新托福阅读真题之The Rise of Teotihuacan

1、 智 课 网 托 福 备 考 资 料 新托福阅读真题之The Rise of Teotihuacan特奥蒂瓦坎古城坐落于墨西哥波波卡特佩尔火山和依斯塔西瓦特尔火山山坡谷底之间,是印第安文明的重要遗址,也是拉丁美洲规模最大的城市遗址。那么,这座古城究竟有哪些特色,是如何兴盛的呢?The city of Teotihuacán,which lay about 50 kilometers northeast of modern-day Mexico City, began its growth byIt had over 2,000 apartment complexes, agreat

2、market, a large number of industrial workshops, an administrative center,a number of massive religious edifices, and a regular grid pattern of streetsand buildings.Clearly, much planningand central control were involved in the expansion and ordering of this greatmetropolis.Moreover, the city hadecon

3、omic and perhaps religious contacts with most parts of Mesoamerica (modernCentral America and Mexico.How did this tremendousdevelopment take place, and why did it happen in the Teotihuacán Valley?Among the main factors are Teotihuacáns geographic location on a natural traderoute to the sou

4、th and east of the Valleyof Mexico, the obsidian resources inthe Teotihuacán Valley itself, and thevalleyspotential for extensive irrigation. The exact role of other factors is muchmore difficult to pinpointfor instance,Teotihuacáns religious significanceas a shrine, the historical situati

5、on in and around the Valley of Mexico towardthe end of the first millennium B.C., the ingenuity and foresightedness ofTeotihuacáns elite, and, finally, the impact of natural disasters, such as thevolcanic eruptions of the late first millennium B.C.This last factor is at leastcircumstantially im

6、plicated in Teotihuacáns rise. Prior to 200 B.C., a numberof relatively small centers coexisted in and near the Valley of Mexico.Around this time, the largest of these centers, Cuicuilco, was seriouslyaffected by a volcanic eruption, with much of its agricultural land covered bylava. With Cuicu

7、ilco eliminated as a potential rival, any one of a number ofrelatively modest towns might have emerged as a leading economic and politicalpower in Central Mexico. The archaeologicalevidence clearly indicates, though, that Teotiluacan was the center that didarise as the predominant force in the area

8、by the first century A.D.It seems likely thatTeotihuacáns natural resourcesalong with the city elites ability torecognize their potentialgave the city a competitive edge over its neighbors,The valley, like many other places in Mexican and Guatemalan highlands, wasrich in obsidian. The hard volc

9、anic stone was a resource that had been in greatdemand for many years, at least since the rise of the Olmecs (a people whoflourished between 1200 and 400 B.C., and it apparently had a secure market.Moreover, recent research on obsidian tools found at Olmecs sites has shownthat some of the obsidian o

10、btained by the Olmecs originated nearTeotihuacán.Teotihuacán obsidian must have been recognized as a valuable commodity for manycenturies before the great city arose. Long-distance trade inobsidian probably gave the elite residents of Teotihuacán access to a widevariety of exotic good

11、, as well as a relatively prosperous life. Such successmay have attracted immigrants to Teotihuacán. In addition, Teotihuacáns elitemay have consciously attempted to attract new inhabitants. It is also probablethat as early as 200 B.C. Teotihuacán may have achieved some religioussigni

12、ficance and its shrine (or shrines may have served as an additionalpopulation magnet. Finally, the growing population was probably fed byincreasing the number and size of irrigated fields.The picture of Teotihuacánthat emerges is a classic picture of positive feedback among obsidian miningand w

13、orking, trade, population growth, irrigation, and religious tourism. Thethriving obsidian operation, for example, would necessitate more miners,additional manufacturers of obsidian tools, and additional traders to carry thegoods to new markets. All this led to increased wealth, which in turn wouldattract more immigrants to Teotihuacán. The growing power of the elite, whocontrolled the economy, would give them the means to physically coer