Redating of Xitle eruption challenges Cuicuilco as Teotihuacan's inspiration. Volcano Xitle's eruption covered Cuicuilco with ash and lava, forcing inhabitants to flee. Previous dating placed the Xitle eruption around 100 CE, neatly explaining Teotihuacan's population surge as refugee-driven. Reanalysis redates the Xitle eruption to after 300 CE, meaning Teotihuacan's pyramids were already built before Cuicuilco was destroyed.
Xitle volcano buried Cuicuilco under ash and lava. Old dating (~100 CE) neatly explained Teotihuacan's refugee-driven growth. But reanalysis redates Xitle to 245-315 CE, meaning Teotihuacan's pyramids stood before Cuicuilco fell. Cholula's Great Pyramid grew from ~200 BCE, surpassing the Pyramid of the Sun by 600 CE.
Key Facts
- Volcano Xitle's eruption covered Cuicuilco with ash and lava, forcing inhabitants to flee.
- Previous dating placed the Xitle eruption around 100 CE, neatly explaining Teotihuacan's population surge as refugee-driven.
- Reanalysis redates the Xitle eruption to after 300 CE, meaning Teotihuacan's pyramids were already built before Cuicuilco was destroyed.
- Cuicuilco's great pyramid is circular (25 m tall, 135 m diameter), unlike the square-based Pyramids of the Sun and Moon at Teotihuacan.
- Cholula began building its Great Pyramid around 200 BCE as a rectangular structure, with larger phases from 200 CE onward; by 350 CE it exceeded the Pyramid of the Moon, and by 600 CE it exceeded the Pyramid of the Sun.
- Cholula's chronology parallels Teotihuacan but lags slightly behind, making it an unlikely direct inspiration.
Related site: Teotihuacan — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.
Source: The Real Origins of Teotihuacan? by Archaeologist Ed Barnhart