Research Shows Animals, Rituals and People Defined Teotihuacán

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Research Shows Animals, Rituals and People Defined Teotihuacán
Pyramid of the Moon, Teotihuacan, Mexico
Pyramid of the Moon, Teotihuacan, Mexico. Credit: tamara semina / CC BY-SA 3.0

Researchers in Mexico uncovered nearly 200 animal remains beneath the Moon Pyramid in Teotihuacán, offering new insights into ancient rituals from 2,000 years ago. The discovery, part of a study led by anthropologist Nawa Sugiyama, sheds light on how animals, people and rituals played symbolic and ceremonial roles in Teotihuacán.

The findings are detailed in Sugiyama’s book, Animal Matter: Ritual, Place, and Sovereignty at the Moon Pyramid of Teotihuacán, published by Oxford University Press. Teotihuacán, located about 30 miles northeast of Mexico City, thrived between 100 BC and 650 AD. At its peak it was home to an estimated 100,000 people and served as a cultural and religious hub. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage site and remains a cornerstone of Mesoamerican history.

Four chambers beneath the Moon Pyramid

Sugiyama’s team discovered four chambers beneath the Moon Pyramid, including Burial 6, the largest of the dedicatory chambers. Measuring approximately 16 feet by 14 feet, the chamber contained the remains 12 humans and over 100 animals, with 33 skeletons preserved intact.

This site is believed to represent one of the most significant examples of mass animal sacrifice in Teotihuacán, rivaling rituals later performed by the Aztecs.

Animals uncovered in the burial included golden eagles, Mexican gray wolves, jaguars, pumas, hawks, owls, falcons and rattlesnakes. Many were apex predators—top hunters in the food chain—symbolizing power and connection to the natural world.

Symbolism and scientific analysis of animal remains

“That’s really interesting from the zooarchaeology standpoint because there’s a fundamental shift in the ways we know Indigenous communities understood these potent apex predators as active agents and mediators of the sky realm, the earth, and the underworld,” Sugiyama said.

“They were also in conversation with and interacting, sometimes in very dangerous ways, with the human communities that were trying to make connections to—and have power over—these natural sources of power themselves.”

Researchers examined the remains using advanced scientific methods, uncovering details such as the animals’ ages, diets, and whether they were sacrificed alive or after death. A key finding was the presence of maize, or corn, in their diets.

Corn, a staple food in Mesoamerica, held deep cultural significance, as many believed humans were created from maize. This connection reinforced its role in religious ceremonies.

Golden eagles and ceremonial spectacles

Burial 6 likely served as a public ritual event staged by the state. Sugiyama suggests thousands of spectators may have witnessed the ceremonies, which featured the symbolic sacrifice of animals as part of efforts to reshape the city’s political and ceremonial landscape.

Among the most striking discoveries were 18 golden eagles, representing the 18 months of Teotihuacán’s 365-day calendar. Sugiyama envisions officials carrying the eagles—alive and in captivity—along the Avenue of the Dead, Teotihuacán’s main ceremonial corridor, leading to the Moon Pyramid.

“I don’t think it’s a mere coincidence, they were part of that process of creating a new politics, a new landscape, in which animals and humans coordinated one of the most ambitious ceremonial landscape constructions in ancient Mesoamerica,” Sugiyama said.

The findings underscore the profound connections between humans and nature in Teotihuacán’s culture, offering a vivid glimpse into the beliefs and practices of a once-thriving civilization.

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