Teotihuacan Place of the Gods

A detailed Summary of Teotihuacan Place of the Gods

Teotihuacan, the name of the magnificent and dramatic urban center about thirty-three miles north-east of modern day Mexico City, has been variously translated from the Nahua language of the Aztec people as "the dwelling place of the gods" and "the place where men become gods". (Baldwin) Names of the city and buildings all come from the Aztecs. It is believed that their religion was composed of a female deity, the "Great Goddess", who dominated cave and mountain ritual, divination, and may have also had solar associations. While a male god, the "Storm God", presided over water and violent weather. (Miller, M) Around 100 BCE the city started to form from clusters of agricultural villages, and by 200 CE Teotihuacan was growing rapidly into a very large city and civilization. It reached its peak by about 500 CE where the population possibly reached anywhere from 125,000 to more than 200,000. There were more than 500 workshops for objects of wood, ceramic, and obsidian. Obsidian was one of the areas strategic resources. (Miller, R) Due it its size, structure, and all around magnifice

Southeast of the Pyramid of the Moon rises the Pyramid of the Sun. (see picture 6) This pyramid has five sloping tiers with platforms, and stands about 213 feet high. It is one of the largest pre-Columbian structures and even one of the largest in North America for a while. This massive structure was constructed of dirt, rock, and like the other structures, was faced with stone that was stuccoed and brightly painted. It was built over a multi-chambered cave and is thought that this symbolizes perhaps the commemorated human creation and the emergence from caves. (Miller, M)

Teotihuancan is vast, its architecture monumental, and its deities vivid. "It feels like the center of an empire when one walks within." (Baldwin) There was a city-state and a true civilization here once. Teotihuancan was built upon the remnants of a once small folk society that had grown out of its self-sufficiency. It is an authentic manifestation of city life, a place with a formal layout where technical accomplishment was ubiquitous.

Miller, R. Mexico: A history. University of Oklahoma Press, 1985

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Approximate Word count = 1085
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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