Archeologist
has a new hypothesis in regard to the fall of one of the most prosperous cities in Mesoamerica : Teotihuacan , also known as the City of Gods , which took place around 570 A.D.
The archeologist found evidence that supports her theory using radiocarbon dating analysis and archaeomagnetism .
The Mexican researcher explained that it was believed that a conflict between 550 and 650 A.D. was behind the fall of the city but it was believed it was abandoned , not destroyed by an uprising . Yet she has a new hypothesis: there was a “ violent clash between two opposing ways of exercising power that ended up tearing each other apart.”
One of the groups was formed by the co-governors of Teotihuacan , two of them were “the most important” since they personified the god of rain and the god of the hill. They lived at the Xalla Palace.
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The other group was formed by 22 neighborhoods of artisans , farmers , merchants . The group was led by middle-class people, who become more and more prestigious and amassed a fortune, which led them to compete between them and eventually, they distrusted the council of co-governors.
“I think the neighborhood acquire so much autonomy that in the end, although they tried, it was impossible to contain them,” said Manzanilla Naim . The archeologist also revealed that the Xalla Palace and the Avenue of the Dead , which were where the elite resided, were raided, burnt, and destroyed .
During the symposium , “The Xalla Palace in Teotihuacan . A possible seat of power,” Doctors Ana María Soler and Laura Beramendi , researchers from the Geophysics and Geology institutes from the UNAM , explained that the radiocarbon dating analysis was obtained from charred wood from the beams at the Xalla Palace.
These results coincided with the results from radiocarbon data , which allowed the experts to date the fall of Teotihuacan in 570 A.D. Moreover, archaeomagnetism was used on the floors , which were also set on fire during the revolt .
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