188 cities: The Americas Jade figure of an eagle warrior (Aztec culture, Mexico, ca 1325–1521); the eagle played an important role in the legendary foundation of the Aztec captial, Tenochtitlán because, according to myth, the god Huitzilopochtli asked the Aztecs to found their city where they saw an eagle perched on a cactus. (© The Trustees of the British Museum) opment; thus, the Mesoamerican city has relatively ancient origins, even though it is best known from the Classic Period (ca 150–ca 650), through the major examples of Monte Albán, in the valley of Oaxaca, and Teotihuacán, in central Mexico The Postclassic (ca 900 to the Spanish conquest in the 16th century) was marked by the rise of new states The Toltec capital of Tula rose to the north of contemporary Mexico City and dominated the region from the 10th to 12th centuries Toltec migration also influenced Postclassic Mayan cities on the Yucatán Peninsula After the fall of the Toltec, the Basin of Mexico witnessed the settling and organizing of nomadic tribes Finally, by 1325 Tenochtitlán, the great capital city of the Aztec Empire, was established in what is today Mexico City The Spanish arrived in Tenochtitlán in 1521, thus ending purely American urban development Mexican urban development initially arose north of contemporary Mexico City at Teotihuacán (ca 1–ca 650 c.e.) and in the south in the Valley of Oaxaca at Monte Albán (ca 600 b.c.e.–ca 900 c.e.) Teotihuacán was the largest and most complex urban settlement in the Americas until the rise of Tenochtitlán in the 14th century By 600 c.e Teotihuacán was the fifth-largest city in the world, with a population estimated at 125,000 Urban developments at Teotihuacán included an internal drainage system of subterranean canals, administrative and ceremonial buildings, a central thoroughfare called the Avenue of the Dead (which featured a monumental linear arrangement), a regular grid pattern, large public congregational plazas, and barrios for workers and foreigners on the periphery believed to have been organized by craft specialization Teotihuacán was the center for an extensive empire with trade ties extending throughout Mesoamerica Monte Albán developed gradually and saw great fluctuations in population as well as in regional influence, eventually losing ground as an urban center while remaining a pilgrimage site of religious importance It was thought to have risen as a center for the coordination of various regional sites, eventually developing advanced administrative, economic, social, and ritual capabilities and responsibilities Monte Albán was built atop a hill 1,000 feet above the surrounding valley floor, with its population concentrated on terraced hillsides Its layout focused on a civic-ceremonial center atop the hill, with multiple structures framing a central plaza A ball court, stone slabs covered in bas-relief, slabs with evidence of a ritual 260-day calendar, and pottery produced on a large scale all suggest the kind of cultural complexity indicative of cities After the fall of Teotihuacán in the eighth century Mexican urban life disintegrated, with the decline lasting some 300 years Tula, Xochicalco, El Tajín, Cholula, and Cacaxtla either continued as occupied sites or rose to prominence in the void left by Teotihuacán Scholars suggest that Xochicalco (700–1000), built on a hill near modern-day Cuernavaca on the western slopes of central Mexico, replaced Teotihuacán as a trading center Among its remains are palaces, a ball court, circular platforms, stepped-pyramid temples, stelae, glyphic inscriptions, and sculpted reliefs, indicating a fairly complex urban environment Xochicalco was located on a route between the Basin of Mexico and southern and eastern regions along which cacao, cotton, feathers, jade, and obsidian were carried Some scholars suggest that the settlement represented a merger of Mayan, Oaxacan, and Gulf Coast influences that,