Teotihuacan, “the place where the men are converted into gods”, flourished from the first our era’s first century on, reached its splendour around the year 500 and  descendet from the year 800 on. These years coincide with the development, height and declination of the Mayan culture, 1000 kilometer further to the east. Both cultures knew about the existence of the other and influenced themselves mutually, but both developed certain systems of architecture, writing and social life.

In the prehispanic beliefs the only form of seeng the faces of the gods was through masks and the priests by putting a mask on their facees incorporated the spirit of the deity, who they represented. The Teotihuacan masks, some in normal size (22-C) and other in miniatures (22-D), differ in their style and character of the face from the other masks found in the Mesoamerican areas.

Classic elements of the Teotihuacan art are the little human figures (22-A) with gradual hairdo on the head, the representations of butterlies (22-E) and the conical pyramids (22-B). (H. Castellanos)