Copilco
Encyclopedia
| Name: | Copilco |
| Location | Coyoacán Coyoacán Coyoacán refers to one of the sixteen boroughs of the Federal District of Mexico City as well as the former village which is now the borough’s “historic center.” The name comes from Nahuatl and most likely means “place of coyotes,” when the Aztecs named a pre-Hispanic village on the southern shore... , Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... |
| Coordinates | 19°20′08"N 99°10′36"W |
| Culture | Chichimeca Chichimeca Chichimeca was the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to a wide range of semi-nomadic peoples who inhabited the north of modern-day Mexico and southwestern United States, and carried the same sense as the European term "barbarian"... – Tepaneca - Cuicuilca |
| Period | Preclassical Mesoamerican |
| Foundation | 600 to 100 CE. |
| Decline | Late mesoamerican Classical |
| Language | Uto-Aztecan languages Uto-Aztecan languages Uto-Aztecan or Uto-Aztekan is a Native American language family consisting of over 30 languages. Uto-Aztecan languages are found from the Great Basin of the Western United States , through western, central and southern Mexico Uto-Aztecan or Uto-Aztekan is a Native American language family... - Oto-Manguean languages Oto-Manguean languages Oto-Manguean languages are a large family comprising several families of Native American languages. All of the Oto-Manguean languages that are now spoken are indigenous to Mexico, but the Manguean branch of the family, which is now extinct, was spoken as far south as Nicaragua and Costa Rica.The... – Nahuatl Nahuatl Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua... |
| INAH Official Page | Non existent |
Copilco was an important Mesoamerican ceremonial center, southwest of Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Copilco is located approximately four kilometers north of Cuicuilco
Cuicuilco
Cuicuilco is an important archaeological Mesoamerican Middle and Late Formative period site located on the southern shore of the Lake Texcoco in the southeastern Valley of Mexico. Today, it is a significant archaeological site that was occupied during the Early Formative until its destruction in...
, both are part of the area covered by lava from several eruptions of the Xitle
Xitle
Xitle is a volcano in the Ajusco range in Cumbres del Ajusco National Park. It is located in the Tlalpan borough in the southwestern part of Mexico City. It is an ash cone volcano with a conical form, round base, altitude of approximately 300m, and a slope between 30° and 40°.Xitle registered its...
volcano, as of three thousand years ago.
It is very likely that founding, development and destiny of both cities had common causes, from their geographical location, and chronology.
The area is located on the west side of Coyoacán or Coyohuacán (Nahuatl
Nahuatl
Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
: coyō-hua-cān, 'place of coyotes') in the area covered by the lava from the volcano Xitle
Xitle
Xitle is a volcano in the Ajusco range in Cumbres del Ajusco National Park. It is located in the Tlalpan borough in the southwestern part of Mexico City. It is an ash cone volcano with a conical form, round base, altitude of approximately 300m, and a slope between 30° and 40°.Xitle registered its...
(according to Chronicles, one eruption of the volcano occurred on April 24, 76).
Foundation
There are several theories regarding its foundation; it is believed that historical records establish Copilco's foundation in the year 100 BCE. Another version places its foundation chronologically at 500 BCE.Background
It was one of the first and most important ceremonial centers in the Valley of Mexico. In the mid-Preclassical (800 BC), several villages developed in this place, which slowly evolved and grew, becoming cities and eventually became major civic-ceremonial urban centers in the late-preclassical (ca. 100 CE.). As urban centers, these were very important, with an advanced and hierarchized society. Copilco's decline began early in the 1st century BCE, with the increasing rise of Teotihuacán as an important cultural and religious center. By 400 CE, the Xitle volcano located in the vicinity of the Ajusc, erupted, burying and destroying what still remained of CuicuilcoCuicuilco
Cuicuilco is an important archaeological Mesoamerican Middle and Late Formative period site located on the southern shore of the Lake Texcoco in the southeastern Valley of Mexico. Today, it is a significant archaeological site that was occupied during the Early Formative until its destruction in...
and Copilco, as important ceremonial centers. Lava spread in an area of 13 by 15 kilometers of what is today known as “Pedregal de San Ángel”. This disaster led to the population dispersing to Toluca and Teotihuacan.
Copilco was an altépetl and ceremonial center located on the shores of the Texcoco Lake. It had an incipient agriculture with an economy based on maize, hunting and fishing and the inhabitants supplemented their diet with amphibians, insects and mammals from the nearby forest. This area was explored by Dr. Manuel Gamio in 1917 and a cemetery was found covered by lava from the eruption. Gamio made three tunnels under the lava, finding a cultural sequence and bone remains from three individuals, containing offerings consisting of pottery, vessels, clay figurines, and Metate
Metate
A metate is a mortar, a ground stone tool used for processing grain and seeds. In traditional Mesoamerican culture, metates were typically used by women who would grind calcified maize and other organic materials during food preparation...
s. Human remains are known as the “Hombre del Pedregal”. Several tunnels have been made, finding places with corpses occupying their original location, surrounded by funerary offerings items, such as ceramic ware.
History
In the specific case of Copilco, from what is known, it is estimated that at during the late prehispanic Mesoamerican chronology (1332), Copilco was tributary to Azcapotzalco
Azcapotzalco
Azcapotzalco is one of the 16 delegaciones into which Mexico's Federal District is divided. Azcapotzalco is in the northwestern part of Mexico City...
, and therefore the Tepanec, who in turn were somehow descendants of the Chichimecs.
The Tepanec
Tepanec
The Tepanecs or Tepaneca are a Mesoamerican people who arrived in the Valley of Mexico in the late 12th or early 13th centuries. The Tepanec were a sister culture of the Aztecs as well as the Acolhua and others—these tribes spoke the Nahuatl language and shared the same general pantheon, with...
s formed a culture with political, social and military organization; settled in Azcapotzalco, they dominated minor villages establishing their culture in Coyoacan around 1332 CE. Their growth continued by their taking of other villages: Copilco, Quiahuac ("Los Reyes"), Xotepingo, Tepetlapan and Coapan.
Tepanecs
Tepaneca can be translated as “the stone People”. This definition is supported by the fact that the Tepanec Glyph appears on several documents (Boturini CodexAztec codices
Aztec codices are books written by pre-Columbian and colonial-era Aztecs. These codices provide some of the best primary sources for Aztec culture....
or “Tira de la peregrinación”, Azcatitlan
Codex Azcatitlan
The Codex Azcatitlan details the history of the Mexica from their migration from Aztlán to the Spanish conquest of Mexico and Christianization...
and Xolotl Codexes
Codex Xolotl
The Codex Xolotl is a postconquest cartographic Aztec codex, thought to have originated before 1542. It is annotated in Nahuatl and details the preconquest history of the Valley of Mexico, and Texcoco in particular, from the arrival of the Chichimeca under the ruler Xolotl in the year 5 Flint to...
), which, associated with the calli glyph, portray the idea of a “nation” or human group, appear one of the most normalized Nahuatl glyphs, the one meaning "piedra" (stone).
Name is a derivation of the real people name, from their original mythic city, Tepanohuayan "the pasadero", also called Tepano whose name is tepaneca (tl). Graphically it is represented by a stone, hence the etymology of Tepan is created "on the stones". Tepanec conquered territories were called “Tepanecapan” (“tepanecas land", literally "over the tepanecas").
Origin
According to chronicler Fernando de Alva Cortés IxtlilxochitlFernando de Alva Cortés Ixtlilxochitl
Fernando de Alva Cortés Ixtlilxóchitl was a Novohispanic historian.-Life:A Castizo born between 1568 and 1580, Alva Cortés Ixtlilxóchitl was a direct descendant of Ixtlilxochitl I and Ixtlilxochitl II, who had been tlatoque of Texcoco...
(1568–1648), this was a Chichimec group, that settled in 1012 CE in the western region of the Texcoco Lake. Their lineage begins when their leader Acolhua (Variant Acolnahuacatl s) marries Cuetlaxochitzin daughter of Xólotl, another chichimeca leader.
Domingo Francisco de San Antón Muñón Chimalpahin Quauhtlehuanitzin (1579–1660) establishes this settlement before, at 995 CE. In fact archaeological investigations have revealed that Azcapotzalco
Azcapotzalco
Azcapotzalco is one of the 16 delegaciones into which Mexico's Federal District is divided. Azcapotzalco is in the northwestern part of Mexico City...
was inhabited from the classical period (around 600 CE) and were related to the Teotihuacan’s in culture and language, as it is known the spoke otomíana language in the 14th century while the Nahuatl was lingua franca from 1272. Continuing with data provided by Chimalpain, he mentions that the tepanecas entered a triple alliance from 1047 (this alliance is different from that with the Mexicas, much later).
The Register establish that the last lineage begins with Matlacohuatl, who ruled from 1152 to 1222, married to Cuitlachtepetl. The second Tlahtoani was Chiconquiauhtzin ruling from 1222 to 1248, married to prioncess Xicomoyahual, daughter of Xaltocan called Ohpantzin (written in sources as Upatzin and Opantecutli).
He was succeeded by Tezcapoctzin, who ruled from 1248 to 1283. In his time the mexitin
Mexitli
Mexitli was a legendary great leader and war god of the Aztecs during the wandering years. The name derives from the Nahuatl metztli and xictli and thus means "navel of the moon"....
appeared, who requested permission to found their second capital on the islet of Lake Texcoco; it was originally named Cuauhmixtitlan in 1274. With his rule Tepaneca military expansion began, establishing partnerships with the Acolhua
Acolhua
The Acolhua are a Mesoamerican people who arrived in the Valley of Mexico in or around the year 1200 CE. The Acolhua were a sister culture of the Aztecs as well as the Tepanec, Chalca, Xochimilca and others....
in the Valley of Mexico, the mazahuaques in the Ixtlahuaca Valley and the matlatzincas in the Toluca Valley, while acquiring a great commercial power. In 1272 he accepted the substitution of Coatlinchan by Tetzcoco in the Triple Alliance of that time, thus consolidating the achievements of his predecessor.
Language
Their language probably had Uto-Aztecan languagesUto-Aztecan languages
Uto-Aztecan or Uto-Aztekan is a Native American language family consisting of over 30 languages. Uto-Aztecan languages are found from the Great Basin of the Western United States , through western, central and southern Mexico Uto-Aztecan or Uto-Aztekan is a Native American language family...
and Oto-Manguean languages
Oto-Manguean languages
Oto-Manguean languages are a large family comprising several families of Native American languages. All of the Oto-Manguean languages that are now spoken are indigenous to Mexico, but the Manguean branch of the family, which is now extinct, was spoken as far south as Nicaragua and Costa Rica.The...
roots.
However, from the information recollection by Spaniards as of 1521, some sparse information is available about the languages spoken in different Tepanecas cities. Fray Bernardino de Sahagún includes Tepanecas among Nahuatl speaker groups although this claim seems rather a –synchronous, non-historical- attempt, of describing ethnical conditions in times near the Spaniard presence, it is known that the consolidation of major political units of the Central Highlands, also entailed the Nahuatl acceptance as a common pipiltin language of the different altépetl.
Chichimecs
The Chichimec (Dog lineage or Arc warriors), was a culture which controlled priests, by putting pressure on social nobility which was almost always military and oppressive. These were nomadic groups nourished from hunting, then learned to eat cooked meat and maize; cultivated beans, corn, pumpkin, nopales, oilseeds, among other things. They believed in various gods as Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca, Mimixcotal and Mixcoatl. They thought that the stars were warriors killed in battles, honoring the Sun.They continued the Toltec art as can be seen in the Tenayuca
Tenayuca
Tenayuca is a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican archaeological site in the Valley of Mexico. In the Postclassic period of Mesoamerican chronology Tenayuca was a settlement on the former shoreline of the western arm of Lake Texcoco, located approximately 10km to the northwest of Tenochtitlan...
pyramid. As well as their sculpture as for example the "Espejo de la Cruz", the mantle braided with fur and various ceramic figures. Left the great Tenayuca pyramid as cultural contribution. The chichimeca disappeared since the Tepanec defeated and the only leader left was Netzahualcoyotl who fled with the tlaxcaltecas.
The Site
Manuel GamioManuel Gamio
Manuel Gamio was a Mexican anthropologist, archaeologist, sociologist, and a leader of the indigenismo movement. He is often considered as the father of modern anthropological studies in Mexico...
recounts the following: "... in the month of August 1917..." the staff proceeded to make a methodical recognition all quarries being exploited... realizing that where more itemas were available, was at Copilco, bordering “Colonia del Carmen in San Ángel
San Ángel
San Ángel is a colonia or neighborhood of Mexico City, located in the southwest in Álvaro Óbregon borough. Historically, it was a rural community, called Tenanitla in the pre Hispanic period. Its current name is derived from the El Carmen monastery school called San Ángel Mártir...
".
From that place many archaeological vestiges and human remains were extracted. He noted:
The archaeological vestiges discovered in four tunnels that were excavated in Copilco can be categorized in three groups: 1° Sepulcher;" 2 ° Pavements and stone rows; 3 ° Objects of mud and stone.
The tombs consist of cylindrical hollows excavated in tepetate...
Not all skeletons were buried in cylindrical graves... also found bones inside a vase"