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WATCH FOR FALLING PRICES AT THE PYRAMID OF THE SUN September 20, 2004 Susan Bates

Time, it is said, is a never ending spiral. Civilizations rise and fall - leaving little trace of the cities and villages where people once lived and died. Only the top layers of these civilizations are available for us to study. The uncovered artifacts are like puzzle pieces we try to put together in hopes of seeing the whole picture. One such puzzle is Teotihuacán, located in the Mexican highlands. One hundred years before Jesus was born, while Europeans were slogging through the Dark Ages, Mayan craftsmen began to build the giant pyramids, temples and observatories that lay along the Avenue of the Dead. Beautiful paintings and works of art graced the magnificent structures. Before they had the wheel, Mayans were importing huge slabs of delicate mica from Brazil, 2000 miles away, which they used to line the insides of some of the pyramids. The reason for this is not known for sure, but theories abound as mica is a good electrical insulator, Sacred Teotihuacán shone like a jewel in the lush jungle. Within a few centuries, Teotihuacán had mushroomed into a metropolis of perhaps 200,000 people. Huge apartment complexes housed the upper class while farmers and laborers lived in rock and wood cottages near the fringes of the city. Above all stood the 'Pyramid of the Sun', which rose 210 feet above the jungle floor and was 650 feet square, A wooden temple on the top of the pyramid presented a breathtaking view of both the city and surrounding jungle. Teotihuacán was the Holy City for countless people of the Americas who came there to worship and practice the sacred ceremonies. But by 650 AD, despite of all of its wealth and technology, the city was virtually abandoned - it's buildings burned, the inhabitants scattered and it's lush vegetation gone. It is thought that wars and sudden climate changes, perhaps like we're experiencing today, played a critical role in Teotihuacán's decline. Still, some of the ancient temples survive. And the 7,000 or so descendants of the Ancient Maya remember their sacred stories that are told in the paintings inside the temples. Stories of Quetzalcoatl, the fair skinned god - man who came from the east by boat and brought the people knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, agriculture, herbal medicine, law, and countless other aspects of civilization. Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent who promised his people that he would return one day and bring Peace with him. But time marches on. Things change. According to an article written by Mark Stevenson for the Associated Press, there will soon be a Wal-Mart owned discount store next door to the Pyramid of the Sun. Even though the Wal-Mart company has agreed to build their Bodega Aurrera store to minimize visual impact from the pyramid, some opposition is being raised in support of the market stalls and mom and pop shopkeepers who will not be able to compete with the discount giant. What will happen to them? Such is progress. The people in that area are very poor. They deserve to watch out for falling prices like the rest of us. And who knows? Perhaps when Quetzalcoatl does return, he'll be welcomed by a Wal-Mart greeter! <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

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