New Issue: Science’s Impossible Questions. Read Now

July 1, 2014

1 min read

Google Logo Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm

Archaeologists Edge Closer to Solving the Mysteries of Teotihuacán

After decades of investigation, fresh clues are emerging from Mexico’s City of Gods

By Kate Wong

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

For decades archaeologists have puzzled over the ruins of the ancient city of Teotihuacán in Mexico. In the July Scientific American science writer Erik Vance reports on recent finds that are transforming researchers’ understanding of this enigmatic place and the people who lived there. For more on Teotihuacán, check out the resources below.

Teotihuacán. René Millon in Scientific American, Vol. 216, pages 38–48; June 1967.

Teotihuacán: Art from the City of the Gods. Edited by Kathleen Berrin and Esther Pasztory. Thames and Hudson, 1993.

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

Gender and Mortuary Ritual at Ancient Teotihuacán, Mexico: a Study of Intrasocietal Diversity. Sarah C. Clayton in Cambridge Archaeological Journal, Vol. 21, No. 1; 2011.

Human Sacrifice, Militarism and Rulership: Materialization of State Ideology at the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, Teotihuacán. By Saburo Sugiyama. Cambridge University Press, 2005.

The Urban Organization of Teotihuacán, Mexico. George L. Cowgill in Settlement and Society, edited by Elizabeth C. Stone, pages 261–295. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles, 2007.

The Teotihuacán Trinity: The Sociopolitical Structure of an Ancient Mesoamerican City. By Annabeth Headrick. University of Texas Press, 2007.

Kate Wong is an award-winning science writer and was formerly senior editor for features at Scientific American, where she focused on evolution, ecology, anthropology, archaeology, paleontology and animal behavior. She is fascinated by human origins, which she has covered for nearly 30 years. Recently she has become obsessed with birds. Her reporting has taken her to caves in France and Croatia that Neandertals once called home to the shores of Kenya’s Lake Turkana in search of the oldest stone tools in the world, as well as to Madagascar on an expedition to unearth ancient mammals and dinosaurs, the icy waters of Antarctica, where humpback whales feast on krill, and a “Big Day” race around the state of Connecticut to find as many bird species as possible in 24 hours. Wong is co-author, with Donald Johanson, of Lucy’s Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins. She holds a bachelor of science degree in biological anthropology and zoology from the University of Michigan. Follow her on Bluesky @katewong.bsky.social

More by Kate Wong
Scientific American Magazine Vol 311 Issue 1This article was published with the title “Archaeologists Edge Closer to Solving the Mysteries of Teotihuacán” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 311 No. 1 ()
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican072014-4UGciuGQKruVupGpkyyl2L
View This Issue

Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism

Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.

When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.

Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber

Thank you,

Jeanna Bryner, Editor in Chief, Scientific American

Subscribe