VALLEY OF MEXICO — VAILLANT 525 



Ticoman, could be divided into three time stages, derived from refuse 

 heaps that, although deep, could not compare to the earlier deposits. 

 In the Cuicuilco-Ticoman culture there were to be seen evidences of 

 a considerable advance in handiwork, for not only were pottery, 

 figurines and stone tools better made and in greater variety than in 

 the preceding periods, but also the presence of mounds and unques- 

 tionable representations of gods indicated the beginnings of a for- 

 malized religious system. The wide geographic distribution of this 

 culture shows that these remains were the handiwork of an important 

 and populous tribal group. 



The third horizon is marked by the finds made at the great pyramid 

 city of San Juan Teotihuacan, northeast of Mexico City. While the 

 earliest of the five periods tentatively defined shows affiliations with a 

 branch of the Cuicuilco-Ticoman culture, the pottery and figurines 

 present a rapid advance in technique and artistic value. Designs are 

 often derived from ceremonial motives and testify that already that 

 ritualistic preoccupation which so characterizes Central American 

 civilization had taken form. Mighty pyramids and elaborate palaces 

 give evidence of a closely knit social organization able to draft man- 

 power to achieve such ends, while excellent stone sculptures indicate 

 good craftsmen and trade with adjacent cultures. The last phase of 

 this civilization is found at Azcapotzalco, apparently after Teotihuacan 

 had been abandoned. Figurines were made in molds, suggesting a 

 curious use of mass production to satisfy the needs of mass religion, 

 but architectural remains at Azcapotzalco reveal none of the grandiose 

 qualities of Teotihuacan. 



These first three culture groups have shown a slow development 

 that reaches a peak in the civilization of Teotihuacan. The artistic 

 forms and styles do not evolve progressively, but rather in jerks, as 

 one tribe seems to have driven out another. The most violent change 

 occurs with the introduction of the fourth culture period. Here, at 

 San Francisco Mazapan, a simple complex of human handiwork is 

 found overlying the Teotihuacan remains. While sporadic pieces, 

 presumably obtained by trade, attest to the presence of relatively 

 high civilizations elsewhere, the bulk of the material reveals little 

 evidence of ritualistic, social, or artistic advancement. By studying 

 the traded vessels, connections are obtained with a series of other 

 peoples, some of high and some of low culture, some inhabiting the 

 Valley of Mexico and others as far away as Yucatan. It is as though 

 with the collapse of the Teotihuacan civilization, a number of other 

 tribes had risen to power and filtered into the countryside. 



The last culture stage constitutes the articles of household and cere- 

 monial use, the sculptures, and the architecture found in places known 

 to have been occupied by the Aztecs. One very characteristic ware 



