Teotihuacán is the name given to the city that in

pre-Hispanic times was one of the largest in

Mesoamerica.Teotihuacán, which in Nahuatl
means: "The City of the Gods" or "The place
where the gods are made", is where the spiritual
and material knowledge of the Mesoamerican
peoples generated the highest architectural,
urban and artistic expression of the American
continent.

JOSE ALBERTO BERMUDEZ RUEDA

TEOTIHUACAN
TEOTIHUACAN CULTURE

Some Olmec groups that migrated from

the Mesoamerican zone of the Gulf of
Mexico settled in the Central Highlands.
When these groups met with the peoples
who inhabited this region, they mixed
culturally and gave rise to other cultures,
among them the Teotihuacan Culture.

Due to the abundant natural resources

that existed in the area, its geographical
location and its constant commercial
exchange, the city of Teotihuacan grew
over time; it became a very populated
city, between 125 thousand and 250
thousand inhabitants. It achieved its
greatest splendor in the Classic period,
between the year 150 d. C. to 750 d. C.
He was very influential in the economy,
politics, architecture and art of all.

The City of Teotihuacán

The inhabitants of the Teotihuacan culture built large pyramidal bases that were
distinguished because they used the slope and the board. Its most important
constructions were the pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, as well as the Causeway of
the Dead and the Temple of Quetzalcoatl. They also built platforms in which religious
ceremonies and popular celebrations were held.

The valley of Teotihuacán, located between those of Mexico and Puebla, in the heart of
the Mexican Altiplano, was the place where the first great city of America arose. A tiny
village during the Formative experienced an accelerated process of growth that led it to
reach 22.5 km 'of surface area and a population of close to 150,000 inhabitants.

The city was structured around a main road oriented north-south and a secondary line
drawn from east to west. The Calle de los Muertos, about 4 km long, linked the plaza of
the Pyramid of the Moon with the Ciudadela, a wide elevated platform of 400 m on each
side that contains the temple of Quetzalcoatl and other religious buildings. On both sides
of the road were temples, such as the Pyramid of the Sun, palaces, such as the Jaguars,
and residential neighborhoods. The most impressive structure of Teotihuacana is
undoubtedly the Pyramid of the Sun, a mass of adobe, filling stone and stucco that is 65
m high and a base of 250 x 250 m.
 The Teotihuacan custom of painting the exterior and interior walls of the buildings
generates a religious-themed mural painting; Thematic that reappears in the fine and
beautiful ritual ceramics elaborated by the potters of the Teotihuacan culture.

AVENIDA DE LOS MUERTOS

Trade and influence

Teotihuacan was an important commercial

city thanks to its abundant agricultural
production (both rainfed and irrigated
canals) and obsidian deposits.

The domination of Teotihuacan extended to

many areas of Mesoamerica. Some were
under his direct authority and others, paid
tribute. The cultural influence was strong
and is evident in the areas of the Gulf of
Mexico, Oaxaca and the Maya Region.

Teotihuacan society was composed of

priests, warriors, merchants, artisans and
farmers, among others.

The old ideas inherited from the Formative period evolved over the centuries. The city
began as a center of religious pilgrimage to which the surrounding peasants came; but,
little by little it was transformed into an industrial emporium thanks to the monopoly that
the theocrats of Teotihuacán exerted on the production and the elaboration of the
obsidian, a hard volcanic stone very important societies that did not know the metals.
The union of one factor and another allowed the appearance of a third: interregional trade,
and this led to a fourth, imperialist expansion.

The progressive presence of warriors in mural paintings perfectly illustrates the complex
process that impelled the inhabitants of the Teotihuacan culture to occupy strategic zones
of Mesoamerica from where they could control certain matters and exercise a strong
educational and ideological influence.

Religion

This commercial and industrial development .

was supported by a solid agricultural
structure, which allowed the maintenance of
artisans, warriors and priests. Therefore, it is
not surprising that the main deities (Tlaloc,
Chalchiuhtlicue and Xipe-Totec) were linked
to water and vegetation. To them we should
add other old divinities of the Formative, such
as Quetzalcoatl, the god of good;
Huehueteotl, the god of fire; and
Mictlantecuhtli, lord of death.

The Teotihuacan expressed their beliefs

through sculpture, ceramics and mural
painting. For example, on the facades of the
temples they represented deities such as
Tlaloc and the Feathered Serpent, related to
rain and fertility, respectively.

At the end of the Classic period, the city was sacked, burned and destroyed. The
causes of the decline of this culture are not known exactly, but some researchers
consider that it succumbed due to the overexploitation of natural resources, the
invasions of other peoples and internal conflicts.
OTHER IMPORTANT DATA

AZTEC CALENDAR

Constituted one of the most valuable

pieces of the pre-Columbian
Mesoamerican era, the Aztec calendar
or Piedra del Sol, reflects the great
astronomical knowledge that the
Mexicas managed.

The Aztec calendar is a basalt rock

wheel, which is little less than four
meters in diameter and a thickness of
more than one hundred years,
represents a succession of concentric
rings that a series of inscriptions related
to the impression of time.

In this regard, the Aztec calendar is divided into several sections, such as the central
discotheque that has the face of the god The hour with the knife that is sold by the mouth,
the set of paintings that is related to the times of the creation of the earth, the Wind, fire
and water. Then, the first ring is made up of twenty figures that have been in the next few
days. , including the date of the creation of the sun. Finally, in the fourth ring appear the
stars in the night sky.

The road of the dead

It is oriented from north to south and flanked by a residential area probably inhabited by
priests.
The temple to Quetzalcoatl

So named for the ornamentation of feathered serpents whose heads emerge from a
flower, alternating with sculptures of the God Tlaloc.

The palace of Quetzalpapalotl

It is supposed to be the room of a great lord or of a supreme priest, stand out the pillars
of the inner courtyard decorated with bas-reliefs representing the mythological animal
called quetzal - butterfly, framed by aquatic symbols.
PYRAMID OF THE SUN

It is the largest construction in Teotihuacan: it measures 225 meters per side and reaches
65 meters in height. Given such dimensions, it is surprising that unlike other buildings,
whose volumes are the product of the accumulation of different buildings, the Pyramid of
the Sun was built in a single stage, during the Tzacualli phase (1-150 AD).

This fact alone gives an account of the bonanza that the city already lived and the control
that the ruling class exercised over the population.

Because the Mexicas called tonatiuh itzacual, "encierro del Sol", it is commonly thought
that it was dedicated to the cult of that star. However, some authors argue that it was
actually dedicated to the god of rain.

During their exploration, burials of sacrificed children were found in the four corners of
each of the bodies, a practice associated with the cult of the rain gods. In addition, the
fact that the pyramid is surrounded by a canal and a large platform has led us to see the
whole as a representation of a sacred mountain, container of water and universal riches.

PYRAMID OF THE MOON

Only the Pyramid of the Sun is larger than this building of more than 45 m in height and
140 by 150 m in base. The Pyramid of the Moon marks the northern limit of the Street of
the Dead, which gives it a high symbolic load, and is the most notorious element of one
of the most harmonious urban spaces in the city, the so-called Plaza de la Moon.
 This ample space, which is surrounded by 13 plinths with the typical Teotihuacan
architectural features and which at the time were fully painted, was an unbeatable setting
for public rituals. At the foot of the pyramid is Structure A, framed by two foundations,
inside which are nine altars arranged on the walls plus one at the center, symbolizing the
cardinal, intercardinal and the center of the universe.