Teotihuacan: Where One Becomes a God

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Published 2021-06-10
The ancient city of Teotihuacan is one of the greatest cities ever constructed in the Americas. It was a city that was remembered by subsequent cultures long after it was abandoned. Because it was never inhabited again, archaeologists can explore the entire city and try to reconstruct the life and history of this magnificent site. Let’s find out what made Teotihuacan such a spectacular city and culture.

Special thanks to MajoraZ and Hunter Itzkowitz for assisting in research and in photo use. Thank you to Daniel Parada and David Romero for their digital reconstructions. Also thanks to Yan Garcia of the channel CanalNahuatl for all the Nahuatl reading.

Patreon: www.patreon.com/ancientamericas

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AncientAmericas​

CanalNahuatl:    / @canalnahuatl3539  

Sources and Bibliography: docs.google.com/document/d/1Wdl_BLlkfuodDKx1-Cud3G…

All Comments (21)
  • @velociraptor68
    Much better than previous misinformation (by others), which clearly confused Teotihuacan with Tenochtitlan, which was a different culture over a thousand years later. I was embarrassed to watch that earlier posting, which had hundreds of thousands of views. Thank you for this more accurate historical rendering.
  • @FF-pi9fq
    When I think of native Americans I've never thought of "Huge urban centers with ethnic neighborhoods." Just fascinating stuff.
  • @gamertrub
    Just discovered this channel yesterday and I'm hooked. Sending support from Kenya 🇰🇪
  • @stevenv6463
    I have to say as a Mexican that we have some of the most interesting history. I just wish we had more prehispanic written records.
  • @fredriks5090
    America is one of the great centers of civilization and has brought us some of the best things ever; Chocolate, Maize, Chili and Potatoes
  • @garykeenan8591
    This is a superb presentation. I am so grateful you took the time and effort. Pre-Columbian America is one of most important and most neglected areas of study in American education. I hope this video is part of a change in that. Many thanks.
  • @Teporame
    It is not a coincidence that México was one of the cradles of civilization.. Mexico culture is one of the richest in the world, no doubt.
  • @mrniceguy7168
    It’s not surprising that the average Teotihuacano had a relatively high standard of living after hearing about how there was a lot of economic specialization and presumably trade. The ancient central Mexican economies are increasingly interesting to me. The Aztecs seemed to have continued in that direction, I know they had a large merchant class.
  • All the way down by Chichen Itza there is a cave that archaeologist found a sealed chamber in recently - Balankanche cave. It was dated at having been sealed around 100 CE, during the time of Teotihuacan. I have been in there and pottery abounds. Much/most of it Teotihuacan style and had clearly visible sculpture of Tlaloc and his iconic goggles. Centuries before the Chichen it would appear the Teotihuacan influence was being spread all the way to the eastern end of the Yucatan and Mayan lowlands along with the well documented "incursions" into the southern ends of the Mayan Highlands.
  • @Rafael_Mena_Ill
    Tipically I don't give "Americas" youtubers much time of day because they frequently aren't up to snuff with the current data, so I admit I had ignored you up until now, but I have to say I'm impressed with this video and a lot of others you've done! Great Content, instant follow and I'll be anxiously awaiting new content!
  • Hello. I think what really impressed me was the fact that this civilization had no access to our modern machinery such as drills, tractors or even cranes yet they were able to build this complex of huge, impressive and beautiful structures, move heavy blocks most likely weighing tons and excavate tunnels deep in the ground. They had expert architects and masons. I visited Teotihuacan a few years ago and the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon are surprisingly well intact considering their age. Thanks for sharing. It was a great video.
  • @JersonAscencio
    A topic I'd be thrilled to see is the relationship Mesoamerica had with southwestern cultures like Chaco Canyon! Btw, I write Maya glyphs back in my channel if ur interested, I'm planning to do more things with the beautiful script there ✨
  • 28:00 They should make a movie about this! A warlord named fireborn leads an army on a long, dangerous slog through the jungle, against a crafty and well-armed foe, yet emerges on top, slaying a king and replacing him with another. Fireborn and his crew return, triumphant, a train of war-trophies in tow. Hollywood would jump at this!
  • @JonnoPlays
    Thanks so much for posting this! It's very hard to get information about this place that isn't full of conspiracy stuff. There are some crazy interesting features of the site that still hold mysteries we need to solve. I'll be watching closely to see if any of it is mentioned in the video and how non conspiracy archeology explains it 👌 💯
  • @little.bear344
    The ancient Greeks had a concept known as apotheosis and that's when man becomes more than just a man through his acts, he becomes a myth, a legend, he becomes a god. This culture undoubtedly had the same concept.
  • @chrisball3778
    Grid patterns seem to have been a common layout in planned cities in ancient times as well as modern- there are grid-patterned cities found in other ancient cultures as well- e.g. in the Indus Valley. I think we sometimes associate them with modernity because so many European cities evolved organically from small villages and have a chaotic street plan as a result, but where cities have been planned from an early stage, they frequently follow a grid pattern.
  • @sheepbaad
    The youtube algorithim has bestowed me a beautiful bounty. I really appreciate the framing, format, and sources. Great work, and I appreciate putting the context of the city's development in to the video lecture!
  • I think I've been waiting for a Teotihuacan episode ever since I learned about this channel
  • @rotomfan63
    Imagine if the main road of your home city that basically everyone uses at least once a day was called "The Avenue Of The Dead"
  • So well done! I was at Tikal in 1982 when they had just opened (like, just a few weeks earlier) the district that was probably the Teotihuacano enclave. It had endured long enough for the pyramid temples to have acquired a few layers, and the area was definitely larger than any Mayan delegation precincts in Teotihuacán. ... It is so interesting that the watery underworld theme would be prevalent in the Valley of Mexico, when that theme is so much more akin to the natural environment of the lowland Maya (and maybe Olmec as well?) with karst topography, caves, cenotes and explorable underground waterways. Where in the Nahua heartland is there such a thing? Several sites purported to have inspired Aztlán have multi-branched caves under the principal pyramid, but it seems the watery part is missing.