Ancient site · City
Teotihuacan
The greatest city of the ancient Americas, about 40 km northeast of modern Mexico City. Its Avenue of the Dead runs past the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon, among the largest pyramids of the Americas.
At its height in the first half of the 1st millennium CE perhaps 100,000 people lived in its multi-family compounds, decorated with bright murals. Its influence reached Maya cities such as Tikal. Around 550 CE its centre was burned. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Dates
- c. 100 BCE – 550 CE (centre burned); declined to c. 650 CE
- Still standing
- Yes
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Yes
- Location
- 19.69° N, 98.84° W
How we know
The city left signs and murals but no readable texts; its history comes from excavation and from Maya inscriptions that mention it.
Nearby sites
- Cuicuilco c. 1000 BCE – c. 300 CE
- San José Mogote c. 1500–500 BCE
- Monte Albán c. 500 BCE – 850 CE
- Guilá Naquitz Cave used c. 8800–6900 BCE and again c. 650–1450 CE
- San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán Olmec centre c. 1400–900 BCE
- La Venta c. 1200–400 BCE (main centre c. 900–400 BCE)