Teotihuacan: Where One Becomes a God

in the first century ce in the valley of

mexico

the greatest city of the western

hemisphere began to take

shape teotihuacan this was the largest

city ever in the americas to that point

for that matter one of the largest

pre-industrial cities of the entire

ancient

world at the height of its power it was

the home of roughly a hundred thousand

people

and was mesoamerica's greatest city of

the classic period

to put that in perspective only a few

cities in the world would have been more

populous at the time

it was truly world class

teotihuacan's ruins are extraordinary

and they inspire complete

awe to any visitor so it's no

coincidence that today it's the most

visited archaeological site in both

north and south america

by the time teotihuacan began to wane

its economic political and religious

legacy could be felt almost

anywhere in mesoamerica let's explore

the story behind one of the greatest

sites in american history

teotihuacan is nestled in the northeast

corner of the valley of mexico in the

teotihuacan valley

if this map is throwing you for a loop

remember that the valley of mexico was

dominated by

lakes that were later drained for the

construction of mexico city

the lakes you see on the map are now

gone prior to the first century bce

teotihuacan or shall we say the site

that would become

teotihuacan was a small farming

community of relatively little

importance

a closer look at the geography doesn't

reveal any important secrets

if anything a closer examination is

underwhelming

the teotihuacan valley is not

particularly fertile

much richer agricultural lands are found

in the southern basin which receives

almost

twice as much rain as the northern parts

of the basin

the northern basin was dominated by the

salty and brackish lake tesh cocoa

people in the southern basin would have

enjoyed the freshwater lake chochamilco

the san juan river provides a source of

fresh water as do several natural

springs in the area

so with such an unimpressive resume how

did teotihuacan grow into that massive

city of more than a hundred thousand

people

to the south in those fertile areas i

mentioned earlier

the big player of that time was the

city-state state of qui-quilco on the

western side of lake shoshumilko

qui quilco is an impressive site it has

a very large rounded pyramid that

reaches 23 meters

it probably had a population of

something in the neighborhood of 20 000

people this would have been the chief

rival of the up and coming teotihuacan

but not for long in a cruel twist of

fate to the people of qui-quilco

a series of volcanic eruptions ruined

much of the land around the city and

sent the population fleeing north

where they found a new home in

teotihuacan

there's also some evidence that climatic

changes may have affected the rainfall

and agricultural productivity in the

region

regardless of the exact causes what is

important

is that between 150 bce and 200

ce a mass migration began from quakulco

and the other southern sites to

teotihuacan which caused the city to

swell to

unheard of proportions

so how did the city accommodate this

tremendous influx of population

let's take a look at the site of

teotihuacan itself

obviously the teotihuacano leadership

needed to plan the city's expansion

carefully and they did not disappoint

the city is laid out on an orthogonal

grid

this is very important because no other

previous city in mesoamerica had been

laid out like this as far as we can tell

even after teotihuacan it's not a common

urban layout

at one ce it was a mesoamerican first

and dare i say a very modern design

choice

this design was so important that the

teotihuacanos diverted the local san

juan river so that its course ran

parallel to the grid that grid is not

laid out on a north-south

axis but on an axis of 15.5 degrees east

of north

that orientation is not arbitrary

archaeoastronomers believe that the city

architects took into account the setting

of the sun on august 12th

and april 29th some of you more

astronomically inclined viewers may be

scratching your head

because those aren't equinox or solstice

states what gives

for anyone who keeps the mesoamerican

calendar and is really good at math

those dates are separated by 260 days

which is the length of the sacred

calendar

with this orientation they were honoring

that sacred calendar

saboro sugiyama believes that the design

of the city's monuments honor that

calendar as well

and he's even shown that later nahuatl

units of measurement

appear to show calendar numbers in the

measurements of these monuments

for example the pyramid of the sun

appears to measure 520 units by 520

units

520 is doubled 260 the number of days

within the sacred calendar

very impressive with this layout the

city could grow

in an orderly manner when the site of

teotihuacan was ambitiously mapped by

renee milan in the 1960s

it was discovered that most of the city

was made up of wall department compounds

these would have replaced earlier urban

dwellings and allowed the city to

accommodate an enormous

and dense population every compound

would have housed multiple families or

kin

groups every family would have had its

own private domestic space as well as

shared religious and economic

spaces the typical compound would have

been centered around an open courtyard

often with a small ritual space which

would have had a dozen rooms and

specialized spaces

organized around it all on a single

floor since these were densely packed

together windows would not have been

common but some rooms appear to have had

open roofs to allow light fresh air and

possible rain water

not unlike the atria that the romans

were building in their homes at the same

time

and while we're talking about ancient

rome it's worth mentioning that rome had

very similar strategies for dealing with

their population by relying on apartment

complexes

both cities in antiquity were actually

about the same size

though rome had a much bigger population

unlike rome's multi-story insulate

teotihuacano apartments are only

single-story buildings

they can vary in size from 400 square

meters to 7

000 square meters nearly all citizens

would have had decorations in their home

some of which survived today some even

had indoor plumbing for waste removal

these apartments are a gold mine for

learning about daily life in teotihuacan

while excavating pyramids palaces and

temples is glamorous and sexy

archaeology of residential areas like

these tell us a lot about

everyday life perhaps one of the most

interesting things that archaeology has

uncovered

are the presence of ethnically distinct

neighborhoods

just like how modern cities have greek

mexican and chinese neighborhoods

teotihuacan had its own ethnic areas too

these were zapotec maya gulf coast

and mishawakano neighborhoods in those

areas

artifacts and burials specific to those

cultures have been found

which show that from its inception

teotihuacan integrated a diverse

population

it's a cool reminder that all these

different cultures were not isolated

but very aware of each other and

interconnected

these apartment complexes performed a

variety of functions that can cue us

into what daily life was

like what really stands out is the sheer

amount of craft production that was

occurring in these neighborhoods these

show a very high degree of

specialization

there have been workshops discovered for

obsidian crafting

pottery textiles hide working basketry

lapidary and shell work

plaster production sculpture bone

working masonry and butchering

i could go on and on but you get the

idea there's also evidence that multiple

crafts were practiced in the same

household

and that many of these trades were

passed on via apprenticeship

teotihuacan's ceramics produced here are

very distinct

you can recognize them easily from their

tripod bases

in many cases these are brightly colored

and painted

if you're curious about how these colors

were achieved the pottery

was actually stuccoed after it was fired

in the kiln

and then painted another common ceramic

type produced at the site is

thin orange pottery which was a simpler

everyday use wear

but teotihuacan's most famous industry

was its obsidian production

teotihuacan was blessed with easy access

to multiple obsidian sources

including the rare green obsidian of the

pachuca mines

not only was this the material of choice

for tools but also the material of

choice for weapons

and that's going to be important down

the road these manufactured goods would

have been valuable trade commodities and

also

everyday items for most of the

population and that's a really

fascinating

insight one would assume that a city of

this size would have a huge

wealth gap but work by archaeologists

michael smith and david carbayo have

shown that even humble working class

households had access to simple yet

high quality goods and even imported

items

unlike most other ancient cities the

commoners were quite well off

and had personal space and access to

luxuries that were unparalleled

no other city in mesoamerica would have

had this high a standard of living

it was truly remarkable this egalitarian

prosperity no doubt would have made

immigration to teotihuacan very

appealing to people near and far

the backbone of all this was agriculture

specifically

maize agriculture the valley of mexico

had always been a fertile area

and teotihuacan took advantage of that

apart from maize goosefoot amaranth

nopal cactus and cactus fruit were

consumed as well

also important was polkay a fermented

beverage made from agave

analysis of large pots and amphorae show

that this drink was very common and may

have constituted a large part of the

diet

pulque was also very important for

religious ceremonies and libations

similar to chicha in south america

teotihuacanos made use of the fauna

around them as well

although the locals hunted wildlife

where they could there was also a large

reliance on domesticated animals

particularly dogs and turkeys recent

discoveries also show that jackrabbits

and cottontails were being bred for

consumption at teotihuacan as a food

source

so it's possible that they may have been

domesticating these rabbits as well

but let's turn our attention from

physical nourishment to spiritual

nourishment

remains of teotihuacan religion and its

pantheon abound

as i mentioned earlier small household

shrines can be found in the apartment

complexes of teotihuacan

showing that religion was an important

part of daily life for everyone

these religious elements are equal part

familiar and mysterious

on one hand there are several

continuities to later aztec and other

central mexican religions that we can

easily interpret

on the other hand certain elements of

teotihuacan religion seem

wholly unique fire appears to have been

an important element in teotihuacan

religion

because we find lots of braziers at the

site that were most commonly used for

burning incense and offerings

anyone familiar with the aztec new fire

ceremony also knows the importance of

fire in ancient mexican religion

these braziers are often made in the

image of the old fire god

or if you're familiar with the aztec

pantheon hue hue teodol

now a word about the names of the gods

here there's a lot of continuity between

teotihuacan

and later mexican cultures like the

aztecs and so it's not uncommon to see

these deities referred to by aztec names

out of convenience

i'm going to refer to many of the gods

by their later aztec names

but just keep in mind that these are

likely misnomers and that the

teotihuacano gods

may be different from their later aztec

counterparts

one of the most important deities of the

city was the storm god

tlalak this isn't the first time we see

him in mexico but he played a pivotal

role in teotihuacan

was a god with benevolent and malevolent

aspects and there are many different

portrayals of him

although i should note that some people

believe these to be multiple aspects of

one god while

others assert that they are separate

gods

he is sometimes portrayed with various

plant fronds or maize

other times with lightning and water and

sometimes with a shield and lightning

bolt

tlalock's signature feature in his war

persona are his goggle eyes

remember those goggle eyes because

they're going to come up down the road

twalak was such a popular deity that he

outlasted teotihuacan and survived all

the way up to spanish contact without a

lot of change

other familiar faces which survive in

the later times that make appearances

here include the maze god and

quetzalcoatl the feathered serpent

one god that doesn't survive so visibly

in later records is the water goddess or

the great goddess of teotihuacan

who's shown here in this huge monolithic

sculpture that was found at the site

some people identify her as childhood

clique an aztec goddess of water rivers

and fertility

a mural at the site shows this goddess

below a large tree full of water

insects and birds this goddess's

identity is a complete mystery

and she lacks easy comparison to later

mexican goddesses

her presence in such a central position

is very unique to teotihuacan

okay i think we've established enough

context so let's introduce the stars of

the show and teotihuacan's most famous

monuments

it's pyramids after all these are

probably what come to your mind when you

think of teotihuacan so what's the story

with them

all of the pyramids of teotihuacan line

the main axis of the site

the avenue of the dead which would have

served not just the everyday pedestrian

traffic of the city but also the ritual

processions as well

all the pyramids of the site were built

between 1 and 250 ce

my sources actually conflict on whether

the pyramid of the sun or the pyramid or

the moon was built first

but regardless they began to be erected

early in the city's history

now a word about pyramids in mesoamerica

when we think of pyramids we typically

think of the great pyramids of

egypt and the only thing they really

have in common with mesoamerican

pyramids

is their shape egyptian pyramids are

just cut stone blocks

arranged in the shape of a pyramid those

pyramids were also used as tombs for a

single ruler

in mesoamerica pyramids are basically a

mound of earth or rubble that's effaced

with cut stone and other materials

most of the time these would have been

covered with plaster and then painted

brightly

furthermore most of these pyramids were

not built in a single construction

these would have started out much

smaller and then got built over and

expanded again and again

you can almost think of them like a

russian doll mesoamerican pyramids do

sometimes serve as burial places

but in almost all cases they're not

built as a tomb for just one person

mesoamerican pyramids are also topped by

a temple or in some cases an elite

residence

finally mesoamerican pyramids are

usually stepped pyramids

often with decorations on the facade of

each step

this style is called talud tablero and

it's a signature style of taotiwakon in

later mesoamerican architecture

tallu tablero architecture is

characterized by a sloping tallude

leading to a tablero layer shown here

the toblero panel would have housed

decorative elements in

art everyone clear on that good

let's work our way from north to south

and start with the pyramid of the moon

the pyramid of the moon is the second

largest pyramid at the site

it's 43 meters tall and has a large

platform at the front

these platforms are referred to as

autosadas by the way if you're wondering

where the name of the pyramid comes from

it actually comes from the aztecs as

does the name of the pyramid of the sun

it's unknown if it would have had this

name originally

the pyramid was first constructed around

100 ce

originally as a small pyramid that was

enlarged over and over again during the

following centuries

the original pyramid was probably one of

the first buildings completed at the

site

excavations in the pyramid have also

unearthed several dedicatory ritual

deposits and sacrificial animal and

human burials within the pyramid

these sacrificial burials most likely

function as consecration offerings

they appear to have happened repeatedly

at each stage of new construction

what's interesting about these burials

is that the analysis of bodies and grave

goods

show that most of these victims were not

from teotihuacan

and that they were warriors which

suggests that they were likely war

captives that were sacrificed to the

pyramid's patron deity

but who was that it's believed that the

pyramid of the moon was dedicated to the

water goddess that we met

earlier remember that colossal statue i

showed you

that was found on the western side of

the pyramid

reinforcing this is the mountain

directly behind the pyramid

cerro gordo which is still considered a

female deity by the indigenous people

today

interestingly the moon is considered

feminine in aztec mythology

so the name that the aztecs gave the

pyramid may actually be very fitting

now let's go south and look at the

largest pyramid the pyramid of the sun

this pyramid is staggering it's one of

the

largest pyramids on the planet the base

measures 215 meters on either side and

70 meters high

a lot of sources will tell you that this

was the tallest structure in the western

hemisphere until the advent of the

skyscraper

but that's actually debatable because

i've seen other pyramids with larger

reported heights but

that's for another episode like the

pyramid of the moon

several offerings have been found at the

base and within the pyramid itself

unlike the other pyramids at the site

the pyramid of the sun is unique because

it was built in a

single construction the amount of labor

needed to do that

must have been extraordinary and it

really underscores the enormous

population that was living at the site

at the top would have been a temple

dedicated to the patron deity

judging by the offerings found around

the pyramid this was most likely tlalock

the storm god

or the old fire god hui hue teodo the

top of the pyramid was actually botched

when it was reconstructed in the early

20th century

here's a reconstruction that will give

you a better idea

at the front of the pyramid is a large

autosata platform which would have

likely been used for ceremonies

the discovery of a large brazier

decorated with the visage of the old

fire god hui hue teodo

have led many to propose that this

pyramid was the site of many fire

ceremonies

and most importantly the new fire

ceremony to celebrate the end of the

52-year solar calendar cycle

although you can't see it on the

reconstruction model the side of the

pyramid would have been decorated with

panels and relief sculptures

and the pyramid itself would have been

flanked on three sides with canals

possibly to recreate a mythological

altipetal

but perhaps the most interesting feature

is actually beneath the pyramid

in 1971 a passageway below the pyramid

was discovered by chance

this passageway was a man-made tunnel

that was carved to look like a cave

six and a half meters below the surface

and over a hundred meters long

caves are extremely important in

mesoamerican mythology

because they represent not only

entrances to the underworld but also

places of creation

in many mesoamerican mythologies they

are wombs from which gods and ancestors

emerge

so the symbolism here is particularly

rich

the cave terminates with four chambers

at the very end

unfortunately the cave was looted in

antiquity so it's uncertain what this

cave once held

it's been proposed that this may have

been where teotihuacan's kings and

rulers were interred

but we'll never know south of the

pyramid of the sun

is the theodella and the pyramid of the

feathered serpent

of the three pyramids it's the youngest

of the bunch it was finished in the

early 3rd century ce

it is the smallest of all the pyramids

but what it lacks in size

it compensates in decor the pyramid was

built in multiple stages

and what you're seeing in this photo is

actually the middle stage that was

covered up by the final phases when they

built the atasada platform

the face you're seeing here in the

toblero is most commonly identified as

the feathered serpent quetzalcoatl

you can see the body wrapping around the

tallude before ending in a rattle

the face next to him is a matter of some

debate traditionally scholars have said

that this is twalak with his signature

goggle eyes

someone wearing his face mask or even a

war serpent

but recently scholars have begun to

suggest that this is the primordial

crocodile of mesoamerican mythology

sepaktli personally and this is strictly

my opinion

i prefer the twalk interpretation

especially when you consider that there

are 137

warrior burials that have been recovered

from excavations within the pyramid

most likely sacrificial offerings

dedicated to its construction

so the war imagery certainly fits but

i'm just a youtuber and i'm not a

professional so

take that with a grain of salt at the

bottom of the tublero panel is another

undulating serpent

note the seashells that are also in the

touloude because that aquatic imagery is

going to be important soon

you may be wondering why was such a

beautiful pyramid covered up by that

asada

it's likely that that later construction

represents a change in leadership or

some type of

shift in the city's paradigm this also

would have coincided with the later

phases of the pyramid of the moon

now like the pyramid of the sun the

pyramid of the feathered serpent

also has a man-made tunnel below it as

well

this was only discovered in 2003 after

heavy rains opened up a hole in the

ground

and exposed the tunnel the construction

of this

actually predates the pyramid itself

it's much

deeper than the tunnel below the pyramid

of the sun going down

13 meters if you're wondering why that

is

it's because the teotihuacanos wanted to

hit the water level so that they could

recreate the watery underworld within

the tunnel

recall the water imagery on the pyramid

that we just discussed

this was very intentionally planned like

the previous tunnel

it's about 100 meters long and

terminates in a multi-chambered area

unfortunately it had also been looted at

some point in antiquity

but there were still plenty of

incredible things inside

in parts of the tunnel archaeologists

found several pyrite chunks that were

inserted into the ceiling

pyrite is a very shiny and metallic rock

and these were most likely used to

recreate the stars in the night sky

there was also liquid mercury in there

most likely to simulate the water of the

underworld

while there were no tombs discovered in

the cave a huge amount of offerings were

found

there's actually too many to go through

here but imported ceramics jewelry

shells feline skulls rubber balls slate

discs and sculptures among other things

were recovered

one thing that i do want to call out

that i found particularly interesting

is this figurine for those of you that

have seen our olmec episode the facial

features should look familiar

because they're clearly inspired by the

olmec wear jaguar sculptures

it's really cool to see the continuity

that's occurring here

the excavations also discovered that the

chamber had been sealed off

three times the last one occurring

roughly at the same time of the

completion of the pyramid of the

feathered serpent

this suggests that the cave was used for

very private rituals

and that the construction of the cio

dadela and the pyramid of the feather

serpent

likely replaced it as a more public

venue

and speaking of the cio dadella let's

turn our attention there

the cio da dela refers to the plaza and

the surrounding complex in front of the

pyramid of the feathered serpent

originally this space would have

contained several buildings among them a

sanctuary which was likely used in

tandem with the tunnel

this sanctuary and other buildings were

removed when the pyramid of the

feathered serpent was completed

what this giant space was used for is

not entirely certain

priestly or elite residences have been

proposed but the recent scholarship has

theorized that this space was a large

public ritual space

designed for tens of thousands of people

to participate in public ceremonies

one other thing to note about this space

is that it could have also have doubled

as a ball

court teotihuacan is unique in that it

lacked a formal ball court for most of

its history

and some have suggested that the

ciudadella may have been the site where

the ball game was played

all of this incredible construction and

design might have you asking

who exactly organized all of this and

that has actually been a very

frustrating question for scholars to

answer

for many decades scholars believed that

teotihuacan was ruled by a king

and indeed many still do like saboro

sugiyama

this does make a lot of sense

teotihuacan is without a doubt

a planned city and kings are dominant in

mesoamerica during the classical period

but there's a problem with this theory

that other scholars have pointed out

none of the art of teotihuacan appears

to depict rulers

this is in stark contrast to what we see

in the maya

areas during the classic period where we

see monuments to kings and rulers

all over the place not only that but

there's not a clear single palace in the

city

but multiple palatial residences

even worse while some elaborate burials

have been found

no royal burial has ever been discovered

at teotihuacan

so if not a king who was running the

show at teotihuacan

others theorize a more complex and

representative system of government

linda manzania has proposed that

teotihuacan was divided into quarters

and that each quarter would have

produced a leader that would have been

part of a ruling council

she points to the collective nature of

life in the city and the egalitarian

living conditions

remember all those apartment compounds

people aren't living

separately but instead they're living in

groups so there's clearly a

sophisticated social organization at the

very bottom of teotihuacano's society

now regardless of what you think is

correct i do want to point out that

tsugiyama and manzania

are not upstart archaeologists both are

highly respected and have

decades of research experience at

teotihuacan and this huge disagreement

about the government of teotihuacan

illustrates just how

elusive the rulers of teotihuacan are to

us

what is clear about the leadership of

teotihuacan is that the military played

a huge

role in the projection and maintenance

of teotihuacan's power

warriors and warfare are a common motif

at the site

which allows us to see what these

warriors would have looked like

these show warriors dressed in elaborate

war dress

the military was also very likely a

unifying force over

a very diverse population as is the case

with armies ancient

and modern military service often

provides an avenue of social advancement

and assimilation

especially for foreign-born immigrants

so this would have been an important

tool in integrating the populace

teotihuacan's military reputation is

impressive

from an early date they were in firm

control of the valley of mexico and

began to dominate the surrounding area

however the best and most dramatic

accounts we have of teotihuacan's

military success come not from central

mexico

but from the distant maya lowlands where

surviving written records record

an incredible encounter

teotihuacan had had close links with the

maya region for a long time

but things really got violent at the

site of muthal

or tikal if you're using the modern name

where in 378

ce a teotihuacano warlord referred to in

the mayan inscriptions as

siakkak or fireborn led an army into the

city after an apparent diplomatic

falling out between the two cities

after subjugating muthal siak most

likely murdered its king

chok tuk ishaq the first or as he's also

known

great jaguar paw by the way if anybody

watching this is expecting a child

i would encourage you to consider the

name fireborn as an

awesome name for your child and future

world conqueror

xia appears to have installed yash

noon ein on the mutal throne

the son of spear thrower owl now

spear thrower owl's exact identity is a

bit of a contentious topic

minus david stewart proposed in the late

90s that he was a powerful teotihuacano

noble

possibly even the king of teotihuacan

itself

as we've seen though the notion of a

teotihuacan king

is very debatable there's also new

evidence from strontium analysis of

yashnun ein's bones that show that he

was not a foreigner to muthal

but a local regardless the evidence of a

teotihuacan in trada into the maya

lowlands

is very compelling now we'll go into

more detail on this fascinating incident

when we discuss the history of mutal

someday

but for just a second let's pull back

and admire

what just happened a teotihuacano leader

possibly even the king himself led an

army from

teotihuacan through mexico into the

paten

rainforest and toppled the dynasty of

the largest and most powerful maya city

this is when i really wish we had more

sources on this because

i would love to know what the logistics

were without any beasts of burden mind

you

teotihuacan mounted a massive expedition

that was not just

feasible but successful and if you think

that's impressive which it totally is

there's even more because teotihuacan

does the exact same thing to the maya

city of ashwitik

the modern ruins of copan in modern day

honduras

not even the aztecs at the height of

their military power ventured

so far away in their conquests

now it's tempting to hear all this and

conclude that teotihuacan was the center

of an

empire spanning from the pacific to the

atlantic from central mexico to the

guatemalan rainforests

but the real picture is much more murky

i'm sorry to say

from about 350 ce to 450 ce

teotihuacan adopted a very heavy-handed

foreign policy where they were able to

intervene in the politics of neighboring

states to safeguard their interests

if there was an imperial presence

outside of central mexico it was very

short-lived and would have required

incredible resources to sustain it

teotihuacan's foreign relations may have

been far more nuanced and

indirect as opposed to any kind of

direct imperial rule

and honestly that's fairly typical of

major powers that will come and go in

central mexico

finding information on this was actually

not as easy as i would have hoped

but new research is starting to focus on

teotihuacan's interaction with its

neighbors

so hopefully we can explore this in

greater detail down the road

but just as important as teotihuacan's

military prowess

was their economic preeminence as we saw

earlier with the extremely high levels

of craft production across the city

teotihuacan was an economic juggernaut

that managed long-distance trade with

distant areas

this helped teotihuacan's cultural

influence spread all

over mesoamerica you'll recall that to

loot toblero style i mentioned earlier

that same style begins to pop up all

over mesoamerica and sticks around

long after teotihuacan's demise

here it is in chichen itza centuries

later

teotihuacan style ceramics can be found

all over mesoamerica

another diagnostic teotihuacano item is

their green obsidian that came from the

nearby pachuca mines

these can be found as far afield as maya

territory

even in areas that don't show any

evidence of teotihuacan conquest

at the highland site of kaminel huyu

teotihuacan art is found in plenty and

their signature tulu tublero style was

appropriated for multiple structures at

the site as early as 200

ce the citizens of teotihuacan were not

just exporters

but consumers of imported exotic goods

as well recall those foreign barrios and

neighborhoods that we mentioned earlier

those were most likely housing merchants

traders and artisans who could get goods

from the maya region

oaxaca michoacan and the gulf coast into

teotihuacan

so what finally slowed down this

powerhouse

after a zenith of 100 to 150 years the

city began a gradual decline in about

450 to 500

ce small signs of this slow decline can

be detected in the fact that luxury

goods and burials become steadily more

rare despite this the end was not

inevitable and the city was still a

force to be reckoned with with a massive

population

but studies in grave offerings suggest

that disparity in wealth was growing

many scholars have also pointed out that

drought soil erosion and deforestation

likely degraded the environment around

the city

and impacted its food production all of

this finally culminated

in an incredible event around 550 to 650

ce

the monumental structures in the civic

ceremonial center were burned and public

artwork was destroyed

the cause of this isn't certain and many

colorful theories abound such as foreign

invasion

internal revolution and political

upheaval

whatever the cause it spelled the end of

teotihuacan's heyday and

really sped up its decline now

teotihuacan wasn't abandoned at this

point and it still chugged along for a

few centuries

in a very diminished state with a

population of perhaps 20 to 30

000 people at this time its population

had dropped

drastically but there were still

thousands of people living there

think of rome under the emperors

followed by rome under the popes

still an important city but not the seat

of a great power

after that 650 ce date the ceramic style

changes

likely as a result of new migrants from

the bajio in the west

in fact teotihuacan material culture

dries up in the wake of the collapse

this phase is referred to as the koyo

tlatelco and it carries on into the

post-classic period

with teotihuacan and its twilight other

cities like shoshikalko kakashla cholula

and tulachiko begin to ascend

and fill in the power vacuum left by

teotihuacan

even after its decline teotihuacan was

still honored

it left a huge influence on subsequent

cultures of mesoamerica

the aztecs in particular had a special

reverence for the city

and it's said that montezuma ii used to

make regular pilgrimages there

aztec mythology placed teotihuacan at

the center of creation

and this mythology has still been passed

down to us

and so there it was that the humble

nanowatsine

cast himself into the fire to become the

fifth son and bring

light into the world this is actually

what gives teotihuacan its name

which appropriately means where one

becomes a god

to later nawado people this site was

sacred

today it's a unesco world heritage site

and deservedly so

unfortunately development continues to

threaten certain areas of the site so

don't take it for granted and if you

live in mexico

raise some hell about it so that the

site stays protected if you ever get a

chance to visit the site

and this video still hasn't convinced

you i highly recommend it

it's only a bus ride away from mexico

city so it's very accessible

well that's going to wrap us up for

today special thanks to my patrons

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if you would like to join these fine

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can do so on patreon the link will be in

the video description

also a big thanks to majora zee for

research assistance and

also to jan garcia of the channel kanan

waddle for his nawaddle reading

don't forget to like and subscribe and

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take care and we'll see you in our next

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