The city of Teotihuacán was the home of one of the most influential civilizations in the Pre-Columbian era, today it is a historical place that did not leave many traces of what its people were like, discover with us what the Social Organization of the Teotihuacanos.
Who were the Teotihuacanos?
The Teotihuacanos resided in what was then part of the city of Teotihuacán and is currently the Mexican Valley, corresponding to one of the most important cultures formed in Pre-Columbian America located in the central region of the American continent.
Although it is not a civilization as famous as others belonging to the same nation, it represented a very important factor in the formation of other nascent cultures in the same Mesoamerican region. However, despite its great reach, it also corresponds to one of the least known territories, since its roots and dispersion are still a complete mystery to experts today.
The development of this imposing culture took many years, having its beginnings before the year 300 a. C., although his training may have started a few years earlier or later. From that moment on, the groups began to fragment, forming localities and annexes, which little by little gave rise to the prosperity of this civilization.
In the year 200 a. C. approximately, it was when the culture of the Teotihuacanos was at its peak, being a population that was a great influence for the nearby populations that were spreading throughout all of Central America. The fall of this civilization also spanned a long period of time, which was between 650 and 850 AD. C. and today, the only thing that remains of what was this culture are the remains of its main city.
This is a territory that was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and that serves as a historical place where you can also do tourism, receiving visits from Mexican and foreign residents, although its remains are also the focus of studies that seek understand the Human nature linked to the religion that is forged in each culture independently.
Social Structure of the Teotihuacanos
It was the expert scientists on the history of ancient populations and civilizations who discovered a large part of the history belonging to the Teotihuacanos, based on the few vestiges left by the ancient settlers of the nation, such as the structure of the pyramids, crafts, writings and other objects belonging to this population.
However, it is also speculated that this information is not entirely authentic, since 600 years after the civilization fell, it was the Aztecs who occupied the place and clarified much of the information obtained about the ancient culture.
Although the information obtained about this culture is vast, what could be obtained is that the social organization of the Teotihuacan culture It was governed by a hierarchical order and those who remained in the highest rank were individuals with a high socioeconomic power, who were guided by the religious beliefs that were imposed in the Mesoamerican culture to direct their inhabitants.
The civilization had a strong class break and the organization of its inhabitants was given by different groups that represented the social position of its inhabitants. This classification also includes homes and locations, it is speculated that the large complexes that are next to the great pyramids belonged to the governors and priests, who belonged to the highest rank of this systematic social structure.
Religion in the Social Organization of the Teotihuacanos
We must emphasize the importance that this civilization gave to religion, they were very devout and polytheistic, which means that they worshiped different gods, always praying to the one they preferred or to the one that was most convenient for them in times of crisis and conflict. Their main deities were the stars of the Moon and the Sun, primordial since they dedicated a pyramid to each one, where different rituals are committed to show loyalty.
The pyramids were correctly organized, in such a way that their location lined up with the position of the stars and that they directly influenced the rites that were performed there. In addition to this, the dates were very important when communicating with their gods, they were such fanatical believers to the point of not leaving anything to chance when it came to idols.
Many of these aspects can also be directly related to some scientific areas such as astronomy, which they used to identify their gods, the positions of the stars and the alignment that they maintain from time to time with the bodies on earth, based on these studies elaborated their own calendar that indicates the dates in which a star was projected on earth, on this the science of the Teotihuacanos.
Political Organization of Teotihuacán
Experts speculate that the political structure with which this culture was governed had to be very well systematized and organized in order to govern such an extensive and populated civilization for so long. The main theory is that the Teotihuacanos were guided by several elite rulers who belonged to the same structure and political body whose function was to make decisions of great importance for the development of the population.
On the other hand, the individual function of each of these rulers was to take charge of a specific sector of the city, although one of them has greater power than the others and each of these organisms denoted greater importance than the others, together they formed a parliament that was in charge of one of the most important civilizations of the time and especially took care of the social organization of the Teotihuacanos.
A very significant aspect for the development of this culture was its military army, which although they were never known for being aggressive or warlike, their military entity was very imposing and strong enough to keep this society safe for so long.
An unknown that still persists today is how the state managed to make people belonging to different races and ethnic groups sustain civilization together for so long, it is a highly sought-after answer since it could be the solution to the marked separation of peoples in Currently, in the worst case, this possible solution would cause controversy among the members of today's society.
With regards to economic organization of Teotihuacán, this structure became a model to follow for other societies, since it was a very well structured system that took advantage of all the labor areas that were exercised by the settlers. Thanks to this, the border nations joined this system that ensured a good for the home of each citizen and for all the communities as a whole.
The main labor activity of the social organization of the Teotihuacanos that generated profits for the communal coffer and for all the inhabitants of the enormous entity was the planting and harvesting of the materials that produce the raw material necessary for the elaboration of the food that corresponds to the basic basket of each citizen.
At the same time that they elaborated techniques that evolved the way of managing society at that time, such as inventions and machinery that facilitated heavy work, in addition to this, they were one of the first societies to implement the well-known barter, where they negotiated with people or rulers of other cultures to carry out a kind of association based on mutual agreement and that would benefit both parties.