Page 80 - 100 Events That Made History

Teotihuacan The Pyramid of the Sun is
one of the world’s highest
pyramids at 246 ft (75 m).

comes of age

Mesoamerican METROPOLIS
Around 450 CE, the city of Teotihuacan—
“the birthplace of the gods”—in modern-

day Mexico had become one of the
largest ancient cities of the Americas.

By the way…
I, Mighty Spearthrower
Owl, will rule this city for
more than 60 years—but
I’ll never tire of making
sacrifices to the gods.

Multicultural mix
The city’s origins are
shrouded in mystery, but
building probably began
about 100 BCE. At its peak, Teotihuacan
was home to as many as 125,000
people. It traded with other central
American city-states, and even took
one over. King Spearthrower Owl,
who had roots in the city, conquered
the Mayan city of TIKAL and installed
one of his sons as king there.
Kings were
religious leaders
as well as rulers.

What came before…

The TOTONAC of eastern To build on the swampy land,
Mexico claimed they the Teotihuacanos created
built Teotihuacan. chinampas (reed islands)
Totonacs certainly lived crisscrossed by canals. These
in the city, but there’s chinampas at XOCHIMILCO
no evidence they built it. date to Aztec times.
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