Trifter

    In the Basin of Mexico, somewhere around 25 miles north of what is current day Mexico City lies the ancient upper preclassic city of Teotihuacan. (Orman 2001: 377) No one knows exactly how long Teotihuacan was occupied, how large it became at its height, or how far its reach of power really extended. Despite all of the unknown facts about Teotihuacan, it is inarguably one of the most influential urban centers of ancient Mesoamerica. It started as a small village around 150 BC, reached a height of epic proportions, and started to collapse as a major city around AD 650. Even after the degeneration of the city between AD 650-750, it remained an important and influential center of the Basin of Mexico for two or three centuries. Spanning across nearly 12 square miles with an incredibly dense population, it had become, by far, one of the largest cities of its time (Sempowski 1994: 317). At its height, around AD 300, it reached over 150,000 inhabitants becoming the sixth largest city at its time; it was only rivaled by those in the eastern world. (Storey 1992: 27) Next to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, it was the largest city in Mesoamerica before post-Columbian settlement began. (White 2002: 217) Teotihuacan is one of the most excavated and studied Mesoamerican sites. It has been studied almost continuously since its collapse, never being forgotten throughout history. (Storey 1992:3)

We know a great deal of Teotihuacan’s political, economic and cultural reach not only within the small villages surrounding it, but extending as far as Mayan lands and all along the Gulf Coast. Artifacts have been recovered everywhere surrounding Teotihuacan showing its effect on Mesoamerica. (Evans 2008: 209-214) Nearby cities like Chiapas and Tlaxcala are thought to have been mostly under the control of Teotihuacan politics. (Sempowski 1994: 317) Not only did Teotihuacan’s reach extend far into other parts Mesoamerica, but it had an impressively diverse ethnic inhabitancy itself. (White 2002: 218) Much of the Basin of Mexico was slowly immigrating into the city serving to further populate the densely crowded center. By about 150 AD a large part of Teotihuacan was composed of people with a foreign affinity. (White 2002: 218) Even to those who had not yet immigrated to the city itself still felt the power of Teotihuacan. Almost everyone nearby followed the religion, politics, and culture of this great city.

    Much of the culture of the Teotihuacanos is known, but there is a great deal still to be learned. We know some of their rituals, pantheon of gods, sacrifices, and arts. From agriculture to massive temples, a large portion of Teotihuacan has been studied. They imported and exported many goods including mirrors, obsidian, ceramics, art, and even artisans themselves. Other cities sent their artisans, guildsmen, and soldiers to Teotihuacan increasing the wide array of ethnicities present at its height. (Sempowski 1994: 317) While the majority of the studies executed at Teotihuacan focus on the ceramics, jewelry, sculptures, architecture and other artifacts, the value of evidence obtained from the burials and remains found in the city is not always recognized to its fullest extent.   

    The importance of evidence drawn from physical remains is often overshadowed by other artifacts. The physical remains can tell us a great deal about a society’s past, including information that could not be preserved in other forms. At Teotihuacan, the significant evidence provided by skeletal remains cannot be overlooked, though there are few studies that focus solely on the osteological evidence itself. These osteological studies can provide us with integral information like demography, health, and social structure. (Sempowski 1994: 318) These remains combined with the surrounding aspects of the burial give a great deal of information about the life of the Teotihuacanos.

    The most thorough studies of burials and remains present in Teotihuacan have been done inside the enormous main pyramids along the Street of the Dead and among the apartment complexes around it. (Sempowski 1994: 21) Teotihuacan concentrated most of its population inside its small 12 square mile perimeter. With such a packed population and over 2600 major structures excavated, there is more than an abundance of burial sites to be studied. (Orman 2001: 337) The main structure of the city was well planned in a gridded pattern with a long main avenue down the center, where the temples and central apartment complexes were located. The exact, gridded pattern of the central part of Teotihuacan is exemplary of the power the city possessed to organize the construction of such a map of architecture at one time. Most of the main studies of osteological remains and mortuary practices have taken place within the temples and public housing complexes along the main road of Teotihuacan, the Street of the Dead.

    Adjacent to the central road of Teotihuacan is an abundance of apartment type compounds. Of the 2600+ structures currently excavated in the city, over 2000 of them are residential complexes. These apartments are large architectural structures with rooms, patios, storage and courtyards that housed full extended families. (Storey 1992: 45) The major concentration of the population was in these apartment complexes; not only along the main road, but extending throughout the city as well. (Orman 2001: 377) Within the architecture of the city at least six different stratifications of wealth have been found, most of them residing in the massive amounts of apartment complexes. (Storey 1992: 29) The complexes were generally home to the poorer status individuals, who lived 60-100 individuals within an average apartment compound. (Sempowski 1994: 5) Until recently, the focus of excavation was mainly on the upper classes of Teotihuacan. Only in the past few decades has interest built to include the life and death of the lower classes. (Storey 1992: 29)

    Many of the burials found at the apartment complexes are typical familial deaths, laid to rest in the courtyards or beneath the concrete floors of the apartments themselves. (Sempowski 1994: 129) Examination of the remains shows a myriad of ages and genders. The high occurrence of infant and fetus remains tells us of the high infant mortality rate within the lower classes of the city. An increased ratio of adult females to males indicates that childbirth was probably a dangerous feat in the height of the city (Sempowski 1994: 130, Story 1992: 73). Much of the remains throughout the complexes were buried and given a secondary burial at a later time. This secondary burial is thought to be due to the reconstruction of some complexes, leading to the need for relocation of the remains. (Sempowski 1994, 136) Most individually buried remains were found to be primary burials, while the secondary burials tended to be in group pits or cremated. Whether it was preference for group or individual burials is not known, but there was a higher percentage of group burials in lower classes. (Storey 1990: 72) Other evidence found on the remains has indicated firing (not cremation) of the bodies, as well as pigmentation of different compounds applied to the remains before burial for unknown purposes. (Sempowski 1994: 148) Among the remains found in the residential compounds, there was very little antemortem or perimortem damage done to them. The majority of the damage that was identified was dental mutilation and a few instances of cranial deformation. (Storey 1992: 73) There were instances of postmortem mutilation in a few of the more central compounds. Hands, mandibles and skull caps were found displaced from their owners postmortem, and placed ritually with other remains in a sacrificial manner. (Sempowski 1994: 148) Many of the apartment complexes have yet to be examined, and a great deal of knowledge remains with the still-covered skeletons. Though these apartments housed the majority of the citizens and contain a large portion of the burial remains, a number of the excavation efforts have focused on the political and religious buildings surrounding them along the Street of the Dead.

    The political and religious power that Teotihuacan possessed was well displayed in their epic temples. The temples were laid out in concordance to astrology along with the Teotihuacan cosmology. Three main temples; the Pyramid of the Sun, the Pyramid of the Moon, and the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent, ran along the Street of the dead. (Evans 2008: 256) Many smaller pyramids were interspersed along the central street. The scale and complexity of these pyramids was a tribute to the power of the city. The manpower, organization, and resources it took to construct temples of that size could only be achieved by an advanced, powerful, and wealthy city. The main pyramids are architectural wonders rivaling the great pyramids of Egypt. The Pyramid of the Sun is by far the largest one, oriented to the West face of the city. Measuring 738 feet on each side and 246 feet tall after its final construction, it towers over the rest of the Teotihuacan. (Evans 2008: 254) Post-construction, the temple was covered in plaster and brightly colored murals. It was later enhanced in talud-tablero, a type of step-like siding that the city is known for. (Evans 2008: 257) At the North end of the Street of the Dead was the Pyramid of the Moon. The architectural style of the pyramid is relatively similar to the Pyramid of the Sun, but smaller in size. The third main temple, the Pyramid of the Feathered-Serpent was started later than the other two, and was located at the South quarter of Teotihuacan. The temple was attributed to the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, a god representing fertility and often military conquest. The pyramids were tombs to important leaders of Teotihuacan, as well as the final resting places of many sacrificial victims.

    There have been many studies done on the burials within the great temples of Teotihuacan. The remains within the temples most often carried a religious or political message and were generally very different from the normal family burials found in the apartment complexes. At the Temple of the Sun, many sets of remains were found oriented in an astrological manner and often facing the North. (Sempowski 1994: 47) Child burials were found in much of the area, often buried with plaques, or oriented at the corners of the pyramid facing outward. The large amount of child burials were most likely sacrificial, though the preservation of the temple burials was often poor, so it is usually difficult to determine a cause of death. (Sempowski 1994: 46) At the Temple of the Moon, most of the burials studied have been found to be high ranking officials whose tombs were seemingly built into the pyramid itself. (Sugiyama 2007: 127) Most of these burials seemed to have occurred at the time of the construction of the temple, and were part of the overall design. The remains were considered to be part of a ritual burial or sacrifice. They were found adorned with jewelry, surrounded by pots, weapons, sacrificed animals, and other material goods. (Spence 2007: 147, Sugiyama 2007: 128) Another set of remains in the Pyramid of the Moon contained victims bound at the wrists showing indicators of sacrificial antemortem burial. (Sugiyama 2007: 134) Other remains uncovered within the temple have been identified as foreigners, often warriors or high officials of contemporary cities, found sacrificed and given highly ritualistic burials. (Sugiyama 2007:138) Other remains within the temple include adolescent males, and unidentified, removed skulls. (Spence 2007: 150) At the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, there have been many burials of the same characteristics as those found in the Temple of the Moon. These were also performed ritualistically during construction of the pyramid. (Sempowski 1994: 49) Multiple burials were found in pits at the corners of the foundation of the temple. All of these were found oriented either facing away from the center of the temples or aligned to a cardinal direction. (Sempowski 1994: 48) Throughout the temple, various remains were found such as teeth or skull fragments, possible indicating a secondary burial. Many burials were found to be foreigners, often mass sacrificed warriors. (White 2002: 218) The smaller temples along the Street of the Dead show similar burials to the larger temples, but on a smaller scale. The temples show most of the remains to be done while undergoing construction, buried as part of the temples themselves. In general, all the burials were placed as ritual or sacrifice, and were adorned and buried with material goods. (Sempowski 1994: 48-60)

    The burials throughout Teotihuacan are essential for studying the beliefs, rituals and politics of the city. The stratification between the classes is shown to us through the burials that individuals were given in different locations, through how they died, and how they were treated in death. The adornments, sacrifices, and unique positioning of the bodies can tell us of the rituals and beliefs of the Teotihuacanos, both of the living and in the afterlife. The common practice of the sacrifice of people from foreign lands, whether they were warriors, merchants, or high officials, can tell us a great deal of their politics throughout the rise and fall of the city. Teotihuacan has been studied for centuries, but there is still much to be understood about the city. As more research is devoted to Teotihuacan, there will be more burials uncovered, more advances made in the fields used to study their culture, and the history of one of the greatest cities of Mesoamerica will be unearthed.