Chapter Four - The Late Formative–Early Classic Period Transition 200/250–550 CE

Summary

The period 200–250 CE was a dynamic time in Central Mexico. Over the semi-arid plain of the northeastern Basin of Mexico the urban zone of Teotihuacan covered approximately 20 square km, containing a population of between 80,000 and 100,000 people (Cowgill 2015: 79; Millon 1981: 221). The monumental structures of the ceremonial precinct (i.e., La Ciudadela, the Pyramid of the Sun, and the Pyramid of the Moon) were already in place, subsequently undergoing periodic augmentations throughout the next two centuries (Sugiyama 2012: 221). Concurrently, the state of Teotihuacan (Figure 4.1) undertook expansion beyond the Basin of Mexico into adjacent areas of Central Mexico in order to secure a sustaining hinterland (Hirth 1978).