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| Northern Mexico |
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My Brothers at Villahermosa – 294 viewsHere we are in front of the large stele taken from La Venta holding figures of multiple cultures and races. I stand in the white shirt with my three brothers around me.
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Basalt Pillars in La Venta – 277 viewsThe remains of once upright pillars. La Venta was the Olmec culture center, but most pieces and structures have been destroyed due to modern industrialization. Now, the past lays strewn about in fields and burning trees.
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Close Up of La Venta Stele – 338 viewsA close up of this Olmec stele shows the meeting of two cultures. The figure on the left is a native Mesoamerican, but the figure on the right has strong caucassion, Mediterranean features, including a hooked nose and beard. Both figures wear garb of authority.
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Pyramid of the Moon – 280 viewsAt the very end of the Way of the Dead (Sometimes called the Way or Alley of Stars) sits the massive Pyramid of the Moon. With the pyramid of the Sun these two structures form the great temples of the ancient Mesoamerican world.
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Pyramid of Quetzalcuatl – 367 viewsThree major pyramids form the cult center of Teotihuachan: the Pyramid of the Sun, Moon, and the Pyramid of Quetzalcuatl. Every step and level of this pyramid has the plumed serpent figure on it. In between these figures is also the square head of the rain god of Aztec mytholgoy.
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Palace of the Butterfly – 321 viewsA royal palace sitting next to the Pyramid of the moon. The palace has many chambers and columns on which poignant colors, remnants of frescos and paints, still survive.
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Quetzalcuatl: Plumed Serpent – 409 viewsThe had of a serpent surrounded by a crown of feathers is the image of the great Aztec god Quetzalcuatl. According to myth, this white, bearded god, taught the ancient Mesoamerican peoples arts, culture, science, and language, and taught a gospel of peace.
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My Brothers and I Atop the Sun – 321 viewsMy brothers and I stand atop the Pyramid of the Sun. The Pyramid of the Moon can be seen in the background. We entered early in the morning before the crowds where there was a mist still rising from the grounds. The place felt like a gateway between worlds.
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The Place Where Men Became Gods – 324 viewsHere is the great gateway to the upper world. The Pyramid of the Sun is located in Teotihuachan, a Nahuatl word which means "the place where men became gods".
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Pyramid of the Sun, as Viewed from the Way of the Dead – 297 viewsHere the great pyramid of the sun stands in the morning mists. When Cortez first entered this land the entire city was covered by vegetation. The Spanish did not know they were riding by structures and Pyramids.
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Pyramid of the Sun--at the Base – 292 viewsHere stands the megalithic mound to immortality. Note the small dots on the tope are people, giving some perspective to the size of the building.
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Fresco of a Jaguar – 295 viewsIn a buried alcove near the Pyramid of the Sun sits this flaking fresco of a jaguar. The jaguar was worshipped by the Mesoamericans, and its skin was often associated with the power of the gods and of the stars (the spotted skin of the leopard was thought to be an image of the firmament.) Bright red is the dominent color in most mosaics.
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