Southern Building

The Southern Building preserves seven superimposed construction stages that reflect the full history of Teotihuacán. Its oldest remains are rooms that existed before the complex was built. Later stages consist of superimposed pyramidal bases facing west, with stairways leading upward to temples at the top. In Substructure 2 are remains of one of these temples and a stairway bordered by low balustrades decorated with green and black concentric circles on a red background. The base has a slope-and-panel style whose mouldings differ from the typical Teotihuacán form. Its panel preserves traces of mural painting with crosses made of superimposed red rectangles outlined in black. Within these crosses are three concentric circles called chalchihuites, representing drops of water or precious things such as green stone. Together the design forms the sign called quincuncen or quinterno, associated with the prehispanic universe’s five directions: the four cardinal points and the center. Of Substructure 1, only traces of a few walls remain. The most recent base, called the South Building, completely covers all earlier constructions and belongs to the city’s last phases, with a single body, sloping walls, and a temple on top.

State of Mexico · Mexico