[originaltext] At one time it was the most important city in the region—a bu

At one time it was the most important city in the region—a bustling commercial center known for its massive monuments, its crowded streets and commercial districts, and its cultural and religious institutions. Then, suddenly, it was abandoned. Within a generation most of its population departed and the at once magnificent city became all but a ghost town. This is the history of a pre-Columbia city called Teotihuacan. The name is the Aztec word, which means "the place the god calls home". It was once a metropolis of as many as 2,000,000 inhabitants 33 miles northwest of present-day Mexico City. And it was also the focus of a great empire that stretched from the arid plains of central Mexico to the mountain of Guatemala.
    Why did this city die? Researchers have found no signs of epidemic disease or destructive invasions. But they have found signs that suggest the Teotihuacanos themselves burned their temples and some of their other buildings. There were evidence revealed that piles of wood had been placed around these structures and set fire. Some speculate that Teotihuacan’s inhabitants may have abandoned the city because it had become "a clumsy giant..." But other experts think that the ancient inhabitants may have destroyed their temples and abandoned their city in rage against their gods for permitting a long famine.