Teotihuacan
The Tlajinga District
Teotihuacan: Aspects of the City
Teotihuacan's Location
Just 30 miles away from the capital of Mexico, Teotihuacan is a Mesoamerican city that reached its peak around AD 200-550, with almost 100,000 inhabitants and nearly 2,300 households.
The city was known for the floodplains it had, being one of the most significant agricultural production systems in the central highlands.
Theories vary as to why Teotihuacan was abandoned, but many archaeologist believe that a revolt from within city walls caused the destruction of Teotihuacan.
Many temples and ceremonial centers were found to be burned down before being abandoned, giving prevalence to this main theory.
Found by Aztecs as an abandoned city, Teotihuacan was named "the place where gods were created" for its incredible monuments and pyramids.
Teotihuacan's Pyramids & Layout
The names we know for these pyramids today are not the real names of these monuments. The Aztec gave the pyramids these names we know today. To this day, archaeologist still do not know what language the people from Teotihuacan spoke, or the names of the pyramids in their original meaning.
Showing the layout of the temples, this map showcases smaller pyramids built around the Street of the Dead.
This is the center of Teotihuacan, with monuments and buildings of importance, to show the city's strength.
Neighborhoods like Tlajinga would be further out on the outskirts (Images below)
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Street of the Dead
Being 40 meters wide and 1.5 miles long, the Street of the Dead is the main walkway for the citizens of Teotihuacan.
It is lined with smaller temples to deities and gods, with three of the biggest pyramid monuments of Mesoamerica.
(Photo taken showcases the Pyramid of the Moon in the forefront)
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Pyramid of the Moon
Facing south, the Pyramid of the Moon stands tall in from of the Cerro Baul, an extinct volcano.
It stands at an incredible 140 feet, with a base that measure 426 by 511 feet.
The Pyramid of the Moon is the second largest structure in Teotihuacan, right behind the Pyramid of the Sun.
(Photo showing the Pyramid of the Moon, also shows segments of the surrounding smaller temples.)
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Pyramid of the Sun
Being the largest structure of Teotihuacan, the Pyramid of the Sun faces west.
It stands 216 feet tall with a base that measures almost 720 by 760 feet.
(Photo showcasing the Pyramid of the Sun.)
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Temple of the Feathered Serpent
The Temple of the Feathered Serpent, also know as the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, is located alongside with the Ciudadela. The temple itself is covered with the feathered serpent deity, one of importance to the people of Teotihuacan.
The Ciudadela is a courtyard where many elites of Teotihuacan resided. It's living complexes and the courtyard span 15 hectares.
The temple of Quetzalcoatl is also the oldest pyramid of Teotihuacan, being one of the earliest built around 100 CE.
The temple is not open to visitors due to the wear and tear of the monument.
(Photo of the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, shows the fencing blocking visitors and the feathered serpent deity around the monument.)
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Tlajinga District
Most notable for its production in crafts and specialization, Teotihuacan had neighborhood districts that combined people of similar cultures and class.
The Tlajinga district is an example of this, as many of those who worked here were found to be of lower middle class status.
(Photo by David Carballo in Geospatial research over Tlajinga)
Close-up on Teotihuacan Now
The Tlajinga District
Tlajinga 33 is shown here in relation to compound 17. This district was known for being a lesser-middle class neighborhood, as those who lived here worked as specialist in obsidian (Compound 17), and San Martin Orange Pottery (Compound 33).
Although this area was rather low in terms of socioeconomic class, there were still signs of hierarchy in between sub-districts of the neighborhood.
(Map of Teotihuacan, Tlajinga District Close-up)
Being the smallest sub-district with around 19 hectares, the west sub-district is the furthest to the left. This area was found to not have any representation with authority or other ceremonial activities.
In the central sub-district there were smaller ceremonial centers, alongside with some administrative activity. Spanning almost 21 hectare, the central sub-district had a higher status than the west sub-district.
The Eastern sub-district was made up of 40 hectares and had the ceremonial and administrative centers for the entire community.
Compound 33 is shown here in the east sub-district.
(Shows 3 subdistricts of Tlajinga. Photo by: Arnauld et al. In the Neighborhood as a Social and Spatial Unit in Mesoamerican Cities)
Previously, Compound 33 was formed by a few families who specialized in lapidary work.
Other neighborhood districts like La Ventanilla took lapidary specialization from those at Tlajinga, leaving them to find a living in making pottery.
San Martin Orange Pottery, like the one shown here, would be made at Tlajinga 33.
(Pottery from Teotihuacan 550-650 CE)
In this photo we can see how Tlajinga 33 was spatially organized. This can help archaeologist understand how they daily activity of the workspace took place.
Tlajinga 33 has 7 compounds in this designated workshop, allowing for a plethora of work to be done on the site.
Alongside having a firing area, Compound 33 also had a drying room for ceramics, a workshop space, and a storage area for the pottery made.
(View of Tlajinga Compound 33. Photo by: Arnauld et al. In the Neighborhood as a Social and Spatial Unit in Mesoamerican Cities)
The low class artisans and specialists and Tlajinga would have made pottery similar to the one shown in this photo
The pottery found here is from the David Carballo's research at Tlajinga, which mainly focuses on the obsidian workshop of Compound 17.
(Pottery from "The everyday objects of Teotihuacan")
Other than Tlajinga compound 33, archaeologist David Carballo has been working on Compound 17, with the help from others at Boston University.
David Carballo's Team at Tlajinga, Teotihuacan
The place where Compound 17 lies had over 100 obsidian pieces, ranging from amateur to professional cuts. This area was perfect for understanding how trading works in and around Teotihuacan for people of lower socioeconomic status.
Compound 17 is also great in understanding the spatial organization of the site, as Carballo collects data over how core-blade manufacturing was a part of the city.
Exploring Tlajinga, Teotihuacan's "Lower East Side"
Boston University created a video of David Carballo and his work, as they explain and uncover the depth of Tlajinga and compound 17.
