Teotihuacan 100 BCE - 750 CE

The Rise of Teotihuacan

Teotihuacan, located in the north eastern Basin of Mexico (Nichols, 2015), was one of the largest ancient Mesoamerican city that rose up around 100 BCE (Cowgill, 1997). At its peak, between 500 – 600 CE, Teotihuacan’s population size was estimated to be 125,000 or more (Millon, 1988).

The main factors for development of Teotihuacan can be largely attributed to the relocation of the Basin’s population to maximise agricultural production (Deborah L. Nichols), and exploitation of its obsidian resources. (Sanders, Parsons, and Santley, 1979, as cited in Millon, 1988).

Population migration into Teotihuacan

As Teotihuacan was located in the valley which provided plentiful supply of spring water which was channelled through irrigation, it was an optimal site for people to carry out agricultural activities. Irrigation and natural attributes of local soil and climate resulted in the cultivation of crops such as corn, beans, squash, tomato, and other foods. (Cartwright, 2015) This encouraged people from around the basin to relocate into Teotihuacan. There were also immigrants beyond the region relocating. (Deborah L. Nichols)

Exploitation of obsidian resources

Surrounding Teotihuacan were volcanoes and mountain ranges. This gave rise to obsidian rocks and stones in the region, possibly due to volcanic eruptions. According to Clive (2011), Teotihuacan’s rise to power are the impacts of two volcanic eruptions: Popocatépetl, and Ilopango. With the volcanic eruptions, the volcanoes spewed ashes and rocks which provided the region with fertile soil and obsidian rocks. Obsidian resources were then used to manufacture large amount of spear and dart heads which were a basis of trade with other regions in the south and east. As such, it provided the city with an abundance of resources and thus the development of Teotihuacan as a trade hub.

With the ability to sustain its population with food resources and having obsidian resources that were a basis of trade, it is unsurprising how Teotihuacan managed to become one of the largest civilization in Mesoamerica.

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The Fall of Teotihuacan

However, as with most other Mesoamerican city-states of the classic and epi-classic period, Teotihuacan collapsed, around 750 CE (Millon, 1988). There are multiple factors attributing to the collapse of Teotihuacan, such as outside invaders conquering the ancient city (Cowgill, 1997), an internal strife (Millon, 1988), and a drought that caused population decline and diminished the influence of Teotihuacan (Manzanilla, 2003, as cited in Nichols, 2015). As all three theories are plausible, it is difficult to pinpoint a single factor to explain the downfall of Teotihuacan.

It is believed that a fire marred the collapse of Teotihuacan, which burned temples, pyramids and public buildings (Millon, 1988; Cowgill, 1997; Nichols, 2015). This was confirmed by Millon, as he excavated on the site called “Street of the Dead”, and found evidence of burning on 147 buildings, which was virtually all the buildings found on the site. These buildings were believed to be major civic structures in the city centre (Wikipedia). Further findings on 68 temples across the city revealed that only 28 were burned, and of the 965 apartments, only 45 showed clear evidences of burning (Millon, 1988). However, there are different interpretations as to which group caused the incident.

Teotihuacan. Image by tirada por mim. Public Domain. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SSA41434.JPG

In Cowgill’s interpretation, outside invaders were responsible for the burning of the buildings. The surrounding societies, Xochicalco, Cholula, Tula and Tajin (Adams, 2011) were slowly gaining in power, and a combined effort would have sufficed in bringing down the once dominant city-state.

However, Millon disagrees with Cowgill’s views. Instead, he believes that setting buildings on fire was the works of the Teotihuacanos, because the “scale, intensity, duration and sheer excessiveness of the destruction imply a sustained motivation and dedication” (Millon, 1988). With the attacks being targeted at the city centre, it is likely to be an uprising against those in power.

Besides internal unrest and attacks from neighbouring cities, drought was one of possible factors leading to the collapse of Teotihuacan (Manzanilla, 2003). As Teotihuacan’s economic activity was agriculture, a persistent drought in 650 CE would have caused the harvests to be disrupted. Furthermore, the sheer size of the population in Teotihuacan would result in widespread famine. This was evidently the case, as there was a decline in the population size following the drought (Manzanilla, 2003), as people would migrate elsewhere in search of food, while some may have died due to hunger.

Accounting the above factors, it is more likely for all three to interplay and result in the fall of Teotihuacan than just a single factor being the cause of the issue. Additionally, assuming the chronological order of events, environmental seems likely to be the cause for internal unrest and invasion from outside cities.

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Summarized Points

What led to the rise of Teotihuacan:

• Teotihuacan was located on a geographical location that provided the city with an abundance of resources

• Amongst which was having fertile and well irrigated soil, that led to agricultural intensification. People migrated into Teotihuacan to take advantage of the geographical factors.

• Surrounding Teotihuacan were volcanoes, and the eruption of Popocatépetl, and Ilopango led to a vast amount of obsidian resources available.

• Obsidian rocks were used to craft weaponry and thus serve as a trade item.

What led to the fall of Teotihuacan:

• There were many possible reasons as to why Teotihuacan declined

• The main incident was due to the burning of the city centre, buildings, and pyramids. Based on research, there are two interpretations to the cause of fire: Internal unrest, and attacks from surrounding cities.

• Another cause of decline is due to climate conditions. As the population in Teotihuacan is huge, any climate impact would lead to a shortfall of food crops, and thus causing widespread famine, hence its fall.

Reference List

[Cover Image] Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan. Image by Daniel Case. CC BY-SA 3.0. Image retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Jcornelius/Wikimania_2015/2016_September_1-10#/media/File:Pyramid_of_the_Sun_from_Pyramid_of_the_Moon,_Teotihuacan.jpg

1. Millon, R. (1988). The last years of Teotihuacan dominance. London, United Kingdom: University College London.

2. Teotihuacan. (2018, October 05). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teotihuacan#cite_note-Manz1-26

3. Cowgill, G. L. (1997). State and society at Teotihuacan, Mexico. Annual Review of Anthropology, 26(1), 129-161. doi: 10.1146/annurev.anthro.26.1.129

4. Nichols, D. L. (2015). Teotihuacan. Journal of Archaeological Research, 24(1), 1-74. doi:10.1007/s10814-015-9085-0

5. Cartwright, M. (2015, February 17). Teotihuacan. Retrieved November 7, 2018, from https://www.ancient.eu/Teotihuacan/

6. Oppenheimer, C. (2011). Eruptions that shook the world. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

7. Manzanilla, L. (2003). 7. In The Archaeology of Settlement Abandonment in Middle America. Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press.

8. Adams, R. E. (2005). Prehistoric Mesoamerica. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.