Notes in-class 4/30

Taotihuacán (100 BCE - 750 CE)

- may have mined obsidian - the reason for their location in a place without much rain
- the elite had a great deal of power
- they probably didn't have kings; if they did, he was weak, and controlled by the elite
- elite probably got their wealth through trade
- there were apartment-type buildings and separate housing for the normal and the elites; the elites had fancier clothes and food
- about 2% were artisans and craftsmen - over 400 workshops in certain areas of the city
- the rest of the population were probably farmers or peasants who lived in the apartments in the city
- cities are not just ceremonial centers like the Olmecs, but an urban center also
- huge population plummet when they fell - 150,000-200,000 down to 40,000

- pyramids of the moon and sun, and the avenue of the dead also
- sacrificial victims were buried around the temple of Quetzalcoatl, around 60 graves
- the avenue of the dead is about a mile long and leads from the temple of Quetzalcoatl to the Pyramid of the Moon. The Pyramid of the Sun in between them. It's almost going north to south, but not quite. Basically the Avenue of the Dead is a bit like Main Street, or Peachtree.
- all around this setup, you have workshops, in certain concentrations
- houses were usually built on platforms
- the temple/pyramid of the sun takes up as much space at the base as the largest Egyptian pyramid, but it isn't as tall
- there was a crazy chicken associated with the underworld

- power wasn't really concentrated in one guy
- Teotihuacán was in the classical period

- lots of different ethnic groups were brought to the city for labor
- Chinampas were a big, big deal - you could make it watertight or you could drain it by taking away a couple of rocks
- engineering, geometry, and a bit of physics to build the pyramids

- possibly a theocratic government
- priest class very respected
- usually temples were painted

- a tourist attraction for both trade and religion
- trade went pretty much everywhere
- loads of people lived in the city and went to the outskirts to farm
- dominated obsidian market
- chopal, a tree resin from the coast, was used to manufacture items
- trading outposts reached 700 miles south
- upper class used labor forces to transform land
- so this is indicating forced labor instead of slaves, they didn't have slaves. Slightly like the Old Kingdom Egyptian labor, except without the benefits (that we know of)
- 400+ workshops found throughout the city in distinct locations: they manufactured!