Teotihuacan in brief
Teotihuacan lies about 40 kilometres northeast of Mexico City, in a high valley. It flourished between about 100 BC and 550 AD, and its centre is laid out on a grid, with a central road, the Avenue of the Dead, which runs for at least 2 kilometres (some give 4). At its peak, around 400 to 500 AD, its population was perhaps 100,000 or more. UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site in 1987.
The name was given by the Aztecs, who found the ruins about a thousand years later, and means “the place where the gods were created” in Nahuatl. The name of the city for its own people is unknown, and so is the main language of its people.
The main buildings
- Pyramid of the Sun. About 65 metres high and 220 metres on each side, the largest building in the city, built in about 200 AD. A cave runs beneath it.
- Pyramid of the Moon. At the north end of the avenue, with a plaza in front, where excavations have found sacrificial burials with offerings.
- The Citadel and the Temple of the Feathered Serpent. A large enclosure with a temple, decorated with carved serpent heads. Excavations in the 1980s and 1990s found the remains of more than 100 sacrificed people buried in the foundation, many with their hands tied behind them, and dressed as warriors. In 2003 a tunnel was found beneath the temple, containing thousands of offerings.
- Apartment compounds. Thousands of walled residential units, where families lived together, many with painted walls. Murals such as those of Tepantitla show scenes of rain, water and paradise.
A cosmopolitan city
The city was a centre for making and trading green obsidian, from nearby mines. It had craft districts, and districts where foreigners lived, such as people from Oaxaca and the Maya area. Teotihuacan’s influence is seen as far as the Maya city of Tikal, which was affected by an arrival of people from Teotihuacan, in 378 AD.
Decline
Around 550 AD the ceremonial centre was burned, and statues were smashed. Whether this was an uprising, an invasion, or a response to drought or famine is not known. The city continued as a smaller place for some time, and then the site was largely abandoned.
Why it matters
Teotihuacan shows that planned cities of huge size existed in the Americas well before the Aztecs, with sophisticated art and architecture. It remains a puzzle, because there is no written record in its own voice.
Visiting
Teotihuacan is a one-day trip from Mexico City, with a museum and walkways. Rules about climbing the pyramids change, and some structures are closed. Early arrival avoids the heat and crowds. See also Chichén Itzá.
Sources
- Cowgill, G. L. (2015). Ancient Teotihuacan: Early Urbanism in Central Mexico. Cambridge University Press.
- Sugiyama, S. (2005). Human Sacrifice, Militarism, and Rulership: Materialization of State Ideology at the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, Teotihuacan. Cambridge University Press.
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Pre-Hispanic City of Teotihuacan.