LOOKING FOR NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE NEW WORLD’S FIRST METROPOLIS:
FOREIGN BARRIOS AT TEOTIHUACAN
Teotihuacan provides the preeminent case study for state formation, militarism, and urbanism in the pre-Hispanic New World. In this paper, I will examine one aspect of urbanism, the concept of neighborhood, as it relates to the archaeological evidence available from Teotihuacan. I will focus on three specific spatial areas of the site: The Oaxaca Barrio or Tlailotlacan, The Merchants’ Barrio, and the Tetitla apartment compound. After defining the concept of neighborhood as it relates to the Teotihuacan urban space, I will discuss current evidence of foreign presence at Teotihuacan, including inhabitants from Oaxaca, the Gulf Coast, and the Maya area as found in the archaeological record. Finally, I will consider the concept of ethnicity during Classic Mesoamerica, and hopefully demonstrate an emic perspective on social differences as seen in the cultures represented at Teotihuacan.
Sample Sources:
Cowgill, George; 1997. State and Society at Teotihuacan.
Crossier, Michelle; 2006. Excavations at Structure TL5 (N1W6) in the Oaxaca Barrio, Teotihuacan. Foundation for Mesoamerican Studies, Online. http://www.famsi.org/reports/01068/index.html.
Keith, Kathryn; 2003. The spatial patterns of everyday life in Old Babylonian neighborhoods. The social construction of ancient cities. Ed. M.L. Smith. Washington D.C. :Smithsonian, 56-80.
Millon, Rene; 1973. The Teotihuacán Map. Austin: University of Texas.
Rattray, Evelyn; 1992. The Teotihuacan burials and offerings : a commentary and inventory. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press.
Teotihuacan.ppt
