Teotihuacan Essay -- essays papers

Teotihuacan The ancient world of Mesoamerica entered a long period of change that soon led to the development a mammoth city that would serve as a regional center for more than 600 years. Beginning in about 1000 B.C. the majority of the people in the Valley of Mexico relocated to one of two primary sites, that of Cuicuilco in the southwest corner and Teotihuacan in the northeast. By about 300 B.C., Cuicuilco dominated the region, but its heyday would soon diminish. (Sabloff 2000, p 60) For the next two hundred years the dominion would begin to shift towards the side of Teotihuacan, a city that would undergo rapid growth never seen before on such a large scale. This was in part due to final demise of Cuicuilco influence from the eruption of Xitli in 50B.C. (Weaver 1981, p 104) This smothered their fields and soon thereafter swallowed the entire site. This was catastrophic because it destroyed their means of survival by wiping out agricultural land, which not only served as a source of subsistence but also as an economic base. Eventually the entire city was covered over, thus ending its years of prestige and aiding the development of its major rival. (Sabloff 2000, p 61) This event transformed Teotihuacan into the central city of the region, and soon masses began to flood in. Within a very short period the population was believed to consist of between 80-90% of the total population of the Valley of Mexico. This fluxuated but by the time of Christ, many were moving into the area again and soon began the construction of this great city. (Weaver 1981, p 189) The reasons for this immigration are unknown but surveys have proven that the city was populated as the countryside was depopulated. This resettlement policy, whether forced or 'encouraged', soon provided the state with enough manpower to bring this center into it excellence. This let the state relocate some of the residents onto the most productive agricultural lands to provide a subsistence base for the community. (Sabloff 1981, p 221) The political advantage of this widespread influence if quite apparent. This would permit the state to have direct control over the urban population as well as those it chose to send out to work in best agricultural lands. Also, most important, this control minimized the threats to the state by eliminating any other strong centers that may rise up against it. The... ...interesting finds, but these were primarily skeletal remains of fish, dogs, deer, waterfowl, and rabbit. The fish bones suggest that these people were exploiting the lakes to the south, as well as the remains of the fowl and turtles. The excavations also uncovered many remains within numerous compounds that suggest a commercial relation as well. One of the most significant was that it had a nearby source of obsidian. (Sabloff 1997, p62) This volcanic rock, found only in the highland areas containing volcanoes, was used primarily to make tools and weapons. This was very valuable at the time and control over the sources would provide great power and source of a valuable trade item. There are two main kinds of obsidian, gray and green. Of the studies preformed on artifacts through modern techniques like trace analysis, numerous sources have been identified in Guatemala and Mexico. The gray was more common and came from more than 15 identified sources. Green obsidian was found to have only one source, Pachuca, Hidalgo, making it much more desirable and proved to be a sign of higher status individuals. (Weaver 1981, p 205) Bibliography: (Weaver 1981, p 205)(Sabloff 1997, p62)