CULTURAL STUDIES 2

Essay topic:
Compare one of the introduced architectural cultures of the 1
st
semester with that of
contemporary Glasgow.

Chosen culture:
The Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Civilization of Teotihuacan


Model of the city of Teotihuacan
Chatzitheodoridis Vasileios
The city of Teotihuacan:
The archaeological site of the city of Teotihuacan is placed 40km northeast of Mexico City.
The civilization is considered to have begun at around 200 B.C and the first people to have
moved to the area at around 500B.C. The site corresponds to a city of at least 25.000
inhabitants but according to the Teotihuacan Mapping Project (directed by Rene Millon) the
city at its peak (4
th
century A.D) reached a population of 125.000 and covered an area of
31sq km. The city at this period became the epicentre of culture and commerce for ancient
Mesoamerica.
Architecturally the city is known for its remarkable size, the monumental and religious
character of its structures and for the strictness of a layout based on cosmic harmony.
Important buildings:

The avenue of the dead (Calzada de los Muertos) with a length more than 2.5km was
the main street of the city. It was beginning at the Moon Plaza to the north and
extending beyond the Ciudadela and the Great Compound complexes to the south.
The Dead Avenue was dividing the city into two sections with apartment compounds
with pyramidal constructions symmetrically arranged on both sides sharing the same
orientation. This highly planned city-layout suggests that the avenue may have been
planned since its earliest phases of urbanization.

The Dead Avenue from the Pyramid of the Moon

The Pyramid of the Sun is considered to be the third largest pyramid in the world and
the biggest reconstructed pyramid in the western hemisphere. With a purpose not
entirely understood the Pyramids front wall is exactly perpendicular to the point on
the horizon where the sun sets on the equinoxes. The structure was build on the top
of a sacred cave which is supposed to be the place where Gods created the world.

The Pyramid of Sun
The Pyramid of the Moon is located at the extreme northern end of the Avenue of
the Dead and it is facing towards South. It is the main feature of the architectural
complex of the Plaza of the moon which is placed in front of the pyramid. Despite its
position that indicates the structure as final destination in the city the Pyramid of the
Moon is smaller than the Pyramid of Sun and there are no sacred spaces
underneath. The building provides the same range of views with its neighbour due to
the fact that it was built on higher ground.

The Pyramid of the Moon

The Feathered Serpent Pyramid was the principal pyramid of one of the largest and
most significant enclosure precincts in Mesoamerica named Ciudadela. Despite the
fact that it was smaller than the other two pyramids it was one of the most elaborate
monuments in the city with all of its facades decorated with curved stones and three
dimensional sculptures. The Feathered Serpent Pyramid complex consists of the
main pyramid (stepped platform), a temple and the Adosada platform which was
later built onto the main facade of the pyramid.

The Feathered Serpent Pyramid
The Ciudadela as was pre-mentioned is one of the most significant enclosures in
Mesoamerica. This 160.000sq m space consists of four large platforms that were
surrounded by pyramids. This vast area had a capacity of 100.000 people without
crowding and it was probably used for ritual performance.

The Ciudadele Plan of the space

Teotihuacan was laid out along wide avenues and had efficiently functioning
drainage and water-supply systems. The residential area was initially developed on
the sides of the Avenue of the Dead. As the city was becoming one of the most
significant cosmopolitan centres of Mesoamerica it started to gather more outsiders.
The city plan grew and the residential space was extended towards the northeast
side of the city. People from the Maya, Oaxaca and Gulf Coast areas lived in separate
districts of the city. Although they were living far from their homelands, they often
retained many elements of the own culture. Important is the fact that, despite the
overpopulated character of the city and the extended boundaries, every building is
strictly aligned according to the orientation of the most important structures of the
city and even the Rio San Juan river as it meets the city boundaries it is forced to
follow the strict city plan.

Plan of the city at its peak

Comparing the city of Teotihuacan with a contemporary city such as Glasgow:
From all the above we can reach to the conclusion that the city of Teotihuacan has a lot of
features that can be found in the townscape of a contemporary city such as Glasgow.
Generally we can highlight the fact that both cities were developed around a city centre that
holds the majority of the important building. In the case of Teotihuacan these buildings have
religious character comparing with Glasgow where an important building can have religious,
financial or political character.
Taking as an example the Glasgow City Chambers building which is one of the most
significant buildings in Glasgow due to its connection with the authorities it can compared
with the Pyramid of the Moon where the Plaza of the Moon as a gathering point can be
seen in the same way with the George Square in front of the Glasgow City Chambers where
people can gather in order to celebrate or protest in front of a building with symbolic
character.

George square and the City Chambers building

Another example that can indicate a similarity between the two cities is the fact that in the
same way that The Avenue of the Dead highlights the importance of the Pyramid of the
Moon, many streets in the Glaswegian townscape do the exact same thing. One example is
the West George Street that is aligned with the entrance of the Saint George's-Tron Parish
Church and another case is the Ingram Street which is aligned with the entrance of the Royal
Exchange Building.

Saint George's-Tron Parish Church from W. George St Royal Exchange Building from Ingram St




One more important example that it is met in both cities is the way that other cultures
created small societies within the boundaries of the city. As it was mentioned before
Teotihuacan at its peak became a multicultural centre due to the fact that people from the
Maya, Oaxaca and Gulf Coast areas arrived at the city and inhabited separate regions of the
city and most importantly they were free to retain elements of their culture, which is a rare
phenomenon for this era in the Ancient Mesoamerican World. In the same way cultures
from all over the world that live in Glasgow tend to create smaller societies within the city
with their shops, churches and customs.
Finally the rivers that run both cities were adjusted according to the needs of every culture.
For drainage purpose in the case of Teotihuacan and for drainage and industrial purpose in
the case of Glasgow.
Conclusion:
As a conclusion we need to understand that the priorities of these two cultures that are
separated by tenths of centuries are different but there are some significant similarities in
the way that these priorities are highlighted. On the one hand we have a city that was
developed end reached its peak at around 400 A.D far away from any kind of European
influence where the only cultural factor that had affect on the society was religion and on
the other hand we have a contemporary European city with hundreds of years of history
that despite Religion, terminologies such us Economy, Politics, Society, Human rights, etc
affected on the Architecture of a city and the importance of its buildings.






Chatzitheodoridis Vasileios