Archaeology of Teotihuacan, Mexico
Almost
all of the walls used in the construction-cell system were roughly made,
unfaced, and placed directly on the surface of the leveled tepetate that
underlies the pyramid. Oriented north-south and east-west, the cells formed
by the intersection of these walls were somewhat irregular. Examples of
individual wall-surfaces face both inward and outward with respect to core
of the pyramid. This suggests that the construction of the lowest levels
of the nucleus did not always proceed from the center outward, but may
have begun simultaneously from several spots, continuing both outward and
inward until the core was complete. 
One
of the distinctive features of the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, unknown at
Teotihuacan before the 1980s, was the integration of a mass-sacrificial
burial complex into its construction system. Five cases were discovered
by our tunnel operations in the core of the pyramid, and more burials remain
untouched inside. Two stone cysts, designated Grave 2 and Grave 4, were
found, respectively, 10 and 13.5 meters north of the south facade of the
pyramid. Each of these structures consisted of a long, shallow, rectangular
pit further delineated by four roughly-made walls (Photo shows inside view
of Grave 4 after the fill was removed).
Two
burials of a different type were found in the looters' tunnel. They were
also originally integrated in the core-formation of the pyramid. Both consisted
of a square pit, somewhat deeper than that previously described (photo:
pit for Grave 12; wood structure is to protect workers), but with rounded
corners and no formal wall structure. One of these (Grave
12) was located near the center of the pyramid, while the other
(Grave 13), somewhat larger and
deeper, was located on the east-west axis of the pyramid. Although significantly
disturbed by looters, stratigraphic evidence and materials recovered from
the pits indicate that they were used for multiple human interments. Mortuary
activities associated with these pits must have been carried out at a very
early stage of pyramid construction.
The
central burial (Grave 14), excavated
as part of the tunnel operation, was distinct from the others in several
respects. It may have been the first of the sacrificial burials to have
been carried out, and the event which initiated the construction of the
pyramid core. Twenty individuals with exceptionally rich offerings were
laid directly on the leveled tepetate surface without a pit or surrounding
walls (See Grave 14 for more detailed
information).
In
addition to data about construction cells, graves, and fill deposits, our
tunnel operation also documented a series of wooden post-molds, some still
exhibiting the remains of actual posts driven into the leveled tepetate.
All of the data described above suggest the systematic preparation of a
solid internal structure for a monumental building, required in order to
support the heavy weight of external sculptural facades and the surmounting
temple. The construction program, beginning with this formation of the
internal structure, was completed by the preparation of the facades, and
the construction of the temple with its own complicated sculptural program
(Iconography of the Feathered Serpent
Pyramid). 