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When was the Sun Pyramid Built? Maintaining the Status Quo at Teotihuacan, Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Rebecca Sload
Rebecca Sload*
Affiliation:
P.O. Box 5022, Andover, MA 01810-9993, ([email protected])
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Abstract

The traditional view based on ceramics is that construction of the Sun Pyramid at Teotihuacan commenced in the first century A .D. Likewise, radiocarbon dates from the artificial cave beneath the Pyramid indicate that it was created at about the same lime. Both Pyramid and cave are seen as having a role in the founding of the city. Recent excavation inside the Pyramid produced radiocarbon dates that cluster in the mid-third century A.D. Members of the Sun Pyramid Project interpreted the dates as representing initial construction of the structure, moving it significantly later in time than previously thought. They also reinterpreted the dates for the construction of the cave, making it contemporaneous with the revised Pyramid construction. This paper adds radiocarbon dates from the cave to the original set and employs Bayesian analysis. The initial interpretation is supported: the dates reflect a cycle of cave creation through termination that began in the midfirst century and lasted about 200 years. I interpret the dates from the Pyramid as reflecting ritual associated with cave termination and a concomitant redefinition of the Pyramid that involved architectural modifications and tunneling. Pyramid and cave dates are reconciled with each other, with ceramics, and with the ceramic chronology. The traditional timing of first century Pyramid construction is maintained, along with its social, political, and economic implications.

Resumen

Resumen

Los estudios tradicionales basados en la cerámica han determinado que la construcción de la Pirámide del Sol de Teotihuacán comenzó alrededor del siglo uno d.C. De la misma manera, losfechados radiocarbónicos de la cueva artificial ubicada debajo de la pirámide indican que dicha cueva fue construida contemporáneamente a la pirámide. Se considera que ambas jugaron un rol importante en la formación de la ciudad. Las excavaciones recientes dentro de la pirámide han arrojado fechados radiocarbónicos correspondientes a mediados del siglo tres. El Proyecto Pirámide de Sol interpretó estos fechados como el inicio de la construcción de la pirámide, modificando lo previamente establecido. El Proyecto Pirámide también reinterpretó los fechados obtenidos en la cueva y concluyó que estos son del mismo periodo que los nuevos resultadospreviamente mencionados. En este artículo se presenta un conjunto más completo de fechados radiocarbónicos obtenidos a partir de muestras adquiridas de la cueva y se analizan los datos utilizando una inferencia bayesiana.Los resultados de dicho análisis apoyan la interpretación original: los fechados indican que el ciclo de creación, uso y terminación de la cueva comenzó a mediados del siglo uno y duró aproximadamente 200 aňos. Los fechados obtenidos en la pirámide se interpretan como momentos que representan los rituales de terminación de la cueva y la contemporánea redefinición de la pirámide, la cual incluyó modificaciones arquitectónicas, así como la excavación de túneles. De esa forma, los fechados de la pirámide y de la cueva se concilian entre sá, con las cerámicas y con la cronología cerámica. El tiempo de inicio de construcción de la pirámide en el siglo uno se mantiene, junto con las implicaciones sociales, políticas y económicas.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , June 2015 , pp. 221 - 241
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2015

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References

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