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The Roots of the City
(1500 B.C. - 1500 A.D.)
Mask from Tlatilco
Valley and Lake
The central region of the Mexican high plateau has been inhabited for at least
20,000 years, as evidenced by the artifacts unearthed at Tlapacoya and Tepexpan,
although the principal cradle of civilization in Mesoamerica, known by the generic
name of Olmeca, actually developed around the tropical Gulf coast region of Mexico.
Within the Valley of Mexico the remains found at Tlatilco, dated to between 1500
B.C. and 500 B.C., are of particular significance. It is likely that the figurines
found at this spot were included in burial offerings. In general, they represent
female figures of a common physical stereotype with rather realistic, delicate features.
Zoomorphic vases, seals, and other figures of the Olmeca type have also been recovered
here. It is believed that these objects were dedicated to a cult to the dead which
existed during the pre-Hispanic era and which has endured in contemporary worship.
Other groups gradually established settlements along the fertile shores of the lakes.
They practiced an incipient form of agriculture and supplemented their diet with
fish and small amphibians from the lake, and insects and mammals from the surrounding
forests. Copilco, Tetelpan and Cuicuilco were some of the more notable ceremonial
sites existing during the period from 500 B.C. to 100 A.D.. Cuicuilco, in particular,
was distinguished by its circular pyramid which was eventually engulfed by the lava
flows from the eruption of the Xitle volcano during the 1st Century A.D.
Tlaloc vase
The Reign of the Serpent
During the years from 100 to 900 A.D., numerous cultures and human settlements flourished
in the central region of Mesoamerica, and which were eventually dominated by the
city of Teotihuacan (30 miles northeast of Mexico City).
During this era the distinction between social classes was consolidated and an extraordinary
level of urban planning, with carefully delineated rules of art and architecture
linked to religious worship and everyday life, was achieved. These societies based
their development on planned agriculture, international trade and military rule.
However, between the years 650 and 900 A.D., the city fell into decay and ceded its
position of eminence to others such as Xochicalco, Cacaxtla and Cholula. The hegemonic
and imperialistic overtones that were enforced by Teotihuacan were subsequently absorbed
by the Toltecas whose culture transcended the military vicissitudes and the political
turmoil that had led to the fall of the city of Tula in 1168. Now groups of Nahuas
from the north established the Acolhua, Chichimeca, and Tepaneca kingdoms which dominated
the lakes and the central valleys. The Tolteca legacy is assimilated and developed
by these groups who founded Tenayuca, Texcoco and Tlacopan.
The Arrival of the Hummingbird
It was not until the 13th Century when the Mexica, whose principal god Huizilopochtli
(Left-handed Hummingbird) represents an austere, warrior-like figure, arrived in
this region from Aztlan (a possibly mythical place). Led by the priest Tenoch, they
fought against the more established tribes to secure their own place on the banks
of the lakes. Around 1299 they settled at Chapultepec, a site privileged by its strategic
location and natural resources, only to be driven out by the Acohuas - forcing them
to take refuge on a large island in the lake.
Here the secular pilgrimage of the Mexica came to its end; the signal for this was
the vision of an eagle devouring a snake while perched on a cactus growing on the
island. Thus was founded the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan on June 8th 1325.
The intense activity of the Mexica and their contacts with numerous local peoples
led to their rapid assimilation of knowledge and cultural expression. Over a relatively
short period of only two hundred years they were able to conquer surrounding tribes,
build an extraordinary city, and spread their presence to such distant lands as the
Soconusco (southern Chiapas). This expansion was achieved under the direction of
such outstanding rulers as Izcoatl, Moctezuma I, Axayacatl, Tizoc, Ahyuizotl, and
Moctezuma II and their highly-disciplined groups of eagle-warriors and jaguar-warriors,
together with the prosperous activities of craftsmen and traders. Today, the names
of many of the nations subject to tribute by the Mexica can be seen carved in stone
or painted into ancient codices.
The memory of Aztlan (city-island) is expanded and consolidated based on the ancient
models of Teotihuacan and Tula: the astronomical orientation of the principal avenues
of the city with a ceremonial enclosure at its center. This complex was enclosed
by a wall (coatepantli), within which the principal buildings were constructed.
Stone of the Sun
at the Anthropology Museum
Suggested books
Davies, Claude Nigel
The Aztec Empire. The Toltec Resurgence
Oklahoma University Press, 1987
Kubler, George
The Art and Architecture of Ancient America
Penguin Books, London, 1975
Matos Moctezuma, Eduardo
The Great Temple of the Aztecs
Thames and Hudson, London, 1988
Wonder of the Americas
The Templo Mayor was a double pyramid dedicated
to the gods Tlaloc (god of water and rain, mainstay of the crop cycle), and Huitzilopochtli
(god of war, patron of conquests and tributes). Other significant temples were those
dedicated to Quetzalcoatl (hero-god, father of civilization) and Tezcatlipoca (god
who creates and changes all things and destinies), or the temple of Ehecatl (god
of wind), and there were special schools such as the Calmecac (for priests) and the
Telpochcalli (for warriors). The Templo Mayor
stood as not only the most visible landmark of a vast urban infrastructure, but also
represented the cosmic center of a universe which required frequent human sacrifice
to sustain it.
The small island, enlarged via a system of land refill and reclamation through small,
floating, plots of land known as chinampas, gave rise to numerous small canals
which connected a great number of houses, palaces, temples, a fully stocked zoo,
plazas, markets and aqueducts. All this infrastructure supported a social and political
organization centered around the Calpulli (productive communities) located at the
main cardinal points: Azacoalco (northeast), Zoquiapan (southeast), Moyotla (southwest)
and Cuepopan (northwest).
The city sustained an intense relationship with the rest of the valley via the enormous
causeways with their network of bridges and dams: to the west lay that of Tlacopan,
to the south that of Xochimilco, and to the north that
of Tepeyacac, as well as many bustling jetties and docks. The trade in produce that
arrived in the city by canoe or on the backs of human porters filled the tianguis
(markets) which, as in the case of the Tlatelolco market, offered every possible
good and product for sale or trade.
The water in the lakes, which were fed by flows of fresh, but brackish water, was
not fit for human consumption, so the Mexica undertook the construction of an aqueduct
to bring drinking water from the natural springs at Chapultepec. To control the periodic
increases in the water level, a dike was built to contain the waters from the Texcoco
lake.
The city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan and the other settlements in the valley once again
supported a symbiotic relationship between the rural and the urban worlds which was
first defined during the Olmeca era, and which continues to the present day. By 1519
the city possessed a level of refinement and magnificence comparable to the most
important cities in the world. Nevertheless, it never ceases to amaze us each time
that, by chance or by necessity, some former vestige arises from these early foundations
of present-day Mexico City.
The Epic City (1519-1620)
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