Editing Teotihuacan (section)

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[[File:Cabeza_de_felino,_Teotihuacán,_México,_2013-10-13,_DD_03.JPG|thumb|left|250px|Felid head, Teotihuacán, Mexico.]]
[[File:Teotihuacán mask.jpg|thumb|Teotihuacán-style mask, Classical period. [[Walters Art Museum]].]]
Scholars originally thought that invaders attacked the city in the 7th or 8th century, sacking and burning it. More recent evidence, however, seems to indicate that the burning was limited to the structures and dwellings associated primarily with the [[ruling class]].<ref name = "Manz1">{{cite journal | doi = 10.1073/pnas.1419881112 | pmid=25775567 | pmc=4522775 | volume=112 | title=Cooperation and tensions in multiethnic corporate societies using Teotihuacan, Central Mexico, as a case study | year=2015 | journal=Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A | pages=9210–5 | last1 = Manzanilla | first1 = LR| issue=30 | bibcode=2015PNAS..112.9210M | doi-access=free }}</ref> Some think this suggests that the burning was from an internal uprising and the invasion theory is flawed because early archeological efforts were focused exclusively on the palaces and temples, places used by the upper classes. Because all of these sites showed burning, archeologists concluded that the whole city was burned. Instead, it is now known that the destruction was centered on major civic structures along the Avenue of the Dead. The sculptures inside palatial structures, such as Xalla, were shattered.<ref>Manzanilla L. (2003) The abandonment of Teotihuacan. The Archaeology of Settlement Abandonment in Middle America, Foundations of Archaeological Inquiry, eds Inomata T, Webb RW (Univ of Utah Press, Salt Lake City), pp 91–101/</ref> No traces of foreign invasion are visible at the site.<ref name = "Manz1" />

Evidence for population decline beginning around the 6th century lends some support to the internal unrest hypothesis. The decline of Teotihuacan has been correlated to lengthy [[drought]]s related to the [[Extreme weather events of 535–536|climate changes of 535–536]], possibly caused by the eruption of [[Lake Ilopango|the Ilopango volcano]] in [[El Salvador]]. This theory of ecological decline is supported by archeological remains that show a rise in the percentage of juvenile skeletons with evidence of [[malnutrition]] during the 6th century, further supporting the hypothesis of famine as one of the more plausible reasons for the decline of Teotihuacan. Urbanized Teotihuacanos would likely have been dependent on agricultural crops such as maize, beans, amaranth, tomatillos, and pumpkins. If climate change affected crop yields, then the harvest would not have been sufficient to feed Teotihucan's extensive population.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.historiacultural.com/2010/10/cultura-teotihuacana.html|title=Cultura Teotihuacana|website=www.historiacultural.com|access-date=2017-09-16}}</ref> However, the two main hypotheses are not mutually exclusive. Drought leading to famine could have led to incursions from smaller surrounding civilizations as well as internal unrest.<ref>Kaufman (2001, p. 4)</ref>

As Teotihuacan fell in local prominence, other nearby centers, such as [[Cholula (Mesoamerican site)|Cholula]], [[Xochicalco]], and [[Cacaxtla]], competed to fill the power void. They may have even aligned themselves against Teotihuacan to seize the opportunity to further reduce its influence and power. The art and architecture at these sites emulate Teotihuacan forms but also demonstrate an eclectic mix of motifs and iconography from other parts of Mesoamerica, particularly the Maya region.{{Citation needed|date=November 2016}}

The sudden destruction of Teotihuacan was common for Mesoamerican city-states of the Classic and Epi-Classic period. Many Maya states suffered similar fates in subsequent centuries, a series of events often referred to as the [[Classic Maya collapse]]. Nearby, in the Morelos valley, Xochicalco was sacked and burned in 900, and Tula met a similar fate around 1150.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Snow|first=Dean R.|title=Archaeology of Native North America|date=2010|publisher=Prentice Hall|page=156}}</ref>