Tetitla
Period
Classic (350–650 CE)
Location
West of the city center
Type
Multi-family residential compound
Function
Permanent residence with productive, artisanal, and ceremonial activities
Foreign influences
Mayan, Gulf Coast, and Oaxacan influences identified in murals
Special find
Pre-Hispanic graffiti preserved on several walls
Finds
Spondylus shells from the South Pacific; cacao, chili, and maize residues in ceramics
Iconography
Feline, canid, and bird imagery; Venus, Tlaloc, divers, priests; pre-Hispanic graffiti
The great temples of Teotihuacan record what the city wanted to show: its power, its cosmology, and its capacity to organize the labor of thousands of people in the construction of a single building. Tetitla records something different: what was happening in the city beyond its monumental expression. The cacao residue in the vessels, the shells brought from 3,000 kilometers away—all these elements point to everyday life. There is even graffiti painted over the official murals. Tetitla is one of the most thoroughly studied residential compounds at the site, and has become an exceptionally rich source of information about the society that inhabited this city.
Further readings (in spanish)
- Zona Arqueológica de Teotihuacan. Lugares INAH.
- Teotihuacan: conjuntos residenciales y pintura mural. Repositorio INAH.
- Museo de Murales Teotihuacanos Beatriz de la Fuente. Repositorio INAH.
- La muerte en Tlailotlacan (Barrio Oaxaqueño), Teotihuacan. Revista Arqueología.
- Dos conjuntos habitacionales teotihuacanos. Arqueología Mexicana.
- La escritura teotihuacana. Arqueología Mexicana.