The Decline and Fall of Teotihuacan: 500/550–550/650 CE

By 550 CE or perhaps a little earlier, the population of the city seems to have begun to decline, and parts apparently began to be abandoned, especially around its edges (Figure 9.1). The specifics are still unclear, especially because the Metepec ceramic complex needs better definition. However, the population probably decreased by at least a third, and possibly by more than half. There are other suggestions of decline. Thin Orange Ware continued to be imported, but now there were locally made hemispherical bowls that resemble Thin Orange bowls in shape, although readily distinguishable in fabric and surface appearance, so they could not have fooled any Teotihuacano. They were poor make- shifts for the genuine article. This suggests foreign goods were becoming harder to obtain. In the La Ventilla district, garbage accumulated in streets, ultimately blocking drains, and some streets were blocked by gates (Cabrera and Gómez 2008). Séjourné (1966a: 21) reports over two meters of midden in a street outside the Yayahuala compound. Seemingly, civic services were breaking down in Teotihuacan's last years and people were more wary of their neighbors.

Then, around 600/650 CE, major structures in the civic-ceremonial core, and some structures elsewhere, were burned. Martínez and Jarquín (1982) report a 6 cm layer of ash and charcoal atop the eastern outer platform of the Ciudadela, where a 60 cm stone male statuette was smashed and its fragments widely scattered. Some researchers (e.g., Beramendi-Orosco et al. 2009) think the burning happened around 550 CE and the Metepec phase represents post-burning occupation. This depends on the validity of a few archaeomagnetic dates. However, I have observed composite censers, whose flush rim flanges are diagnostically Metepec, smashed in place atop the latest concrete floor at the rear of the FSP, as part of the final destruction. This and other evidence places the burning at or near the end of the Metepec phase, rather than its beginning.