Then and Now: Pyramid of the Moon, San Martín de las Pirámides, Mexico

So, after the sun pyramid, we'll now check out its sibling before venturing on into the Yucatán peninsula next…

As readers know, my knowledge of Mesoamerindian cultures is quite limited, and when I looked at the Mexican vintage postcards, I was struck by finding the two specimen showing the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, which I actually knew about (however dimly).

Then and Now: Pyramid of the Sun, Teotihuacan, Mexico

When I prepared the above-linked posting, I learned that there was a second such pyramid in Teotihuacan, which I knew nothing about. Hence, onwards to Wikipedia:

The Pyramid of the Moon is the second-largest pyramid in Mesoamerica, after the Pyramid of the Sun, and located in modern-day San Martín de las Pirámides, Mexico. It is found in the western part of the ancient city of Teotihuacan and mimics the contours of the mountain Cerro Gordo, just north of the site. Cerro Gordo may have been called Tenan, which in Nahuatl, means “mother or protective stone”. The Pyramid of the Moon covers a structure older than the Pyramid of the Sun which existed prior to 200 AD.

Isn’t this awesome? Not only did Erich Sonntag collect 1920s picture postcards of the Pyramid of the Sun, but he also had one of that second-largest structure, the Pyramid of the Moon:

Here, too, the exact spot cannot be reproduced with Google Maps (click here), but I think it’s a fair approximation:

Isn’t this awe-inspiring?

Now, it’s also as good a setting-the-stage for our trip to Chichén Itzá, which will be our next stop.