Editing Teotihuacan (section)

===Zenith===
The city reached its peak in 450 CE when it was the center of a powerful culture whose influence extended through much of the Mesoamerican region. At this time, the city covered over 30&nbsp;km{{sup|2}} (over {{frac|11|1|2}} square miles), and perhaps housed a population of 150,000 people, with one estimate reaching as high as 250,000.<ref>Malmström (1978, p. 105) gives an estimate of 50,000 to 200,000 inhabitants. Coe ''et al.'' (1986) says it "might lie between 125,000 and 250,000". Millon, p. 18, lists 125,000 in AD 600. Taube, p. 1, says "perhaps as many as 150,000".</ref> Various districts in the city housed people from across the Teotihuacan region of influence, which spread south as far as [[Guatemala]]. Notably absent from the city are fortifications and military structures.

[[File:Piramide de la Luna 072006.jpg|thumb|left|250px|View of the [[Pyramid of the Moon]] from the [[Pyramid of the Sun]]]]

The nature of political and cultural interactions between Teotihuacan and the centers of the Maya region (as well as elsewhere in Mesoamerica) has been a long-standing and significant area for debate. Substantial exchange and interaction occurred over the centuries from the Terminal Preclassic to the Mid-Classic period. "Teotihuacan-inspired ideologies" and motifs persisted at Maya centers into the Late Classic, long after Teotihuacan itself had declined.<ref>Braswell (2003, p. 7)</ref> However, scholars debate the extent and degree of Teotihuacan influence. Some believe that it had direct and militaristic dominance while others view the adoption of "foreign" traits as part of a selective, conscious, and bi-directional [[cultural diffusion]]. New discoveries have suggested that Teotihuacan was not much different in its interactions with other centers from the later empires, such as the Toltec and Aztec.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0610/feature5/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080105021158/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0610/feature5/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 5, 2008|title=Mexico's Pyramid of Death|work=[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]|date=2006|access-date=2008-02-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/12/041203084345.htm|title=Sacrificial Burial Deepens Mystery At Teotihuacan, But Confirms The City's Militarism|website=[[ScienceDaily]]|date=2004|access-date=2008-02-26}}</ref> It is believed that Teotihuacan had a major influence on the Preclassic and Classic Maya.

[[File:MW-Teotihuacan8.jpg|thumb|Platform along the Avenue of the Dead showing the ''[[talud-tablero]]'' architectural style]]
[[File:Facade of the Temple of the Feathered Serpent (Teotihuacán).jpg|thumb|Restored portion of Teotihucan architecture showing the typical Mesoamerican use of red paint complemented on gold and jade decoration upon marble and granite.]]

Architectural styles prominent at Teotihuacan are found widely dispersed at a number of distant Mesoamerican sites, which some researchers have interpreted as evidence for Teotihuacan's far-reaching interactions and political or militaristic dominance.<ref>See for example Cheek (1977, ''passim.''), who argues that much of Teotihuacan's influence stems from direct militaristic conquest.</ref> A style particularly associated with Teotihuacan is known as ''[[talud-tablero]]'', in which an inwards-sloping external side of a structure (''talud'') is surmounted by a rectangular panel (''tablero''). Variants of the generic style are found in a number of Maya region sites including [[Tikal]], [[Kaminaljuyu]], [[Copan]], [[Becan]], and [[Oxkintok]], and particularly in the [[Petén Basin]] and the central Guatemalan highlands.<ref>See Laporte (2003, p. 205); Varela Torrecilla and Braswell (2003, p. 261).</ref> The ''talud-tablero'' style pre-dates its earliest appearance at Teotihuacan in the Early Classic period; it appears to have originated in the Tlaxcala-Puebla region during the Preclassic.<ref>Braswell (2003, p. 11)</ref> Analyses have traced the development into local variants of the ''talud-tablero'' style at sites such as Tikal, where its use precedes the 5th-century appearance of iconographic motifs shared with Teotihuacan. The ''talud-tablero'' style disseminated through Mesoamerica generally from the end of the Preclassic period, and not specifically, or solely, via Teotihuacano influence. It is unclear how or from where the style spread into the Maya region. During its zenith, the main structures at Teotihuacan, including the pyramids, were painted in impressive shades of dark red, with some small spots persisting to this day.<ref>Braswell (2003, p. 11); for the analysis at Tikal, see Laporte (2003, pp. 200–205)</ref>

The city was a center of industry, home to many potters, jewelers, and craftspeople. Teotihuacan is known for producing a great number of [[obsidian]] artifacts. No ancient Teotihuacano non-[[ideogram|ideographic]] texts are known to exist (or known to have once existed). Inscriptions from Maya cities show that Teotihuacan nobility traveled to, and perhaps conquered, local rulers as far away as [[Honduras]]. [[Maya script|Maya inscriptions]] note an individual named by scholars as "[[Spearthrower Owl]]", apparently ruler of Teotihuacan, who reigned for over 60 years and installed his relatives as rulers of [[Tikal]] and [[Uaxactun]] in [[Guatemala]].{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}

Scholars have based interpretations of Teotihuacan culture on its archeology, murals that adorn the site (and others, like the [[Wagner Murals]], found in private collections), and hieroglyphic inscriptions made by the [[Maya civilization|Maya]] describing their encounters with Teotihuacan conquerors. The creation of murals, perhaps tens of thousands of murals, reached its height between 450 and 650. The artistry of the painters was unrivaled in Mesoamerica and has been compared with that of painters in [[Renaissance]] [[Florence, Italy]].<ref>Davies, p. 78.</ref>