mexico/016_pyramid_of_the_sun.JPG

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The Pyramid of the Sun at the archeological site of Teotihuacan, about 25 miles northeast of Mexico City. Teotihuacan arose around 200 BC. At its height, Teotihuacan is thought to have been the sixth largest city in the world, with an estimated population of between 125,000 and 200,000.

The Pyramid of the Sun covers about the same area as the Egyptian Great Pyramid of Giza, but is only about half as tall. The city was sacked and burned between 600 and 650 AD, possibly by the Toltecs, who invaded the region long before the Aztecs formed their empire. The city had been in ruins for hundreds of years by the time the Aztecs arrived on the scene. I was told that both the Aztecs and Spanish believed the city to have been built by a race of giants.