Teotihuacan @ de Young

Teotihuacan was one of the largest mesoamerican cities, and is the most-visited archaeological sites in Mexico. Its depth of culture, symbols, artesania have intrigued historians, and have left us to clues as to how the ancient epicenter functioned. 

You don’t need a passport to dig in deep to its history -- at de Young museum in SF, they’re hosting exhibit, Teotihuacan: City of Water, City of Fire through February.

The exhibit focuses on the site’s three main pyramids: Pyramid of the Sun, Pyramid of the Moon and the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent. A series of offerings, discoveries and artifacts that were excavated as recently as 2003 are on display. Visitors can get an up-close look of the handwork of people of the time, using mediums of obsidian and jade, to name a few. Artifacts from Teotihuacan’s ancient apartment complexes, such as ceramics and murals, will also be on display.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the exhibition is artifacts found from tunnel archaeologists found underneath the pyramids, established before the mammoth projects to their deities were complete. The ancient peoples used all available elements to their advantage, going as far as to cover the tunnel walls with dust of pyrite to (perhaps) create a cosmic underground. Offerings were found in the tunnel, as well as shells from the Gulf of Mexico.

The pre-Aztec state of Teotihuacan collapsed 1,500 years ago, but the remnants left in the 8-square mile city leave us clues to what life could possibly be like. De Young Museum’s exhibit allows visitors to get a better grasp of the city with interactive computer renderings.

De Young Museum is located in Golden Gate Park in the Tea Garden. Tickets for this exhibit run up to $28 and are available for pre-purchase here. The exhibit will be on display until Feb. 11.