---
title: "The Mystery of Teotihuacan Unveiled: Scientists Prove Existence of Ancient Writing and Identify the City's Language"
description: "Scientists from Denmark have proven the existence of writing in the ancient city of Teotihuacan. 🏛️ By solving the mystery of the symbols, they identified the language of the inhabitants as a predecessor of the Nahuatl language. This discovery changes the perception of Aztec migration and the history of Mesoamerica. 📜🔍"
date: 2026-07-16T05:14:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/mystery-of-teotihuacan-unveiled-scientists-prove-existence-of-ancient-writing
tags: [teotihuacan, copernicus-university, magnus-faro-hansen, christoph-helmke, mesoamerica]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# The Mystery of Teotihuacan Unveiled: Scientists Prove Existence of Ancient Writing and Identify the City's Language

![Ancient stone relief depicting a deity in Teotihuacan, symbolizing the mysterious script recently deciphered by scientists](https://xab.info/media/2026/07/16/tayna-teotiuakana-raskryta-uchenyie-dokazali-sushchestvovanie-pismennosti/tayna-teotiuakana-raskryta-uchenyie-dokazali-sushchestvovanie-pismennosti-1.webp)

In the world of archaeology and linguistics, an event has occurred that could overturn our understanding of ancient Mesoamerican history. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have proposed a compelling explanation for the mysterious symbols found in the ruins of the metropolis of Teotihuacan. If their hypothesis is ultimately confirmed, it will become one of the main proofs that a full-fledged writing system existed in one of the greatest cities of antiquity.

### The Enigma of the Great Metropolis

Teotihuacan, founded around 100 BCE, was a true giant of the ancient world. Until its decline around 600 CE, the city remained a key cultural and economic center of the region. At the height of its prosperity, it was home to up to 125,000 people, making it one of the largest cities of that time.

For a long time, historians were unable to accurately determine the ethnic and linguistic affiliation of the majority of the inhabitants. Although it was previously proven that certain districts were inhabited by representatives of the Maya civilization, the question of the language of the bulk of the population remained a subject of sharp debate. The status of the graphic symbols found on frescoes and ceramics was also unclear: were they a systematic writing system or merely decorative ornamentation?

### Breakthrough by Danish Linguists

Answers to these questions were provided by scientists Magnus Faurholt Hansen and Christophe Helmke. After analyzing preserved frescoes and decorated ceramics, they proved that the symbols of Teotihuacan record spoken speech. The researchers identified this language as a predecessor of modern indigenous languages of Mexico — Cora, Huichol, and Nahuatl.

This discovery radically changes established historical narratives. Previously, the prevailing opinion in science was that the Aztecs migrated to central Mexico only after the destruction of Teotihuacan. New linguistic data suggests that groups of Nahuatl speakers were present in the region much earlier and may have been the direct descendants of the city's founders.

### The Method of Synchronous Speech

The key to the solution was a unique technique applied by Danish linguists. Helmke noted that attempts to read ancient hieroglyphs using the modern Nahuatl language are ineffective due to significant changes in speech structure over the millennia. To read accurately, it was necessary to fix the historical pronunciation of words in the then Uto-Aztecan language.

Scientists were the first to apply synchronous historical speech for deciphering. It was experimentally proven that certain logograms had a fixed phonetic value and were used outside their main semantic context. This confirms that we are dealing with writing, not just drawings.

### Research Prospects

The developed methodology will serve as a basis for further research in the region. Currently, the authors are continuing their work in two directions: expanding the reconstruction of speech and using it to translate inscriptions. The main limitation at this stage remains the small number of available text fragments.

However, scientists are counting on new discoveries. A significant part of the city's ceramics and frescoes has not yet been excavated, and subsequent archaeological excavations may provide data that finally confirms the hypothesis of ancient Teotihuacan writing.