- Political organization
- Kings or elites at the helm?
- Social organization
- Relationship between rulers and people
- References
The political and social organization of the Teotihuacanos was structured with a strong class hierarchy in a multi-ethnic town, governed by a highly theocratic state, made up of various members of the upper classes or elites of their society.
The name of this town comes from the enigmatic pre-Hispanic city called Teotihuacán. Located in the semi-arid northeast of the Valley of Mexico, it was the largest, most influential and revered city of the golden age of Mesoamerica.
Most of the information about this magnificent society comes from the Mexica (Aztecs), who used the city some 600 years after its fall, and from later texts from colonial Mexico. This town reached its splendor between 200 a. C. and 700 d. C.
Archaeologists have also managed to unravel some mysteries of this civilization by studying the architecture, painting, artifacts and ceramic objects left behind by the Teotihuacans.
Dominated by two gigantic pyramids and a sacred avenue, the city is evidence of an ambitious political-military might and a very strict social organization, second only to ancient civilizations such as Rome and Egypt.
The Teotihuacanos were contemporaneous with the early Mayan civilization of the mid-first millennium after Christ and, debatably, existed before the establishment of the full might of the Toltec civilization.
This fact makes archaeologists and historians argue with theories about the similarities and parallels of the political and social life of the Teotihuacans, with respect to the rest of the later Mesoamerican civilizations.
Unquestionably, the pre-Hispanic peoples of Central America followed the example (to a greater or lesser scale) of the greatness of the Teotihuacan civilization, its organization and administration.
Political organization
As stated at the beginning, until now it is believed that the society was governed by a theocratic state administration.
In other words, the leaders of this civilization exercised their power not only as heads of state, but also as religious leaders representing the gods.
The archaeological evidence is still too vague to ensure the exact government system of the Teotihuacanos, but the elements that give the most weight to theocratic theory are the following:
- The architecture of the city and the pyramid complex built in alignment with the cardinal points, which suggests religious influence and the cult of the stars.
- Paintings on walls and vessels exposing creation myths, passages to the other world, religious rituals and human sacrifices.
- The sculpted images of gods, especially the feathered serpent Quetzacoatl.
Kings or elites at the helm?
Many archaeologists affirm that, to have built a city of such magnitude and to have controlled and influenced so much territory and states throughout present-day Mexico to Guatemala and Honduras, a very strong, determined leadership with considerable military power was needed.
Although a few consider that Teotihuacán must have had a powerful monarchy as a political system to achieve its grandeur, there is still no archaeological evidence for the existence of kings.
The most widely accepted theory is that of shared leadership between heads of state of equal or similar power.
This would make Teotihuacán a kind of oligarchic theocratic republic, with leaders of the elite social stratum at the head of society: priests, military chiefs and other representatives of powerful ethnic groups.
This would bring Teotihuacán almost to the level of resembling the Roman republic, a powerful civilization ruled by a chamber of rulers.
On the other hand, it is also accepted to say that this power shared by the elites is similar to a corporate state.
According to studies of the city's iconography, there were at least four dominant houses in Teotihuacan politics, represented by the coyote, the feathered serpent, the jaguar and the eagle. Each was in charge of specific sectors of society.
Social organization
The social stratification in classes was a marked characteristic in the Teotihuacan civilization.
The aforementioned upper classes or elites were at the top of the structure, and their members were the priests, military chiefs and leaders of important and powerful houses or families within the empire.
The warrior and military caste was considered one of the most important and privileged social groups. They enjoyed the admiration and respect of both the elite and the common people.
Although Teotihuacán is not considered a warlike town by nature, its military might was considerable and equivalent only to the grandeur of its society. More than conquerors, they were assimilators of other cultures for political, social and productive convenience.
According to murals and ceramic paintings, the middle and lower classes were very well differentiated according to their productive activity or profession through clothing. They were also divided by districts in the city according to importance.
Apartment-type dwellings were built in different dimensions, depending on social class. Several families of the same stratum and of the same profession could live in the same apartment.
Another aspect of the Teotihuacan social structure was the concentration of ethnic groups in specific districts, since the city was visited by many peoples or tribes that could settle in the city, providing economic benefits to the prosperity of the society.
One of the great mysteries that this magnificent ancient city still holds is the way in which the elitist theocratic government maintained control of a stratified multi-ethnic society, in constant cooperation, for more than 1500 years.
Relationship between rulers and people
It is claimed that this elite system of government succeeded in prospering because each member could keep specific sectors of society controlled and compliant through various methods or strategies.
The threat by military force was the most usual and constant, but it went hand in hand with religious indoctrination, whose ideology spread the submission of the people as the unequivocal will of the gods and the inescapable nature of life.
However, it is also believed that a simple sense of civic conscience and virtue for being a good citizen could be as good a factor as the previous ones to keep the Teotihuacan multiethnic society coexisting and progressing for many centuries.
According to historians, this last reason would make much more sense in the context of the magnificence and long duration of the Teotihuacan civilization, and would explain much better the absence of self-centered and self-glorifying rulers.
In accordance with this, the theory is accepted that the stability of the Teotihuacan civilization may have been based more on pride in the sense of citizenship, than on the dependence by submission of the middle and lower social classes towards dominant rulers or intimidating deities.
References
- Cowgill George L. (1997). State and Society at Teotihuacan, Mexico (online document). Annual Review of Anthropology. Vol. 26: 129-161. Recovered from annualreviews.org
- Mark Cartwright (2015). Teotihuacan. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Recovered from ancient.eu
- Tempo Ameríndio - Ancient America (2013). Teotihuacan Warfare - 300 - 700 AD. Recovered from ancientamerindia.wordpress.com
- Aztec-History.com (2016). Teotihuacan. Recovered from aztec-history.com
- Meta Religion. Teotihuacan Culture. Recovered from meta-religion.com
- Erik Vance (2014). Political and social organization in Teotihuacán (online document). Research and Science. N ° 456. Erik Vance site. Recovered from erikvance.com
- Omar Segura Cardoso (2012). Political system. History IV. Teotihuacan culture. Recovered from iemsomar.blogspot.com