How do archaeologists seek to explain the similarities and differences observable in early cities? Why did the earliest cities in pre-Columbian Mexico, such as Teotihuacan, emerge, expand, thrive, and eventually decline? Why did pre-Aztec civilisations build enormous pyramids? What were their religious practices?
The archaeology of early urbanism provides deep historical context for an increasingly urbanized world. Some 2500 years ago, central Mexico became one of the most urbanized parts of the planet, and has remained so to this day. Prior to the Aztecs, the city of Teotihuacan developed as the largest city in the Americas, and one of the largest in the world during the first centuries of the Common Era.
But how did Teotihuacan fall?
David Carballo will provide an overview of archaeological research on the rise and collapse of Teotihuacan by focusing particularly in a southern district of the city, which was inhabited by a lower socioeconomic stratum and provides a perspective on the daily life of commoners as well as the broader processes of urban growth. He will describe hints of urban planning in the extension of the city’s central artery, the Street of the Dead.
Based on his new book Urbanization and Religion in Ancient Central Mexico, he will discuss the religious practices and beliefs of the different civilisations that inhabited Teotihuacan and the role of pre-Aztec pyramids such as the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan. Many of its secrets will be revealed.
