A New Geometric Analysis of the Plan of the Teotihuacan Complex in Mexico

There is a considerable amount of literature, scholarly study, and research on the Teotihuacan complex in Mexico. The focus of these studies has been primarily on the astronomical orientation, archeology, and the measures of specific pyramids and buildings. The intention of this project is to look at the total organization of the site in an analytical way using the tools and procedures of geometric analysis. The study examines Teotihuacan as an organized urban center in order to see what geometric systems, if any, are present in the layout of the area. As Teotihuacan was developed over a long period of time, did the builders and city planners have an overall geometric plan for the layout of the complex, or was its organization simply the result of population growth and commerce? Specifically, the paper describes the search for grid systems and geometric structures based on the circle, the square, and the triangle. The basis for the analysis is the work done by Rene Millon and his team in 1970, the Teotihuacan Mapping Project, and from the maps, drawings, and information provided by Professors Rene Millon, George Cowgill, and Bruce Drewitt, the three principal scholars who mapped the city.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark A. Reynolds is a visual artist who works primarily in drawing, printmaking and mixed media. He received his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Art and Art Education at Towson University in Maryland. He was awarded the Andelot Fellowship to do post-graduate work in drawing and printmaking at the University of Delaware. For the past decade, Mr. Reynolds has been at work on an extensive body of drawings, paintings and prints that incorporate and explore the ancient science of sacred, or contemplative, geometry. He is widely exhibited, showing his work in group competitions and one person shows, especially in California. Mark's work is in corporate, public, and private collections. Mark is also a member of the California Society of Printmakers (six of his images can be found on their website by clicking on "Galleries" then scrolling down to Mark Reynolds under "Artist Member Porfolios), the Los Angeles Printmaking Society, and the Marin Arts Council.
A born teacher, Mr. Reynolds teaches sacred geometry, linear perspective, drawing, and printmaking to both graduate and undergraduate students in various departments at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco, California. He was voted Outstanding Educator of the Year by the students in 1992.
Additionally, Reynolds is a geometer, and his specialties in this field include doing geometric analyses of architecture, paintings, and design. He presented, "A New Geometric Analysis of the Pazzi Chapel", at The Nexus 2000 Conference in Ferrara, Italy, and published, "A Comparative Geometric Analysis of the Heights and Bases of The Great Pyramid of Khufu and The Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan", in the Nexus Network Journal, vol. 1, no. 4. He lives with his wife and family in Mill Valley, California.

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