🤯 Did You Know (click to read)
Teotihuacan’s Avenue of the Dead stretches over 2 kilometers and was lined with apartment complexes and temples.
Teotihuacan, near modern Mexico City, peaked between 100–550 CE with a population exceeding 125,000. Its grid layout, monumental pyramids, and multi-story apartment complexes represented urban sophistication. Archaeological evidence shows that the city was partially burned and abandoned around the 6th century. Causes may include internal social unrest, resource depletion, and shifting trade patterns. Elite structures were destroyed selectively, suggesting conflict or rebellion. Residential areas gradually depopulated. Despite the abandonment, the city’s monumental core remained a pilgrimage site for later civilizations. Teotihuacan exemplifies mega-city collapse without total destruction.
💥 Impact (click to read)
Teotihuacan highlights that urban decline can be both violent and gradual. Social and political tensions may lead to selective destruction, sparking broader abandonment. Resource mismanagement and ecological pressures exacerbate instability. Mega-cities face compounded risks when elite and commoner populations diverge in priorities. Even after population dispersal, urban symbolism persists. The site became a cultural reference for centuries. Mega-cities’ decline does not erase their influence on architecture and cosmology.
Archaeological study reveals the complexity of urban collapse in Teotihuacan. Fire-damaged temples and apartment complexes suggest internal upheaval. Trade networks weakened as political authority fragmented. Monumental pyramids persisted as symbols of power, even as streets emptied. The city’s abandonment provides lessons on resilience, governance, and social cohesion. Teotihuacan demonstrates that a city’s grandeur does not immunize it against decline. Mega-cities can fall silently, leaving only shadows of their former life.
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