Ancient Mesoamerica

Table of Contents - 1991 - Volume 2, Issue 01  

Special Section: Urban Archaeology at Teotihuacan

The Temple of Quetzalcoatl at Teotihuacan: Its Possible Ideological Significance

Alfredo López Austina1, Leonardo López Lujána2 and Saburo Sugiyamaa3

a1 Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas, and Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de, México

a2 Proyecto Templo Mayor/Subdirección de Estudios Arqueológicos, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México

a3 Department of Anthropology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402, USA, and Proyecto Templo de Quetzalcóatl, Teotihuacan, México

Abstract

In this article the significance of Teotihuacan's most sumptuous monument is studied: the Temple of Quetzalcoatl. Based on iconographie studies, together with the results of recent archaeological excavations, it is possible to deduce that the building was dedicated to the myth of the origin of time and calendric succession. The sculptures on its facades represent the Feathered Serpent at the moment of the creation. The Feathered Serpent bears the complex headdress of Cipactli, symbol of time, on his body. The archaeological materials discovered coincide with iconographie data and with this interpretation. Other monuments in Mesoamerica are also apparently consecrated in honor of this same myth and portray similar symbolism.