The city of Teotihuacán
The city of Teotihuacán, which lay about 50kilometers northeast of modern-day Mexico City, began its growth by 200-100B.C. At its height, between about A.D. 150 and 700, it probably had apopulation of more than 125,000 people and covered at least 20 squarekilometers. It had over 2,000 apartment complexes, a great market, a largenumber of industrial workshops, an administrative center, a number of massivereligious edifices, and a regular grid pattern of streets and buildings. Clearly,much planning and central control were involved in the expansion and orderingof this great metropolis. Moreover, the city had economic and perhaps religiouscontacts with most parts of Mesoamerica (modern Central America and Mexico).
How did this tremendous development take placeand why did it happen in the Teotihuacán Valley? Among the main factors areTeotihuacán’s geographic location on a natural trade route to the south andeast of the Valley of Mexico, the obsidian resources in the Teotihuacán Valleyitself, and the valley’s potential for extensive irrigation. The exact role ofother factors is much more difficult to pinpoint―for instance, Teotihuacán’sreligious significance as a shrine, the historical situation in and around theValley of Mexico toward the end of the first millennium B.C., the ingenuity andforesightedness of Teotihuacán’s elite, and, finally, the impact of naturaldisasters, such as the volcanic eruptions of the late first millennium B.C.
This last factor is at leastcircumstantially implicated in Teotihuacán’s rise. Prior to 200 B.C., a numberof relatively small centers coexisted in and near the Valley of Mexico. Aroundthis time, the largest of these centers, Cuicuilco, was seriously affected by avolcanic eruption, with much of its agricultural land covered by lava. WithCuicuilco eliminated as potential rival, any one of a number of relatively modesttowns might have emerged as a leading economic and political power in CentralMexico. The archaeological evidence clearly indicates, though, that Teotihuacánwas the center that did arise as the predominant force in the area by the firstcentury A.D.
It seems likely that Teotihuacán’s natural resources,along with the city elite’s ability to recognize their potential, gave the citya competitive edge over its neighbors. The valley, like many other places inMexican and Guatemalan highlands, was rich in obsidian. The hard volcanic stonewasha resource that had been in great demand for many years, at least since therise of the Olmec’s (a people who flourished between 1200 and 400 B.C.), and itapparently had a secure market. Moreover, recent research on obsidian toolsfound at Olmec sites has shown that some of the obsidian obtained by the Olmecoriginated near Teotihuacán. Teotihuacán obsidian must have been recognized asa valuable commodity for many centuries before the great city arose.
Long-distance trade in obsidian probablygave the elite residents of Teotihuacán access to a wide variety of exoticgood, as well as a relatively prosperous life. Such success may have attractedimmigrants to Teotihuacán. In addition, Teotihuacán’s elite may haveconsciously attempted to attract new inhabitants. It is also probable that asearly as 200 B.C. Teotihuacán may have achieved some religious significance andits shrine (or shrines) may have served as an additional population magnet.Finally, the growing population was probably fed by increasing the number andsize of irrigated fields.
Thepicture of Teotihuacán that emerges is a classic picture of positive feedbackamong obsidian mining and working, trade, population growth, irrigation, andreligious tourism. The thriving obsidian operation, for example, wouldnecessitate more miners, additional manufacturers of obsidian tools, andadditional traders to carry the goods to new markets. All this led to increasedwealth, which in turn would attract more immigrants to Teotihuacán. The growingpower of the elite, who controlled the economy, would give them the means tophysically coerce people to move to Teotihuacán and serve as additions to thelabor force. More irrigation works would have to be built to feed the growingpopulation, and this resulted in more power and wealth for the elite.
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