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January 5, 2026
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Teotihuacan ancient culture affected by megathrust earthquakes during the early Epiclassic Period (Mexico)

Publicated to: Journal Of Archaeological Science: Reports. 55 104528- - 2024-05-01 55(), DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104528

Authors:

Pérez-López, R; Moragas-Segura, N; Elez, J; Silva, PG; Giner-Robles, JL; Rodríguez-Pascua, MA; Ramos, A; Perucha, MA; Roquero, E; Garduño-Monroy, VH
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Affiliations

Inst Geol & Minero Espana IGME CSIC, C Rios Rosas 23 - Author
Univ Autonoma Madrid, Dept Geol & Geoquim - Author
Univ Barcelona, Dept Hist & Arqueol - Author
Univ Michoacana - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Dept Edafol, ETSI Agronomo - Author
Univ Salamanca, Escuela Politecn Super, Dept Geol - Author
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Abstract

Teotihuacan was one of the thriving cultures in the Mesoamerica pre-Hispanic times, located in the Central Valley of Mexico. The city-state was a dominant centre point during the Classic period and its influence affected other contemporaneous cultures. Around the year 550 CE, a continuous decrease in urban population and selective building destruction was noted, accompanied by widespread fire. The layout of the city is identified by an avenue that articulates the political-administrative and religious centres, with such significant and impressive buildings as the Pyramid of the Sun, the Pyramid of the Moon and the Temple of Feathered Serpent. A systematic analysis of building damage in the pyramids reveals several Earthquake Archaeological Effects, (EAEs) potentially related to seismic loading. A damage pattern compatible with a strong ground shaking was also identified in the west staircase of the Old Temple of the Feathered Serpent, in the first rows of the west staircase of the Adosada platform (New Temple), and in the Pyramid of the Sun. In total, five ancient earthquakes have been determined from the damage, dated from the Tzacualli cultural period (1-100 CE), to the Xolalpan - Metepec period (450-550 CE). Unfortunately, this methodology does not determine the earthquake source. Therefore, we consider the possibility that repetitive megathrust earthquakes (Mw > 8.5) from the Middle American Trench (Pacific coast) could be responsible for the spatial pattern of the building damage. This proposal does not conflict with other existing theories for the Teotihuacan abrupt collapse, considering that the sudden overlapping of natural disasters like earthquakes could increase internal warfare (uprising), and civil unrest.
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Keywords

ArchaeologyArchaeoseismologyBaelo-claudiaBasinCadizClassic-epiclassicEarthquakeFaultMexicoRoman citySouthStateTeotihuacanZone

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2024 there are still no calculated indicators, but in 2023, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category History. Notably, the journal is positioned above the 90th percentile.

Independientemente del impacto esperado determinado por el canal de difusión, es importante destacar el impacto real observado de la propia aportación.

Según las diferentes agencias de indexación, el número de citas acumuladas por esta publicación hasta la fecha 2026-04-03:

  • Google Scholar: 1
  • WoS: 4
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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-03:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 20.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 20 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 176.
  • The number of mentions on the social network Facebook: 2 (Altmetric).
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 10 (Altmetric).
  • The number of mentions on Wikipedia: 1 (Altmetric).
  • The number of mentions in news outlets: 20 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: https://repositorio.uam.es/handle/10486/718178
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Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Mexico.

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