Archaeologists currently think that the first settlement to reach “city scale” in central Mexico was Cuicuilco. The community was located on the southern shore of Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico. It is in the Colonia Coyacan section of Mexico City today. However, today urban development and drainage projects have shrunk Lake Texcoco to the size where it is not even visible from the Cuicuilco archaeological zone. At its probable peak size around 150 AD, the city contained at least 20,000 people. It may have been larger, because much of the archaeological zone was developed into office buildings and industries before archaeologists could thoroughly study the site.
Cuicuilco began as a small farming and fishing village around 750 BC; that’s 850 years AFTER the founding of Poverty Point, Louisiana and 650 years after the earliest town in the Olmec civilization. (See articles on Poverty Point and Early Maya.) It seems to have been a center of agricultural experimentation and improvement. As cultivated crops became more productive and diverse, Cuicuilco grew in population. The plentiful rainfall, year round mild climate and rich volcanic soils made possible the accumulation of a dense population. There is also evidence of cultural contacts with the Zoque on the Gulf Coasts. Initially, artistic styles in the two regions were very similar, but when the Olmec ceremonial centers were abandoned around 450 BC, the Valley of Mexico developed its own distinct artistic traditions.
More at
http://www.examiner.com/x-40598-Architecture--Design-Examiner~y2010m4d16-The-Mesoamerican-connection-Cuicuilco-the-Pompei-of-the-Americas
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