Teotihuacan Lost Kings Analysis

WEEK THREE READING RESPONSE

“Teotihuacan’s Lost Kings – Secrets of the Dead,” PBS Documentary Teotihuacan, “the place where gods were created,” located in the highlands about 50 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of modern-day Mexico City, was one of the most remarkable cities and largest urban centers of the ancient world with at least 25,000 inhabitants. Constructed and likely settle as early as 400 B.C., this ancient metropolis is characterized by the enormous size of its architectural monuments, in particular the temple of Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent, and the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, which are carefully laid out on geometric and symbolic principles, as well as, sacred traditions. The city used to cover more than 20 square

But despite the many decades of research since the city was discovered, not much is known about the long- lost Teotihuacan society. “Teotihuacan’s Lost Kings – Secrets of the Dead” is a film which documents an archeological station on a journey into a mysterious world, and exploration of the hidden tunnels beneath the ancient city of Teotihuacan, where scientists will finally find answers that explain who these mysterious people were. After decades of research, scientists have come to the conclusion that the key to understanding this civilization most mysterious sites may be all in the water. Discovered by accident, excavations at Teotihuacan led to finding multiple canals and cavities similar to pools beneath the city and under the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent, suggesting that the whole city was an aquatic sanctuary consecrated to worship of water. Ms. Ortega, an archaeologist with Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, has concluded “Water is the true protagonist of Teotihuacan. If there was a city in the ancient world where water was worshiped, it was

The mysterious and intriguing Olmec civilization began approximately 1200 B.C. more than 1,500 years before the Maya’s, and prospered until 400 B.C. and is considered by many scientist as an influential culture for all the subsequent Mesoamerican cultures such as the Maya and the Aztecs. Nevertheless, the Olmec civilization generates anxiety due to all the mysteries that are buried in time. Scientist still do not know what they called themselves, as “Olmec” was the Aztec name which meant “Rubber people.” Due to the lack of archeological evidence to indicate their ethnic origins and exact settlement period. However, the Olmecs codify and record (a form of writing system still undeciphered) their gods and religious practices using symbols, although the precise significance of this record is jet unknown. The Olmec were undisputed masters of the early stone carving. They created stone works as scultures, large bas-reliefs, monumental architecture stepped pyramids, large-scale funerary features, and many other forms, more than 200 massive pieces have been documented in the low-lying river valleys of southern Veracruz and Tabasco. Most of these Olmec stone masterpieces were carved from giant basalt boulders founded in the volcanic uplands near the Tuxtlas Mountains, and then