[Aztlan] FORWARD FROM MATTHEW ROBB

[michael ruggeri]

> René Millon summarized much of the data surrounding the cave under  
> the Pyramid of the Sun in his 1981 essay, "Teotihuacan: State,  
> Society, and Civilization for the HMAI ("Supplement 1"). I quote  
> some passages here:
>
> "New evidence has come from the accidental discovery in 1971 or  
> earlier of a cave 100m long, running in an easterly direction 6m  
> beneath the Pyramid of the Sun. Its entrance is in the center of  
> the pyramid's central staircase, only the first three steps of  
> which remain (Heyden 1973, 1975; Baker et al. 1974)."
>
> Millon goes on to state that the cave "is a natural formation  
> within the lava flow (Heyden 195:131), but its form was altered by  
> the Teotihuacanos . . . " and was used throughout the Tzacualli  
> phase (ca. 1st century AD). Numerous barriers (17-19) had been  
> erected through the length of the tunnel. The data surrounding  
> these barriers and various materials found in the chambers formed  
> by them is sadly lacking, but what information there is pointed to  
> use through to the 2nd century.
>
> Apparently relying on (Baker et al. 1974), Millon describes Jorge  
> Acosta's fairly extensive excavations in the central chamber -  
> "reportedly down to bedrock, 1.8 m below the cave floor at its  
> deepest point." A great deal of evidence suggests that whatever  
> rituals surrounded this cave/tunnel involved water management  
> (drainage stones, fish bones). Sadly, Acosta died before he could  
> publish this data.
>
> Thus ends my extremely brief summary of this portion of Millon's  
> extremely good essay.
>
> As far as I know, the earliest 'official' publication of the tunnel  
> was Doris
> Heyden's 1973 write up for INAH's Boletin. I do not have a copy handy
> and would welcome a description. If anyone has a copy of the Baker  
> et al 1974 report that could potentially also be very informative.  
> I would imagine that there might have
> been press coverage as well. I had always heard the tunnel was
> discovered accidentally as part of the installation of the luz y  
> sonido
> program but have never been able to confirm this rumor.
>
> I do not think that there are two separate tunnel/caves under the  
> Pyramid of the Sun. As Kim noted, the 'natural' cave with  
> 'artificial' modifications that Millon and Heyden described is now  
> understood as entirely the product of human labor and not a natural  
> formation at all (Ivan Sprjac's 2000 essay may be the most  
> accessible reference for this & has the refs to Linda Manzanilla's  
> project; see below).
>
> Matthew Robb
>
>
>     * Astronomical Alignments at Teotihuacan, Mexico
>     * Author(s): Ivan Šprajc
>     * Source: Latin American Antiquity, Vol. 11, No. 4  (Dec.,  
> 2000), pp. 403-415
>     * Publisher: Society for American Archaeology
>     * Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/972004
>