This study employs canonical methods and theory from urban economics and economic geography to analyze the urban structure of the ancient city of Teotihuacan. We present evidence that Teotihuacan’s overall configuration, which includes spatial patterning in land use, demography, and social class, reveals density gradients that are consistent with the assumptions of urban . In general, spatial equilibrium posits that locational advantages conferred by proximity to desirable land (i.e., urban amenities) are offset by the associated land and transportation costs. These results provide insights into the process of urbanization at the ancient metropolis as well as its structural underpinnings such as social inequality and spatial competition. Based on these results, we argue that the framework employed here is broadly applicable to archaeological case studies and can lead to new inferences about the comparative dynamics of ancient urbanization.

中文翻译：

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古代特奥蒂瓦坎的城市结构、空间平衡和社会不平等


本研究采用城市经济学和经济地理学的经典方法和理论来分析特奥蒂瓦坎古城的城市结构。我们提出的证据表明，特奥蒂瓦坎的整体配置，包括土地利用、人口统计和社会阶层的空间格局，揭示了与城市假设一致的密度梯度。一般来说，空间均衡假设，靠近理想土地（即城市便利设施）所带来的区位优势被相关的土地和交通成本所抵消。这些结果为了解这座古老大都市的城市化进程及其社会不平等和空间竞争等结构基础提供了见解。基于这些结果，我们认为这里采用的框架广泛适用于考古案例研究，并且可以得出关于古代城市化的比较动态的新推论。