Teotihuacán - Street of the Dead

(Local Name: Calle de los Muertos) Beyond the Unidad Cultural is the 4km/2.5mi long and 45 m (148 ft) wide main street "Miccaotli", erroneously called the "Street of the Dead" (Calle de los Muertos), which runs in a north-south direction from the moon pyramid. On crossing the street an impressive rectangular site is reached, surrounded by four platforms, known as the citadel (ciudadela). It is assumed that this was a place of worship and a dwelling-place for the priests and rulers. The ciudadela is a fine example of what is for Teotihuacán a style which recurs again and again, the talud-tablero style (sloping wall/sheer wall), with in this case the sheer part with its framed panels predominating. Frames and panels used to be covered with a thick layer of stucco, which was itself covered with colourful frescos. The talud-tablero style of building was borrowed in other pre-Columbian places (Monte Albán, Xochicalco, Kaminaljuyú, Tula, etc.), usually in a slightly altered form.