Editing Teotihuacan (section)

===Historical course===
[[File:Teotihuacan_Sun_Front.jpg|right|thumb|{{center|Front view of the [[Pyramid of the Sun]]}}]]
[[File:Pyramid of the sun teotihuacan with crowd.jpg|right|thumb|{{center|Left side view of the Pyramid of the Sun}}]]
The first human establishment in the Teotihuacan area dates back to 600 BCE, and until 200 BCE the site consisted of scattered small villages. The total estimated population of the Teotihuacan Valley during this time was approximately 6,000.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Parsons|first=Jeffrey R.|date=1974|title=The Development of a Prehistoric Complex Society: A Regional Perspective from the Valley of Mexico|journal=Journal of Field Archaeology|volume=1|issue=1/2|pages=81–108|doi=10.2307/529707|issn=0093-4690|jstor=529707}}</ref> From 100 BCE to 750 CE, Teotihuacan evolved into a huge urban and administrative center with cultural influences throughout the broader Mesoamerica region.

The history of Teotihuacan is distinguished by four consecutive periods:

'''Period I''' occurred between 200 – 1 BCE and marks the development of a distinctively urban area. During this period, Teotihuacan began to grow into a city as local farmers began coalescing around the abundant springs of Teotihuacan.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Nichols|first=Deborah L.|date=2016|title=Teotihuacan|journal=Journal of Archaeological Research|volume=24|issue=1|pages=1–74|issn=1059-0161|jstor=43956797|doi=10.1007/s10814-015-9085-0|s2cid=254607946 }}</ref>

'''Period II''' lasted between 1 CE to 350 CE. During this era, ''Teotihuacan'' exhibited explosive growth and emerged as the largest metropolis in Mesoamerica. Factors influencing this growth include the destruction of other settlements due to volcanic eruptions and the economic pull of the expanding city.<ref name=":1" /> This influx of new residents caused a reorganization of urban housing to the unique compound complexes that typify Teotihuacan.<ref name=":1" /> This period is notable for its monumental architecture and sculpture, especially the construction of some of the most well-known sites of ''Teotihuacan'', the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/teot2/hd_teot2.htm | title=''Teotihuacan'': Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon |website=www.metmuseum.org| date=October 2001 |access-date=2020-03-11}}</ref> Further, the shift of political power from the Temple of the Feathered Serpent and its surrounding palace structure to the Avenue of the Dead Complex occurred sometime between CE 250 and 350.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Cowgill|first=George L.|date=1997|title=State and Society at Teotihuacan, Mexico|journal=Annual Review of Anthropology|volume=26|pages=129–161|issn=0084-6570|jstor=2952518|doi=10.1146/annurev.anthro.26.1.129}}</ref> Some authors believe that this represents a shift from the centralized, monarchical political system to a more decentralized and bureaucratic organization.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> Around 300 CE, the Temple of the Feathered Serpent was desecrated and construction in the city proceeded in a more egalitarian direction, focusing on the building of comfortable, stone accommodations for the population''.<ref name="auto">Graeber, David and Wengrow, David "The Dawn of Everything, A New History of Humanity" (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021), pp. 342–343</ref>''

'''Period III''' lasted from 350 to 650 CE and is known as the classical period of Teotihuacan, during which the city reached the apogee of influence in Mesoamerica. Its population is estimated at a minimum of 125,000 inhabitants, and the city was among the largest cities in the ancient world, containing 2,000 buildings within an area of 18 square kilometers.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Sanders|first1=William T.|last2=Webster|first2=David|date=1988|title=The Mesoamerican Urban Tradition|journal=American Anthropologist|volume=90|issue=3|pages=521–546|issn=0002-7294|jstor=678222|doi=10.1525/aa.1988.90.3.02a00010}}</ref> It was also during this high period when Teotihuacan contained approximately half all people in the Valley of Mexico, becoming a kind of [[primate city]] of Mesoamerica.<ref name=":3" /> This period saw a massive reconstruction of buildings, and the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, which dates back to the previous period, was covered with a plaza with rich sculptural decoration.<ref name="auto"/> Typical artistic artifacts of this period are funeral masks, crafted mainly from green stone and covered with mosaics of turquoise, shell or obsidian. These masks were highly uniform in nature.

'''Period IV''' describes the time period between 650 and 750 CE. It marks the end of Teotihuacan as a major power in Mesoamerica. The city's elite housing compounds, clustered around the Avenue of the Dead, bear many burn marks, and archeologists hypothesize that the city experienced civil strife that hastened its decline.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Luján|first1=Leonardo López|last2=Nadal|first2=Laura Filloy|last3=Fash|first3=Barbara W.|last4=Fash|first4=William L.|last5=Hernández|first5=Pilar|date=2006|title=The Destruction of Images in Teotihuacan: Anthropomorphic Sculpture, Elite Cults, and the End of a Civilization|journal=RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics|volume=49–50|issue=49/50|pages=12–39|issn=0277-1322|jstor=20167692|doi=10.1086/RESvn1ms20167692|s2cid=193625763}}</ref> Factors that also led to the decline of the city included disruptions in tributary relations, increased social stratification, and power struggles between the ruling and intermediary elites.<ref name=":1" /> Following this decline, Teotihuacan continued to be inhabited, though it never reached its previous levels of population.