Solar alignment at Teotihuacan, City of the Gods

The city of Teotihuacan, Mexico, settled in the 2nd Century BCE, was ancient when the Aztecs found its ruins. They named it 'place of the creation of the gods'.

The entrance of a ritual cave there was aligned to a point on the western skyline where the sun set on August 12 and April 29. These days are separated by day counts of 260 and 105 (making 365 in all). The ancient Mesoamerican system had a 260-day ritual calendar and a 365-day standard calendar.

The same horizon position is the setting point of the Pleiades, the star cluster that makes its initial annual appearance on the first of two days each year when the noon sun passes directly overhead at the latitude of Teotihuacan ...

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Categories: aztec, mexico, calendar-customs