Teotihuacán Avenue of the Dead
Building at Teotihuacan began between 100-200 AD. The city is located in the valley of Teotihuacan which is over 7000 feet above sea level. The main road down the center of the city is called the Avenue of the Dead by the Aztecs because the mounds on the sides looked like tombs. The Avenue was large at 131 feet (40 meters) wide and 3 miles (5 km) in length and ran north and south in direction. Shortly after 200 AD the city developed another main road running east-west dividing the city in four quarters.
The city, at it's peak, covered an area of eight square miles and had a population estimated between 100,000 and 200,000. It's wealth came from being able to control obsidian from the nearby mountains. Obsidian was an important for tool and weapon production during this time. In 750 AD the city was burned and the main area abandoned. Archeologist believe that it was a revolution which caused the fires to overthrow an increasingly oppressive government. Later the Aztec would visit the ruins to perform religious ceremonies. The Aztec also believed that Teotihuacan was the birth place for the Aztec Gods. (Bahn, 1999) & (Arnold, 1994)
Avenue of the Dead
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