Teotihuacán: Underworld Study

Patterns of Resource Utilization in Post-Teotihuacán Tunnel Occupations

The System of Tunnels

The existence of underground holes in Teotihuacán is a well-known fact. Heyden (1981) reproduces the glyph of Teotihuacán from the Xólotl Codex in Dibble’s work, which represents the two large pyramids overlying a cave with a person inside. It is likely that this figure refers to the oracles that were frequently located within caves, as indicated in the Relación de Teotihuacán (Soruco 1985: 107). In addition, toponyms such as Oztoyahualco and Oztotícpac make reference to caves.

Former archaeological research in tunnels includes Linné’s (1934) excavations at San Francisco Mazapa; De Terra and Bastien’s (Armillas 1950) exploration of the Calaveras Pit, where 35 human skulls were found; Carmen Cook de Leonard (1952: 49; Millon 1957: 12) at Oztoyahualco; Michael and Elizabeth Goodliffe’s (1963) excavations in four interconnected tunnels in Purificación, with Teotihuacán, Mazapan and Aztec II and III ceramics; Obermeyer’s (1963) excavation of the Huexóctoc Cave in Oxtotícpac; Heyden’s (1973; Heyden 1975; Baker III et al., 1974) study of the tunnel below the Pyramid of the Sun, excavated by Acosta and used during Teotihuacán II times (first to third centuries A.D.) for ritual purposes; Basante’s explorations (1982, 1986) in several tunnels and holes in the valley; and finally Soruco’s exploration (1985, 1991) of a cavity probably for solar observations, located to the southeast of the Pyramid of the Sun, where a basalt stela on an altar displayed a ray of light in its center at the beginning of the summer solstice. In 1994, two other cavities were tested by INAH’s Proyecto Especial 92-94, one of which is a smaller replica of Soruco’s solar observatory (Moragas 1994).

In August 1992, we began the extensive excavation of four tunnels to the east of the Pyramid of the Sun (Manzanilla 1994, 1994b; Manzanilla et al., 1994), to determine the activities present in the tunnels, absolute dating of the contexts, chemical, phytolith, pollen, botanical and faunal macrofossils, together with archaeological analyses. Radiocarbon and obsidian hydration dates have been obtained from primary contexts.

We conclude that the system of tunnels in the Teotihuacán Valley was originally a group of quarries dated to the Patlachique or Tzacualli periods (around A.D. 80), for the extraction of porous volcanic scoria, and are, thus, man-made holes. We rectify, therefore, our previous idea, derived from Heyden (1975) and Millon (1973), that they were natural, because there is no natural phenomenon in volcanic contexts that can produce large or long holes, except lava tubes. And this is certainly not the case.

In the original settlement of the valley consisting of three-temple plazas surrounded conspicuously by dwelling sites–and not a very dense urban site as Millon (1973) originally proposed–the quarry mouths were found very near these pyramid complexes, due to the fact that much construction material was needed for the elevation of the pyramids themselves.

When the plazas of these complexes were built, they seemed to be deliberately disposed on top of the tunnels. We yet do not know whether or not there is a physical communication between these tunnels and the plazas.

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