The map shows the most expanded city limit during the
Xolalpan phase, when its population is estimated to have been about 125,000
(Millon 1993:18). The construction extended over 20 square kilometers. The
Avenue of the Dead was the city's primary
axis, extending more than 2 km, which the canalized river San Juan perpendicularly
crossed at right angles. The Teotihuacan Mapping Project, directed by René
Millon of the University of Rochester, calculates that over 2,000 high-walled
apartment compounds, some of which have been excavated and consolidated,
existed at its peak. Although the residential area seems to have extended
extensively throughout the city, the monumental constructions were concentrated
in its northern half. The Sun Pyramid facing
west stands at the center of the northern section of the Avenue of the Dead
as the principal pyramid of the city. The Moon Pyramid
is located at the northern end of the central ceremonial zone.
In the southern section, the Ciudadela and the
Great Compound stand out as exceptionally large architectural complexes in the
city. The Feathered Serpent Pyramid,
discussed in this web site, was the principal pyramid of the Ciudadela. Further
south of them, unlike in the northern section, the Avenue of the Dead is not well
defined by platforms or other architectural units, according to current topography.
Further south, beyond the river San Lorenzo, on the southern Avenue of the Dead,
several mounds are still visible on surface. The city had no outer defensive walls,
however Millon (1993) believes that it was not an open city easy for outsiders
to attack.
