Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T21:33:54.414Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Dating Results From Excavations in Quarry Tunnels Behind the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2008

Linda Manzanilla ,
Claudia López  and
AnnCorinne Freter
Linda Manzanilla
Affiliation:
Institute de Investigaciones Antropológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cludad Universitaria, 04510México, D.F.
Claudia López
Affiliation:
Institute de Investigaciones Antropológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cludad Universitaria, 04510México, D.F.
AnnCorinne Freter
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In this article we summarize the results of an ongoing project designed to study the tunnels and caves of Teotihuacan, emphasizing those findings derived from the excavation of four extraction tunnels located immediately to the east of the Pyramid of the Sun. In particular, we present radiocarbon and obsidian-hydration dates from the Cueva de las Varillas, where 13 Mazapan-phase burials were found and which has substantial evidence for a post-Teotihuacan occupation. In addition, the Cueva del Pirul has produced evidence of another 14 human burials, which were predominantly children, as well as complete dog skeletons, in a context clearly related to underworld symbolism. After the fall of Teotihuacan, these underground cavities excavated into tezontle continued to provide space for the practitioners of Tlaloc and fertility cult activities. In Aztec times, they were living spaces, and given the lack of space on the surface, this was a function that they served well into the twentieth century.

Type
Special Section: Recent Chronological Research in Central Mexico
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 7 , Issue 2 , Fall 1996 , pp. 245 - 266
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Anderson, Arthur J.O. 1988 A Look into Tlalocan. In Smoke and Mist: Mesoamerican Studies in Memory of Thelma D. Sullivan, edited by Josserand, J.K. and Dakin, K., pp. 151–159. BAR International Series 402i. British Archaeological Reports, Oxford.Google Scholar
Armillas, Pedro 1950 Teotihuacán, Tula y los toltecas. Las culturas post-arcaicas y pre-aztecas del centro de México. Excavaciones y estudios, 1922–1950. Runa 111:37–70. Institute de Antropología, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires.Google Scholar
Arzate, J.A., Flores, L., Chávez, R.E., Barba, L., and Manzanilla, L. 1990 Magnetic Prospecting for Tunnels and Caves in Teotihuacan, México. In Geotechnical, edited by Ward, S.H., pp. 155–162. Geotechnical and Environmental Geophysics, vol. III. Investigations in Geophysics 5. Society for Exploration Geophysicists, Tulsa.Google Scholar
Baker, George T. III, Harlesten, Hugh Jr., Rangel, Alfonso, Wallrath, Matthew, Gaitán, Manuel, and Morales, Alfonso 1974 The Subterranean System of the Sun Pyramid at Teotihuacan: A Physical Description and Hypothetical Reconstruction. Paper presented at the XLI International Congress of Americanists, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Barba, Pingarrón Luis Alberto 1995 Impacto humano en la paleogeografía de Teotihuacan. Ph.D. dissertation in Anthropology, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.Google Scholar
Barba, L.A., Manzanilla, L., Chávez, R., Flores, L., and Arzate, A.J. 1990 Caves and Tunnels at Teotihuacan, México: A Geological Phenomenon of Archaeological Interest. In Archaeological Geology of North America, edited by Lasca, N.P. and Donahue, J., pp. 431–438. Centennial Special 4. Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO.Google Scholar
Basante, Gutiérrez O.R. 1982 Algunas cuevas en Teotihuacan. In Memoria del Proyecto Arqueológico Teotihuacan 80–82, edited by Castro, R. Cabrera, Rodriguez, I., and Morelos, N., pp. 341–354. Colección Científica, Arquelogía 132. Institute Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico.Google Scholar
Basante, Gutiérrez O.R. 1986 Ocupación en cuevas en Teotihuacan. Tesis de licenciatura en Arqueología, Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico.Google Scholar
Brady, James E., and Stone, Andrea 1986 Naj Tunich: Entrance to the Maya Underworld. Archaeology 39(6): 18–25.Google Scholar
Brady, James E., and Veni, George 1992 Man-Made and Pseudo-Karst Caves: The Implication of Subsurface Features Within Maya Centers. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal 1:149–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Broda, Johanna 1982 Astronomy, Cosmovisión, and Ideology in Pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica. In Ethnoastronomy and Archaeo-astronomy in the American Tropics, edited by Aveni, A.F. and Urton, G., pp. 81–110. Annals of the New York Academy of Science 385. New York.Google Scholar
Broda, Johanna 1987 Templo Mayor as Ritual Space. In the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan: Center and Periphery in the Aztec World, edited by Broda, J., Carrasco, D., and Moctezuma, E. Mates, pp. 61–123. University of California Press, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Chávez, R., Arzate, J., Flores, L., Manzanilla, L., and Barba, L. 1988 Estudio geofísico de las cuevas y túneles de Teotihuacan. Serie Investigación No. 78. Instituto de Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.Google Scholar
Chávez, René E., Manzanilla, Linda, Peralta, Nayeli, Tejero, Andrés, Cifuentes, Gerardo, and Barba, Luis 1994 Estudio magnético y de resistividad en los alrededores de la Pirámide del Sol, Teotihuacan, Mexico. Geofisica Internacional 33:243–255. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.Google Scholar
Cobean, Robert H. 1990 La cerámica de Tula, Hidalgo. Colección Científica No. 215. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico.Google Scholar
Cook de Leonard, Carmen 1952 Notas del interior. Teotihuacan. Tlatoani I(3–4):49. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico.Google Scholar
Dibble, Charles E. 1951 Códice Xólotl. Publicaciones del Instituto de Historia, primera serie No. 22. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.Google Scholar
Freidel, David, Schele, Linda, and Parker, Joy 1993 Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman's Path. William Morrow, New York.Google Scholar
Freter, AnnCorinne 1993 Obsidian-Hydration Dating: Its Past, Present, and Future Application in Mesoamerica. Ancient Mesoamerica 4:285–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Good, Kenneth, and Obermeyer, Gerald 1986 Excavations at Oxtotipac (TT82). In The Toltec Period Occupation of the Valley. Part 1. Excavations and Ceramics, edited by Sanders, William T., pp. 195–265. The Teotihuacan Valley Project Final Report No. 4, Occasional Papers in Anthropology No. 13. Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Google Scholar
Goodliffe, Michael, and Goodliffe, Elizabeth 1963 Informe manuscrite. Departamento de Prehistoria, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico.Google Scholar
Heyden, Doris 1973 Un Chicomóstoc en Teotihuacan? La cueva bajo la Pirámide del Sol. Baletín 6(época II):3–18. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico.Google Scholar
Heyden, Doris 1975 An Interpretation of the Cave Underneath the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, Mexico. American Antiquity 40:131–147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heyden, Doris 1981 Caves, Gods, and Myths: World Views and Planning in Teotihuacan. In Mesoamerican Sites and World Views, edited by Benson, Elizabeth P., pp. 1–39. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Knab, Timothy J. 1991 Geografía del inframundo. Estudios de Cultura Náhuatl 21:31–57. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.Google Scholar
Koehler, Thomas H. 1986 Excavations at Maquixco Bajo (TT25A). In The Toltec Period Occupation of the Valley. Part 1. Excavations and Ceramics, edited by Sanders, William T., pp. 7–51. The Teotihuacan Valley Project Final Report No. 4, Occasional Papers in Anthropology No. 13. Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Google Scholar
Linné, Sigvald 1934 Archaeological Researches at Teotihuacan, Mexico. New Series, Publication No. 1. Victor Pettersons Bokindustriaktiebolag, Ethnographical Museum of Sweden, Stockholm.Google Scholar
López, Austin Alfredo 1989 1. La historia de Teotihuacan. Teotihuacan, pp. 13–35. Citicorp/ Citibank, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Manzanilla, Linda 1993 Macro Proyecto Xochicalco: Subproyecto Estudio de los túneles y cuevas de Xochicalco. Technical report. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico.Google Scholar
Manzanilla, Linda 1994a Geografía sagrada e inframundo en Teotihuacan. Antropológicas 11:53–65. Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.Google Scholar
Manzanilla, Linda 1994b Las cuevas en el mundo mesoamericano. Ciencias 36:59–66. Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.Google Scholar
Manzanilla, Linda, and Tapia, Emily McClung de 1996 Patterns of Resource Utilization in Post-Teotihuacan Tunnel Occupations. Paper presented at the 61st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, New Orleans.Google Scholar
Manzanilla, L., Barba, L., Chávez, R., Arzate, J., and Flores, L. 1989 El inframundo de Teotihuacan. Geofísica y Arqueología. Ciencia y Desarrollo XV(85):21–35. Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia, Mexico.Google Scholar
Manzanilla, L., Barba, L., Chávez, R., Tejero, A., Cifuentes, G., and Peralta, N. 1994 Caves and Geophysics: An Approximation to the Underworld of Teotihuacan, Mexico. Archaeometry 36:141–157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mendoza, Vicente T. 1962 El plano o mundo inferior, Mictlan, Xibalbá, Nith y Hel. Estudios de Cultura Náhuatl 111:75–99. Instituto de Historia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.Google Scholar
Michels, Joseph 1986 Hydration Rate Constants for Cerro de Las Navajas Obsidian, Hidalgo, Mexico. MOHLAB Technical Report No. 6. State College, PA.Google Scholar
Millon, René 1957 Teotihuacan. Scientific American 216(6):38–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Millon, René 1973 The Teotihuacan Map. Text. Urbanization at Teotihuacan, Mexico, pt. 1. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Millon, René, Drewitt, Bruce, and Bennyhoff, James A. 1965 The Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacán: 1959 Investigations. Transactions (n.s.) 55(6). American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Moragas, Segura Natalia 1994 Salvamento arqueológico en la Puerto 5: Cueva II-Cueva III-Cala II. Marzo 1993-Octubre 1993. Informe técnico, Proyecto Especial 1992–1994. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico.Google Scholar
Nichols, Deborah, and McCullough, John 1986 Excavations at Xometla (TT21). In The Toltec Period Occupation of the Valley. Pan 1. Excavations and Ceramics, edited by Sanders, William T., pp. 53–193. The Teotihuacan Valley Project Final Report No. 4, Occasional Papers in Anthropology No. 13. Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Google Scholar
Obermayer, Gerald 1963 A Stratigraphic Trench and Settlement Pattern Survey at Oxtotipac, Mexico. Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Google Scholar
Paso, y Troncoso Francisco del 1979 Papeles de Nueva España. Segunda Serie: Geografía y Estadística, Relaciones Geográficas de la Diócesis de México. Editorial Cosmos, Mexico.Google Scholar
Rattray, Evelyn Childs 1975 Some Clarifications on the Early Teotihuacan Ceramic Sequence. In Actas del XLI Congreso Internacional de Americanistas, vol. 1, pp. 364–368. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico.Google Scholar
Rattray, Evelyn Childs 1981 The Teotihuacan Ceramic Chronology. Early Tzacualli to Metepec Phases. Manuscript on file, Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas de la UNAM, Mexico.Google Scholar
Rattray, Evelyn Childs 1991 Fechamientos por radiocarbono en Teotihuacan. Arqueología 6:3–18. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico.Google Scholar
Soruco, Saenz E. 1985 Una cueva ceremonial en Teotihuacan. Unpublished Master's thesis, Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico.Google Scholar
Soruco, Saenz E. 1991 Una cueva ceremonial en Teotihuacan y sus implicaciones astronómicas religiosas. In Arqueoastronomía y etnoastronomía en Mesoamérica, edited by Broda, J., Iwaniszewski, S., and Maupomé, L., pp. 291–296. Universidad Nacional de Autónoma de México, Mexico.Google Scholar
Spranz, Bodo 1973 El Preclásico en la arqueología del proyecto Puebla-Tlaxcala. Comunicaciones 7:63–64. (Primer Simposio 29 enero-2 febrero 1973), Fundación Alemana para la Investigación Científica, Puebla, Mexico.Google Scholar
Sullivan, Thelma D. 1965 A Prayer to Tláloc. Estudios de Cultura Náhuatl V:39–55. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.Google Scholar
Taube, Karl A. 1986 The Teotihuacan Cave of Origin. Res 12:51–82.Google Scholar
Tobriner, Stephen 1972 The Fertile Mountain: An Investigation of Cerro Gordo's Importance to the Town Plan and Iconography of Teotihuacan. In Teotihuacan. XI Mesa Redonda, pp. 103–115. Sociedad Mexicana de Antropología, Mexico.Google Scholar
Townsend, Richard F. 1993 Paisaje y símbolo. In La antigua América. El arte de los parajes sagrados, edited by Townsend, R.F., pp. 29–47. Grupo Azabache (Art Institute of Chicago), Mexico.Google Scholar
Weitlaner, Roberto, and Leonard, Juan 1959 De la cueva al palacio. In Esplendor del México antiguo, pp. 933–956. Centro de Investigaciones Antropológicas de México, Mexico.Google Scholar