Teotihuacan

Info goes here about [|Teotihuacan] (Fixed broken link, Joe S.)

According to the Wikipedia entry on Teotihuacan, during its height of cultural relevance during the 1st millennium CE (around 150 - 450 CE) it was the largest city not only in the Americas but possibly Europe as well. Teotihuacan was a "multi-ethnic" city, appearing to be composed of Zapotec, Mixtec, Maya, and Nahua quarters. Though religiously the people of the city worshipped the same gods as those found in Mesopotamian mythology, they have a supposed "[|Great Goddess]". Most prominently depicted at the Tetitla Compound (trying to find a picture of the compound, I've only found that it is "Situated about 1.5km/1mi from the Sun Pyramid, on the west side of the "Street of the Dead", is the site of Tetitla (Náhuatl: "Place with stones")" from Planetware.com (also looking for a more reliable source on that information). It could be inferred that the Tetitla Compound was located in the Nahua district as the name comes from the Nahua language. The city did not have defensive fortifications, this could've helped lead to the eventual perplexing demise. Although it was first theorized that the city was ransacked and burned by an invading people (Wikipedia specifically mentions the [|Toltecs] as possible culprits) it is unknown as to wether this is the truth. According to archaeologists the population had been steadily declining for some time before the city was destroyed (probably due to [|gross change in climate]*) which could mean that the civilization's end was more natural that what's usually depicted.


 * Mentioned previously in a reading from class. (Joe S.)

__**Teotihuacan Related Resources/Articles of Interest**__ [|Description of city, a brief historical overview, pictures of a tour.] (Joe S. via Dartmouth.edu) [|High quality photograph depicting an overview of city ruins.] (Joe S.) [|Another high quality photograph of city ruins, Pyramide De La Luna] (Joe S.) [|"Classic Era" Map showing the location of Teotihuacan and other cities (Linked due to high bandwidth usage)] (Joe S.) [|Picture showing the Mural of the Great Goddess of Teotihuacan (Link due to high bandwidth usage)] (Joe S.) [|Structural overview of the Tetitla Compound (Linked due to bandwidth)] (Joe S.) [|Good collection images showing where the Quetzalpapalotl Palace is in juxtaposistion to the Pyramid of the Moon (Kara has pictures of the mural below)] (Joe S.) [|YouTube video showing Teotihuacan architecture (Actual tour of the city starts around 1:40)] (Joe S.)

** Teotihucan means "Place of the Gods."
 * KARA'S PART

Here is a time line to show Teotihucan's time period (in lime green) in comparison to other civilizations--In particular the Olmec, Maya, and Aztec, since we actually talked about those. http://www.famsi.org/research/pohl/images/timeline.jpg

Here's Teotihuacan's timeline: > > http://www.world-mysteries.com/mpl_7.htm *(This website was very helpful. There is a lot of good information and pictures.) > > And a map, just for a geographical sense of where Teotihucan is (close to Mexico City). > > http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=19733 > > Here is an over view of the city. > > > Here is the site where I found the overview from above: http://www.ancientmexico.com/content/map/teotihuacan.html > If you follow the link, you can click on different destinations (i.e. Pyramid of the Sun), and you will see a picture of the destination. > media type="youtube" key="6OLfbxX7rKs&feature=related" width="425" height="350" > And here is a breif video of the pyramids (from the outside). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OLfbxX7rKs&feature=related > > Besides the Pyramids and the Venue of the Dead there is the "Palace of the Quetzal Butterfly." > > " This palace, which was probably used as living quarters by the high priests, is possibly the finest and most important dwelling-place in the city. It is richly decorated and boasts well-preserved frescos. A staircase, which is embellished by an enormous serpent's head, leads to an antechamber decorated with wall-paintings. This leads into a small arched courtyard with square columns which are covered with interesting bas-reliefs depicting the mythological figure of the Quetzal butterfly as well as symbols of birds and water. The reliefs were originally painted and inlaid with layers of obsidian which have been partially preserved. Equally remarkable are the heavily stylised figures painted on a red background and the roof edges decorated with symbols connected with the different parts of the year." > http://www.planetware.com/mexico/teotihuacan-palace-of-the-quetzal-butterfly-mex-mex-teorpqb.htm > > And here is a picture of the Palace: > > http://z.about.com/d/gomexico/1/5/G/3/-/-/quetzalpapalotl_courtyard.jpg > > > I was interested in pottery from the city. I wanted to learn more about it besides the fact that there were a lot of pyramids.
 * 100 BC - 0 AD Proto-Teotihuacan (two small hamlets in northern pocket of Valley of Mexico, population = 5000)
 * 0 BC - 150 AD Teotihuacan I - (Avenue of the Dead, Pyramid of the Sun established)
 * 150 AD - 300 AD Teotihuacan II - (Grid pattern established)
 * 300 AD - 650 AD Teotihuacan III - (Pinacle of development, population = 85,000-200,000)
 * 650 AD - 750 AD Teotihuacan IV - Decline and fall

Mexico - Pottery by the pre- Aztecian Teotihuacan civilization
[ [[image:http://www.swastika-info.com/images/amerika/mexiko/Teotihuacan/keramik-indianisch-unbekannte-kultur-big.jpg width="383" height="359"]] http://www.swastika-info.com/images/amerika/mexiko/Teotihuacan/keramik-indianisch-unbekannte-kultur-big.jpg Also here is a figurine from the city: [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Teotihuacan_figurine_Branly_70-2001-14-2.jpg/358px-Teotihuacan_figurine_Branly_70-2001-14-2.jpg width="188" height="301"]] And I was watching a video on Youtube (With the People from the Mexica Movement that we watched in class), and they mentioned the city's water system. Here is a picture of the water system [[image:http://farm1.static.flickr.com/200/442649856_64d3bce959.jpg?v=0 width="228" height="329"]] http://farm1.static.flickr.com/200/442649856_64d3bce959.jpg?v=0

Joe pretty much covered the downfall--either invading people/climate change/running out of resources. However I found a site that compares it to Rome's downfall-- http://www.dartmouth.edu/~izapa/CS-MM-Chap.%209.htm

media type="youtube" key="eK6JAa9Duuw" width="425" height="350" And Here are our friends from the Mexica Movement :-) The begining has good pictures, but after that the two guys just talk.