300–100 b.c.e. While
Teotihuacán’s architectural infl uence has been widely notedarchitecture: The Americas 83