San Juan Teotihuacán

Teotihuacán Teotihuacán
Town & Municipality
Main plaza of the town
Teotihuacán
Coordinates: 19°41′23″N 98°51′39″W / 19.68972°N 98.86083°W / 19.68972; -98.86083Coordinates: 19°41′23″N 98°51′39″W / 19.68972°N 98.86083°W / 19.68972; -98.86083
Country	Mexico
State	State of Mexico
Founded	500 B.C.E.
Municipal Status	1930
Government
• Municipal President	Álvaro Sánchez Mendoza
Elevation (of seat)	2,270 m (7,450 ft)
Population (2005) Municipality
• Municipality	46,779
• Seat	21,577
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
Postal code (of seat)	55880
Website	www.teotihuacan.gob.mx (Spanish)

Teotihuacán is a town and municipality located in the State of Mexico. It is in the northeast of the Valley of Mexico, 45 km northeast of Mexico City and 119 km from the state capital of Toluca. Teotihuacan takes its name from the ancient city and World Heritage site that is located next to the municipal seat. "Teotihuacan" is from Nahuatl and means "place of the gods." In Nahua mythology the sun and the moon were created here. The seal of the municipality features the Pyramid of the Sun from the archeological site, which represents the four cardinal directions. The building is tied to a character that represents water which is linked to an arm that is joined to the head of an indigenous person who is seated and speaking. This person represents a god. Much of the history of the area has been tied to the ancient city, most recently involves controversy connected with commerce and development around the site.

According to myth, this site was chosen by the gods to create the center of the universe. Settlement began here around 500 BCE as a village making stone objects. Starting in the 2nd century CE, it grew into a political and religious center which lasted until the 9th century. This was the largest urban center to be constructed in central Mexico until Tenochtitlan further south in the 15th century. All that is left of this city is the archeological site, which preserves structures such as the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon, the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, the market and numerous smaller structures, most of which were government buildings.

At the time of the Spanish conquest, the Teotihuacan area was venerated by the Aztecs, but this status died off with the coming of Christianity. The area came under the control of Texcoco. The area was renamed San Juan Teotihuacan and was the encomienda of Francisco de Verdugo Bazan by the end of the 16th century. During the Mexican War of Independence no battles were fought here although both insurgent and royalist armies passed through at one time or another. The municipality was taxed heavily to feed Mexico City during this time, leading to the abandonment of many fields.