🤯 Did You Know (click to read)
Teotihuacan’s name was given by the Aztecs centuries after the city had already fallen.
By 400 CE, Teotihuacan in central Mexico housed over 100,000 residents, rivaling Rome in size. Monumental pyramids like the Pyramid of the Sun dominated its skyline. But archaeological evidence reveals something peculiar about its fall. Elite compounds show signs of targeted burning, while common residential areas remain largely intact. This pattern suggests internal rebellion rather than foreign invasion. Around the 6th century, many major administrative buildings were systematically destroyed. Trade networks that once stretched across Mesoamerica unraveled soon after. The city’s population gradually declined in the aftermath.
💥 Impact (click to read)
If true, Teotihuacan’s collapse becomes a rare example of ancient class conflict at megacity scale. The destruction appears deliberate and symbolic, as if the population wanted to erase ruling power structures. Rather than random looting, specific elite residences were torched. This hints at political upheaval, possibly triggered by drought or resource scarcity. When centralized authority faltered, the social contract collapsed with it. The city that once radiated influence became a cautionary tale in urban instability. Its monumental avenues stood, but its political system did not.
The broader implication is startling: mega-cities do not only fall from outside attack. Internal inequality can destabilize even the grandest capitals. Teotihuacan’s planned layout and immense temples did not guarantee social cohesion. When stress mounted, the infrastructure of power became a target. Later civilizations like the Aztecs would revere the ruins without fully understanding who built them. The city became myth before history. Its silent pyramids still suggest that urban glory can mask simmering unrest.
Source
Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History findings on Teotihuacan
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