I want to pass this on from INAH.  Enjoy.
--
Paul E. Pettennude


TEOTIHUACAN

At the far northeast of the valley of Mexico, the valley of Teotihuacan is
formed, with an extension of approx., 600 km2, the San Juan river runs by
it (its main sewer) and ends up in the Texcoco lake, having numerous
springs as well.

Located at a height of 2 200 m. above sea level it is considered that it
begun in the II century b.c., being considered the most important culture
of the central area of the old Mexico.

For the study of Teotihuacan several divisions have been, made in relation
to the time and phases of development of this culture, Teotihuacan I, II,
and III; although after this division was made, it has been discovered that
earlier phases existed and are known like: Cuanalan and Patlachique, very
different from each other, these phases are considered the precedent of the
Teotihuacan culture, since it does not emerge spontaneously. During these
phases Teotihuacan turns into a large town of more than 6 km2 in extension,
reaching a population of 10 000 people.

At least four volcano-rock working shops have been discovered which
probably begun in this era; they specialized in producing arrow heads and
knives that were carved by percussion. Perhaps that was the first impulse
that launched Teotihuacan to a commercial road that as time went by became
more important, giving the future city an internationalization concept, so
evident in the later eras.

TEOTIHUACAN I

This era takes up the two centuries prior to the Christian era
approximately; during this era, the city grew up enormously both in
extension and in population, it maybe reached 50 000 inhabitants which was
located in its majority on the north and the west regions, but with varying
densities. In this time other towns of the valley diminished in population
since its inhabitants move to Teotihuacan where more and better attractions
are offered.

In this period the Calzada de los Muertos is designed in its north end,
possibly the East and West avenues are begun; the city is acquiring its
definite shape, large avenues with a cross-like plan and the division in
quadrants, the definite north-south orientation is established, with a
deviation of 15'30" to the east of north, remember the orientation of the
oldest planned city in Mesoamerica, La Venta with 8' to the west of north.

In this phase the majority of the city's most colossal buildings were
built: the pyramid of the Sun, which was amplified twice and reached then
its actual height, and the interior building of the pyramid of the Moon.
The pyramid of the Sun has an almost square base of 222 m by 225 m, formed
of four sloped bodies with a total height of more than 63 m, without
counting the temple that crowned it, now lost, formed by huge cross beams
that do not end in a board, built almost completely from clay, with the
exterior covered with cut but not polished rock. There is an older
construction, almost of the same size in its interior both of them built in
this phase.

There are approximately twenty-three complexes of temples, formed by three
temples that enclose other sides of a patio and a low platform limiting the
fourth side of the patio that correspond to third era. It is possible that
since this phase certain irrigation projects were begun and new lands were
cultivated; the production of shops and commerce develop.

Teotihuacan begun importing green volcano-rock, since the local was gray,
from the Navajas mountain in Hidalgo. Taking into account the development
that is reached in the different fields it is believed that social division
existed with a predominant state and a profesionalization of activities, in
other words, crafts were not made as a hobby but rather as a primordial
activity.

From this, Teotihuacan reaches great importance in the local market, center
and source, with the temple (religion), of the cities of Mesoamerica.

TEOTIHUACAN II

This period lasts until the year of 350 a.d. During this phase the
metropolitan area which goes from the valley of Mexico as well as the one
from Puebla, controlling part of Hidalgo, was founded.

In this era, its considered an empire, since signs of its influence can be
observed in the valley of Oaxaca, in Veracruz and even in Kaminaljuyu, in
the High Plateau of Guatemala; accepting ideas from the outside as well.
Its political and commercial center is built, the Gran Conjunto formed by
the Quetzalcoatl temple (this is considered one of the most richly
decorated and sumptuous of the ancient Mexico) and the quadrangle in front
of it, the East and West avenues are well established, running in more than
3 km to the south of the avenue of the Muertos.

In the Quetzalcoatl temple a great work can be observed. It has six stepped
bodies with a small cross beams and a great board, in the center of the
west facade, a great set of steps with the side walls decorated with
serpent heads in high relief, the cross beams are also decorated with
serpents in low relief with the complete animal, with some sea shells and
snails. The stone was cut, adjusted, polished and painted in vivid colors
of which some remains can still be seen.

The center of activities is located to the south and to the north the
religious and more solemn function is left. In this phase the surface that
it occupied got to be 20 km2 and had about 100 000 inhabitants.

The main avenue is the North-South, Calzada de los Muertos-Micaotli-, in
this era the pyramid of the moon and its sensational plaza -one of the most
beautiful in the world-. The walls were covered with lime and there were
murals painted on them, the motifs were usually animals, with scenes that
occur in the water. The field of sculpture was not as developed as the
field of painting, which in fact was imitated.

Several neighborhoods can be located, limited by the precedence as well as
the profession of those who lived there. More than four hundred shops,
ceramic, rock, and sea-shell working. Teotihuacan was a city where people
from other places, sometimes far-ones, lived, which in part promoted its
great development. It is believed that numerous pilgrims got there to ask
favors to the gods, impressed by the greatness of the city as a whole and
its impressive buildings, being an esthetic and emotional attraction.

TEOTIHUACAN III

In this great final era (350-650), what had been accomplished before is
consolidated and it expands, the city reaches its maximum splendor and
prestige, although its area is reduced to 19 km2, reaching 200 000
inhabitants (approx).

Many of the monuments that we see today belong to this time. A great
portion of the temples that were excavated and partially reconstructed in
1962 and 1964, such as the Quetzalpapalotl palace, in the plaza of the
moon; a great part of the more than two hundred murals that were recovered,
in palaces, temples and houses belong to this palace, where essentially
religious and symbolic scenes can be observed, the painting expresses a
great sense of lines and movement, manifesting works with a symmetrical,
obscure, and proper tendencies, with an extraordinary refinement of color.

In the religious paintings official representations where gods and priests
can be observed, who wear complicated clothing's, enormous accessories and
numerous jade jewels, while they celebrate some ritual act.

In another group of paintings there are no human figures, but only animals,
which are jaguars, fish, birds, serpents in some violent and not so violent
scenes; we can also find another group in the paintings, the abstract,
where figures created by the imagination appear, simple decorative motifs,
friezes or ornaments that were placed like a frame around the painting, or
in some other cases by themselves as in the Quetzalpapalotl temple, being
the main motif.

It is worth mentioning the fact that in the paintings there are no women
nor is there an apparent interest in her, nor is sexual pleasure insinuated
and the beauty of the human body is ignored.

One of the most interesting murals is the Tlalocan. Talocan's Mural
represents the paradise of the god of the Rain, to which only those who
died drowned or by consequence of the water got there. The god of water is
worshipped a great deal which makes it apparent that water was scarce,
although there were springs and a very large lake nearby.

Teotihuacan art has something that does not change, and lives in the
strength of its pyramids as well as in the splendid stone masks or in the
fine ceramics. At the end, it turns flowery and baroque in extreme.

During the final era of the city (650-700 a.d.), Teotihuacan society
crumbles, but the total inhabited area is almost the same as in the times
of its normal life and the number of inhabitants only diminishes slowly.

At the end, the inhabitants of the old residential zones no longer lived in
isolated houses and the majority of them were congregated in houses or
apartments, which most likely had to produce considerable changes in the
life of the Teotihuacan.

The groups would be more closely related in the physical sense, but the
agglomeration must have caused numerous frictions; the increase in
population multiplied the urban and economic problems. It is believed that
the economic problem created a separating gap between the government and
the governed, a gap between the people and the representatives of the gods
and their oppression. Some of the towns nearby furthered themselves from
the city, loosing the control that this one once had.

The greatest abandonment of the city only occurred from the VIII century.
One possible explanation to this could be given by the invasion of the
aggressive Chichimeca tribes that ravaged everything that they found on
their path.

The city was burned, looted and partly destroyed; the signs of the final
fire are evident in many of the temples alongside the Calzada de los
Muertos. Where this is most evident is in the Quetzalpapalotl palace.

Here they not only burnt the ceilings, but they also dismantled the
beautiful columns sculpted with the effigy of the god and in part they were
buried in the central patio. Also the monumental staircase of the pyramid
of the Moon was destroyed and almost all the large stones of the steps were
broken and scattered by the plaza. Perhaps in that same occasion the
enormous statue of the water goddess was also carried several meters, that
was supposed to be on top of the pyramid of the Moon and was found in 1860
142 m to the west of the pyramid.

During the next two hundred years the conquerors and the beaten
Teotihuacanos co-lived in the area, but never are the ravaged temples
reconstructed nor does it recover its greatness as a city.

Teotihuacan established for the first time in this valley the political,
cultural, religious and economic center of what we now call Mexico. Thanks
to its sensational success no other zone could accomplish the hegemony,
which makes of Mexico a very centralized unit around the valleys of Mexico.