Location: The Temple of the Sun is located at Teotihuacán, Mexico

Description:

The Temple of the Sun at Teotihuacán, Mexico, was built between AD 50 and 200. It is made of layers of clay faced with stone, and stands about 61m (200 ft) high. In the center, flights of stairs ascend to a spot on the top where a temple to the sun god Uitzilopochtli originally stood. The site is oriented to the sun’s passage on summer solstice.

The Temple of the Sun is a kind of step pyramid, composed of horizontal layers or slices of pyramids of diminishing size. A small dwelling for the god was once at the top. The later Temple of the Moon is more fully articulated than that of the Sun, carrying a series of richly sculptured bands around its base, both pyramids could be ascended by monumental staircases.

History:

In what is now Mexico and the countries immediately to the south, The Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon at Teotihuacán (a city that flourished during the 1st millennium AD) show the development of this typical Middle American form.