Ciudadella temple sacrifices: 137 documented victims from across Mesoamerica

October 15, 2026MexicoGeneralShare

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Key facts

• The Ciudadela ('citadel') is a huge walled precinct of surrounding platforms, at the city's southern end
• The Temple of the Feathered Serpent inside it was constructed between 150 and 250 CE and originally carried some 300 to 400 alternating sculptures
• Its dedicatory program involved an estimated 200 to 260 sacrificed individuals, of whom 137 are archaeologically documented and were deposited before pyramid construction began
• Oxygen isotope analysis of the victims indicates they came from several distinct regions of Mesoamerica; most had spent significant time in Teotihuacan, long enough for bone composition to reflect a local diet
• The video says this pattern suggests the victims may have been high-status captives or foreign dignitaries rather than local residents
• The Adosada platform was built in front of the temple around 350 CE, a century after the temple, covering its original western facade; the excavated original facade shows feathered serpents in profile with mollusks and conch shells, with flower medallions interpreted by scholars as mirrors
• After the city's center was sacked and burned in the mid-6th century, attackers destroyed the serpent sculptures on the three sides not covered by the Adosada and desecrated three of the monument's burial chambers
• In 2003 Mexican archaeologists discovered a tunnel running from the center of the Ciudadela toward the Temple of the Feathered Serpent; research indicates it was created around 100 CE, before the temple, and its entrance was sealed with large boulders nearly 2,000 years ago
• The tunnel walls sparkled with embedded pyrite and ended in a spacious chamber holding seashells, cat bones, pottery, human skin fragments, necklaces, rings, wood and figurines; four greenstone figures found there may represent legendary founding ancestors
• The diverted San Juan River ran beside the Ciudadela, and water was channeled beneath it into a central pit

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