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A chain of massive quake may have lead to the decline and eventual desertion of the pre - Aztec Mesoamerican city ofTeotihuacan , a raw study suggest .
Teotihuacan , which is located north-east of modern - solar day Mexico City and prosper between 150 B.C. and A.D. 650 , had a universe of more than 100,000 inhabitants at its efflorescence , but several centuries after that number plummet substantially , according to a subject field publish in the May issue of theJournal of Archaeological Science : Reports .
The Temple of the Feathered Serpent was one the pyramids at Teotihuacan that showed signs of earthquake damage.
Researchers have long wondered what caused this dramatic population drop , with hypotheses include state of war and dearth . However , a new psychoanalysis of some of the city ’s iconic pyramid reveals that Teotihuacan was hit by five perfidious megathrust earthquake that didder the metropolis roughly between A.D. 100 and 600 .
" Megathrust earthquakes abide out as the most unnerving seismic events ever documented , " lead bailiwick authorRaúl Pérez - López , an earthquake geologist at the Geological and Mining Institute in Spain , told Live Science in an electronic mail . " These earthquakes initiate insubductionzones , such as the Middle American Trench ( MAT ) [ an pelagic trench in the Pacific Ocean that ’s one of the world ’s heavy subduction zones and the boundary between several architectonic plate , including the Nazca and North American ] . What lay out them aside is their over-the-top order of magnitude and comparatively infrequent occurrent compare to other seismic events . "
For example , one megathrust earthquake is so powerful that the seismal energy it emits " is tantamount to the muscularity unleashed by around 32,000Hiroshima nuclear bombs , " Pérez - López said . A more recentmegathrust seism happen in Japan in 2011 .
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" The release of such stupefying push during a megathrust seism can have ruinous consequences for the surrounding regions , illustrate the immense destructive potential of these seismic result , " he added .
For the subject field , the researcher analyzed three ofTeotihuacan ’s pyramids , including the Temple of the Feathered Serpent , the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon , for seism archaeological effects , or damage patterns that are related to secure dry land shaking . They found that the seismic blow rattle the metropolis from the sou’-west to the northeast , forget tell - narrative grounds in their window dressing , concord to the study .
Perhaps the most vulnerable of the three Great Pyramid was the Temple of the Feathered Serpent , which showed " displacement and fracturing of [ its ] monumental andesite [ rock ] masonry blocks . " The researchers also noticed examples of " cut off corners " of the outer stair blocks and " dislodged bricks , " he said .
While the researcher were aware of the megathrust earthquakes and researched them in a2010 study , it was n’t until this new written report that they discovered the full extent of the damage triggered by them .
" outstandingly , in the retiring century , seism with magnitudes exceed 8.6 in Mexico have not significantly impacted the infrastructure of Teotihuacan , " he said . " This highlights the necessity of exceptionally herculean earthquakes to induce the specific destructive practice observed in this ancient metropolis . "
In response to the earthquakes , the city ’s occupants reinforced their pyramid as a precautional measure .
" The initial reply by the Teotihuacanos was to reward the Sun Pyramid , the with child structure in their urban center , along its N - south axis in an attack to fortify it against future quake , " he said . " to boot , they repurposed and take away other elements damaged by seismic activity . Interestingly , they opted to conceal one of the most conspicuous sign of the zodiac of earthquake damage : the rotation and supplanting of the west stairway of the Temple of the Feathered Serpent . "
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He added , " Today , these archaeological effects of quake stay visible , offering worthful perceptivity into the ancient civilisation ’s resiliency and adaptive strategies . "
However , even architectural changes were n’t enough to save the city from its eventual desertion at the end of the seventh hundred , when there was " a acuate decrease of the population and an abrupt loss of geopolitical power , " the authors wrote in the study .
" The disruption due to a devastating earthquake not only shakes the physical foundation of a lodge but also destabilise its societal and political structure , " Pérez - López said . " Mismanagement of social discontent in the consequence of such a disaster can foment inner rebellion , especially in the absence seizure of effective military and urban base . This create fertile ground for tempestuousness , potentially spark uprising fuel by neighboring cities and exacerbating exist tensions . "
