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Special Section: Taking Stock of Basin of Mexico Archaeology in The Early Twenty-First Century
Depending upon one's point of view, it is fortunate or unfortunate that I did not realize the implications of what I was undertaking, for I surely would never have taken it on. . . . If this map proves to have value for future investigators, as I believe it will, it is just as well that the costs, human and financial, of preparing it were not foreseen. (Millon 1973)
The Teotihuacan map is an accomplishment of singular importance in the history of archaeology (Figure 1). No other ancient city has been mapped in such detail. Scholars from diverse disciplines--archaeology, anthropology, ethnohistory, urban studies, and city planning--continue to use the map not simply to study issues pertinent to Mesoamerican archaeology, but to investigate the history of urbanism and the inner workings of cities in general. Figure 1.
The Teotihuacan Map (Millon 1973).
Given the importance of the Teotihuacan map, one might assume that other archaeologists would have created similar maps of other ancient cities. Certainly, other mapping projects have followed, several of which specifically mention the Teotihuacan Mapping Project (TMP) as part of their inspiration and model (see, for example, Blanton 1978). Yet, no other project has resulted in a map of an ancient city comparable in detail and scope. Why? To answer this question, we explore how and why the map was created. In so doing, we identify a series of attributes that all big, complex archaeological investigations must have to be successful.
We begin with a personal account by the senior author of the origins of the TMP--what spurred Millon's interest in Teotihuacan and what led him to believe that a map of the city was essential (Millon 2008).1Next, we present a brief history of the TMP. In the third section of the paper, we critically evaluate the results of the TMP, examining what went right and what went wrong. Our emphasis is less on defending or justifying specific actions as it is on providing a signpost of potential pitfalls that befall this type of project. We then speak more generally about the characteristics required to design and complete a project...