Teotihuacán: Completion of Map of Giant Ancient City in the Valley of Mexico

Abstract

The detailed archeological map of Teotihuacán, near Mexico City, demonstrates what the prehistoric city was like from its densely crowded center to its more sparsely settled peripheries. The city's population lived in crowded one-story apartment compounds, grouped into neighborhoods based at least partly on occupation. At its height the city had a minimum population of 75,000, a probable population of 125,000, and a possible population of more than 200,000. Those involved in craft production and associated activities may have numbered in the tens of thousands. The scope and intensity of urbanization at Teotihuacán is not paralleled in other contemporary New World centers. The growth potential of the obsidian and other industries, the rise of Teotihuacán as a market and trade center, and its attraction as a religious center may have combined in a self-generating process that led to the creation of Teotihuacán's unique urban society.