5/5 AndresRafael S. 3 years ago on Google
Temple
Pyramid
in
Hidalgo
State,
Mexico.
Sacred
to
the
Feathered
Serpent
God,
known
as
Quetzalcoatl
by
Nahuatl
speakers
in
the
later
Post
Classical
era,
this
temple
is
the
heart
of
the
Ciudadela,
a
rectangular
plaza
surrounded
by
low
temple
platforms.
The
Ciudadela
[Citadel]
was
built
at
a
later
date
than
the
Pyramids
of
the
Sun
and
Moon
to
the
northeast.
It
is
sited
on
the
"Street
of
the
Dead"
and
a
the
major
cross
street,
and
is
the
center
of
the
quartered
ancient
city,
ca.
300
AD.
The
large
plazas
around
these
structures
are
thought
to
have
been
a
major
marketplace.
However,
the
structures
surrounding
the
Temple
of
the
Feathered
Serpent
may
have
well
been
constructed
to
shield
ceremonies
from
the
city
just
outside
the
Ciudadela
boundaries.
The
inner
plaza
is
still
very
large,
and
could
have
accommodated
thousands
of
spectators
and
participants.
The
temple
itself
was
created
in
at
least
two
stages,
as
a
larger
temple
(dating
to
~100
to
200
AD)
has
had
an
additional
structure
built
over
on
its
west
side
(~300AD).
The
remains
of
red
frescoes
can
be
seen
at
the
base
of
the
pyramid.
A
facade
of
tiers
of
cut
and
originally
painted
stone
around
the
sides
of
the
temple
are
of
feathered
serpents,
serpents
and
conch
shells.
The
temple
shows
some
of
the
earliest
representations
of
the
Feathered
Serpent,
which
appears
throughout
Mesoamerica
in
different
cultures
and
eras.
(There
are
no
representations
of
the
feathered
serpent
as
anthropomorphic,
as
the
much
later
Aztecs
sometimes
depicted
the
god.)
In
the
1980's
archaeologists
found
the
remains
of
120
people
within
the
temple
foundations,
apparently
placed
there
as
sacrificial
offerings
at
the
start
of
construction.
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