Teotihuacán

From Freepedia

Teotihuacán was the largest Pre-Columbian known city in the Americas, and the name Teotihuacán is used to refer to the civilization this city dominated, which at its greatest extent included most of Mesoamerica.

The city was located in what is now the San Juan Teotihuacán municipality, in the State of México, Mexico, approximately 40 km (about 25 miles) northeast of Mexico City, which covers a total surface area of 82.66 km² and, in the year 2000 census, reported a population of 44,653. ( Latitude 19°41'N, Longitude 98°51'W )

There is archaelogical evidence that Teotihuacán had been a multi-ethnic place, with distinct Zapotec, Mixtec, Maya and what seems to be Nahua quarters, for example. The Totonacs have always maintained that they were the ones who built it, a story that was corroborated later by the Aztecs. The city was also anciently referred to as Tollan, a name also used centuries later for the Toltec capital of Tula (Tollan Xicocotitlan in Nahuatl).

Contents 1 Archaeological site 2 See also 3 External links 4 Further reading

Archaeological site

Teotihuacán is a Nahuatl name, meaning "city of the gods." According to legend this was where the Gods gathered to plan the creation of man.

Construction of Teotihuacán commenced around 300 BC, with the Pyramid of the Sun built by 150 BC. The city reached its zenith approx. 150–450 AD, when it was the centre of an influential culture. At its height the city covered over 30 km² (over 11½ square miles), and probably housed a population of over 150,000 people, possibly as many as 200,000. Teotihuacán was an important source of obsidian and there was intensive trade with other regions of Mesoamerica.

The city's broad central avenue, called "Avenue of the Dead" (a translation from its Nahuatl name Miccaohtli), is still flanked by impressive ceremonial architecture, including the immense Pyramid of the Sun (second largest in the New World after the Great Pyramid of Cholula), the Pyramid of the Moon, the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, and many lesser temples and palaces.

Unfortunately no ancient Teotihuacano texts are known to exist, but the city is occasionally referred to in the texts of Maya monuments, showing that Teotihuacán nobility travelled to and married with the families of local rulers as far away as Honduras. Maya hieroglyphs mention Spearthrower Owl, apparently Emperor of Teotihuacán, who reigned for over 60 years and imposed his relatives as kings of Tikal and Uaxactun in Guatemala.

The city was sacked and burned, possibly by the invading Toltecs, sometime during the 7th or 8th centuries.

Knowledge of the ruins of this huge city was never lost. The ruined city was a place of pilgrimage in Aztec times; it astonished visiting conquistadores; and it has been one of the most noted attractions for visitors to Mexico since the 19th century. Minor archeological excavations were conducted in the 19th century, and in 1905 major projects of excavation and restoration began under archeologist Leopoldo Batres, with the Pyramid of the Sun restored to celebrate the centennial of Mexican Independence in 1910. Teotihuacán remains a major tourist destination; it now contains a museum, and archeological excavations at the site are ongoing.

See also

• Teotihuacan Spider Woman – a deity shown in Teotihuacán murals

External links

• Did Teotihuacanos Migrate to Southeastern U.S.?
• Google Maps Satellite View of Teotihuacán
• MesoAmerican Photo Archives: Teotihuacán
• Erich von Däniken's digital archive contains documents, unique photographs

Further reading

Michael D. Coe, Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs (2002) Kathleen Berrin & Esther Pasztory, "Teotihuacan: Art from the City of the Gods" (1993)