Pyramid of the Sun
Teotihuacan civilization · San Juan Teotihuacán, Mexico · 100
The Pyramid of the Sun is the largest monumental structure at Teotihuacán and one of the defining works of ancient Mesoamerican urbanism. Its enormous stepped mass sits alongside the Avenue of the Dead and establishes a powerful relationship with the surrounding mountains and ceremonial landscape. The first major construction phase dates to roughly the early second century CE, with later enlargement and alteration. Its architecture is best understood as part of a planned city in which monumental scale, procession and cosmic orientation shaped collective space.