teotihuacana

Teotihuacana refers to the people and the material culture of Teotihuacan, the ancient city-state in the Valley of Mexico, northeast of modern Mexico City. They flourished from about 200 BCE to 550 CE, with the city remaining a major center into the first half of the millennium. The language of Teotihuacan is unknown, and the society left no deciphered written records, so much of its internal organization remains the subject of study and debate.

Teotihuacan itself was one of the largest cities in the ancient Americas, laid out on a grid with the Avenue of the Dead running through its core. Monumental architecture dominates the site, including the Pyramid of the Sun, the Pyramid of the Moon, and the Temple of the Feathered Serpent. The city featured large residential compounds, plazas, and extensive workshops, notably for obsidian. The economy relied on craft production, resource extraction, and long-distance trade networks that connected various regions of Mesoamerica.

Teotihuacana art and iconography display a sophisticated aesthetic and cosmology, with murals and sculptures depicting deities, ritual practices, and elite power. The culture influenced neighboring regions and subsequent Mesoamerican civilizations, contributing stylistic elements to Maya and central Mexican art and architecture. Teotihuacan appears to have been a multiethnic, cosmopolitan urban center with a complex religious and civic hierarchy, though the precise political structure is still debated.

Around the 6th century CE, Teotihuacan entered a period of decline and was increasingly abandoned by the 7th and 8th centuries. The causes are not known with certainty, but theories include internal social upheaval, ecological strain, and external pressures. The Teotihuacana left a lasting legacy in urban planning, monumental construction, and cultural influence across Mesoamerica.