TEOTIHUACAN AND ITS CONTEMPORARIES

It is known th.t Teotihuacan was the largest power in Mesoamerica for much of its existence, but ever) thing else about the nature of its relationships to its contemporaries is a problem. Ten years ago it was generally thought that Teotihuacan had a large empire in Mesoamerica, with colonies of its people living in Kaminaljuyai in Guatemala and Matacapan in Veracruz. It was believed that this empire was created by trade and conquest, and obsidian was supposed to have been the material Teotihuacan traded with its neighbors. Current thinking based on a reexamination of the data no longer accepts the empire theory’. The contacts seem to have been too sporadic and spread out for an empire.

Nevertheless, it is clear that the people of Teotihuacan traveled far and wide in Mesoamerica. They made astronomical observations near the Tropic of Cancer hundreds of miles to the north. Their elites, deities, and costumes are represented on Maya monuments at Tikal and other places. A Teotihuacan elite figure with a tassel-headdress glyph follows a Monte Alban figure on the Kazan slab in what has been described as the commemoration of a “treaty.” Unquestionably, Teotihuacan had important political and dynastic connections throughout Mesoamerica. In two places, Escuintla in Guatemala and Matacapan in Veracruz, objects have been found in a modified Teotihuacan style that were parts of household cults. At Kaminaljuyii, Teotihuacan elites were buried in Teotihuacan-style temples with both Teotihuacan and Maya-style offerings. These examples suggest possible Teotihuacan colonies.

There is also evadence of foreigners at Teotihuacan. The Oaxaca Barrio was found in the western part of the city, where the dead were buried in Oaxaca-style tombs with Oaxaca-style urns and reliefs. The Merchant’s Barrio has been excavated in the eastern part of the city, wath round houses and pottery imported from 'eracrtiz and even the Maya areas. Teotihuacan was clearly a cosmopolitan place and the visits went in both directions. Long after the demise of Teotihuacan, elements of its art style continued to be fused into the styles of the Postclassic Period.