Building at Teotihuacan
began between 100-200 AD. The city is located in the valley of Teotihuacan which
is over 7000 feet above sea level. The main road down the center of the city
is called the Avenue of the Dead by the Aztecs because the mounds on the sides
looked like tombs. The Avenue was large at 131 feet (40 meters) wide and 3 miles
(5 km) in length and ran north and south in direction. Shortly after 200 AD
the city developed another main road running east-west dividing the city in
four quarters.
The city, at it's
peak, covered an area of eight square miles and had a population estimated between
100,000 and 200,000. It's wealth came from being able to control obsidian from
the nearby mountains. Obsidian was an important for tool and weapon production
during this time. In 750 AD the city was burned and the main area abandoned.
Archeologist believe that it was a revolution which caused the fires to overthrow
an increasingly oppressive government. Later the Aztec would visit the ruins
to perform religious ceremonies. The Aztec also believed that Teotihuacan was
the birth place for the Aztec Gods. (Bahn, 1999) & (Arnold, 1994)
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