Are There Aztec Pyramids Hidden Underwater in Wisconsin?

In southeastern Wisconsin lies Rock Lake, once known by its ancient name, Tyranena, which means “sparkling waters”. Here natives tell of a “foreign tribe”, who built stone structures and effigy mounds that now lie underwater. In 1900, a pair of duck hunters were paddling their boat when one of the men’s oars hit what appeared to be the top of one of three pyramids near the center of the lake. Since the “discovery”, many theories exist as to who or what led to the creation of the pyramids, with glacier movement depositing the rocks being the most plausible. However, a more fantastical theory, one where the Aztecs are attributed as the builders stands out.

To make things more interesting, the locals also tell of a Loch Ness Monster-type cryptid that inhabits the lake known as Rocky, guardian of the pyramids. While much like its Scottish counterpart, no one has ever come up with physical proof of the monster a few divers have reported sightings while exploring the murky, weed-filled depths, and others who have not, often claim to have an uneasy feeling as if they are being watched.

A short background of the Aztecs

The Aztecs emerged in central Mexico in the early 1300s. A warrior civilization that often conquered nearby tribes. Their villages consisted of large central markets and pyramids, using walls to separate different classes, the elite on one side and the common people on another.

Tenochtitlan, their capital city stood where Mexico City is today and was said by early explorers to have been five times the size of London. Human and animal sacrifices were commonplace, in the hopes of guaranteeing a good harvest.

So how do the pyramids in Wisconsin tie to a civilization that came from central Mexico?

The theory behind the Aztecs being the builders of Rock Lake’s pyramids is based on the idea that the Aztec civilization actually originated in the US and eventually migrated into Mexico, taking direction from their god Huitzilopochtli, to head south until they saw an eagle on top of a cactus devouring a snake. There they built their empire and not the other way around. This idea largely stems from a map from the Treaty of Hidalgo – one of the last times the Aztec’s American origins were mentioned in print, which placed the ancient home of the Aztecs in the American southwest. Yet another older map suggests their origin to be the Great Salt Lake region.

Remnants of a civilization that shares many characteristics of the Aztec society and architecture are also located in Wisconsin, three miles east of Rock Lake. The location is named Aztlán, the Aztec word for their mythical homeland, which translates to “place of egrets” or “place of whiteness”. Although researchers debate the idea of Aztlán having actually been built by the Aztecs, it does put forth the idea that the civilization who built Aztlán may have migrated through the southwest US and later became the Aztecs of Mexico.

Source: www.history.com