Teotihuacán City of the Gods

Location: Valley of Mexico, 30 miles north of Mexico City

A Most Imperial City By 300 AD, it was the 6 th largest city in the world with a population of 200,000 Little is known about the inhabitants; Teotihuacán comes from the Aztec word for “place of the gods” A ceremonial center of a powerful militaristic state whose influence stretched into Guatemala A religious center demanding tribute from surrounding areas (such as crops and sacrificial victims)

The Pyramid of the Sun The second largest pyramid structure in the New World. Stands 215 feet high and expands to 750 ft. at the base.

View from atop the Pyramid of the Sun

The Avenue of the Dead The central avenue contains the massive pyramids of the Sun and Moon, as well as many other platforms that once housed temples at the top This area was the center of sacrifice and worship

Pyramid of the Moon

Peak of Power Teo reached its peak around 500 AD, housing priests and artisans in “apartment-style” quarters It is suggested that Teo was a pilgrimage site, rather than a permanent home for the hundreds of thousands of worshipers Yet, the city needed to house thousands of priests, artisans, and field workers to cultivate the amount of crops necessary to sustain the travellers

A City of Sacrifice Teo was a religious center where people gathered to pay homage to the gods Recent excavations of the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl found over 150 skeletons of sacrificial victims, hands bounded and dressed as soldiers The remains (as recreated to the left) indicate that the sacrifice was done en masse, regularly, to ward off the end of the world

Decline and Fall 600 AD: Teo was in decline: overuse of the land, depletion of resources, canals ran dry 700 AD: Teo is abandoned, maybe as a reaction to the invasions of the warrior tribe, the Toltecs 750 AD: Teo is destroyed by fire, buried in its ashes. Most believe it was intentionally burned so as not to give it up to rival tribes 1300s: the Aztecs arrive in the valley of Mexico, and are awed at this great abandoned city, which they name the “place of the gods”

The Citadel

Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl

The Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl

Model of the Citadel

Teotihuacán, Conclusion Over 90% of the city has not yet been excavated; the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl is a fairly new operation, not yet fully restored Teo is one of the most visited sites in Mexico Teo is on the list of world heritage preservation sites, meaning its influence and importance transcends Mesoamerica, impacting world history and human achievement