Tilantongo
Encyclopedia
Tilantongo was a Mixtec
citystate
in the Mixteca Alta region of the State of Oaxaca
which is now visible as an archeological site and a modern town of Santiago Tilantongo
. It is located at 17°15' N. Lat. and 97°17' W. Long. Its Mixtec name was Ñuu Tnoo-Huahi Andehui meaning Black Town-Temple of Heaven
in the sixties suggest that Tilantongo is among the oldest settlements in Oaxaca with architecture from the preclassic Monte Albán I phase. Preclassic and Classic remains were found at Monte Negro and the Postclassic settlement was located in the present day town of Tilantongo, slightly north of the classic settlement.
The documentary record show that Tilantongo was an important Mixtec polity in the Postclassic period. Mixtec picture codexes such as the Codex Zouche-Nuttall
tell the history of Lord 8 Deer
who ruled Tilantongo in the eleventh century, and how he linked the Tilantongo dynasty with the central Mexican Toltec
s.
Mixtec
The Mixtec are indigenous Mesoamerican peoples inhabiting the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Guerrero and Puebla in a region known as La Mixteca. The Mixtecan languages form an important branch of the Otomanguean language family....
citystate
Altepetl
The altepetl, in Pre-Columbian and Spanish conquest-era Aztec society, was the local, ethnically based political entity. The word is a combination of the Nahuatl words ā-tl, meaning water, and tepē-tl, meaning mountain....
in the Mixteca Alta region of the State of Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
which is now visible as an archeological site and a modern town of Santiago Tilantongo
Santiago Tilantongo
Santiago Tilantongo is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of km².It is part of the Nochixtlán District in the southeast of the Mixteca Region.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of ....
. It is located at 17°15' N. Lat. and 97°17' W. Long. Its Mixtec name was Ñuu Tnoo-Huahi Andehui meaning Black Town-Temple of Heaven
History
Archeological excavations conducted by Alfonso CasoAlfonso Caso
Alfonso Caso y Andrade was an archaeologist who made important contributions to pre-Columbian studies in his native Mexico. Caso believed that the systematic study of ancient Mexican civilizations was an important way to understand Mexican cultural roots...
in the sixties suggest that Tilantongo is among the oldest settlements in Oaxaca with architecture from the preclassic Monte Albán I phase. Preclassic and Classic remains were found at Monte Negro and the Postclassic settlement was located in the present day town of Tilantongo, slightly north of the classic settlement.
The documentary record show that Tilantongo was an important Mixtec polity in the Postclassic period. Mixtec picture codexes such as the Codex Zouche-Nuttall
Codex Zouche-Nuttall
The Codex Zouche-Nuttall is an accordion-folded pre-Columbian piece of Mixtec writing, now in the British Museum . It is one of three codices that record the genealogies, alliances and conquests of several 11th and 12th-century rulers of a small Mixtec city-state in highland Oaxaca, the Tilantongo...
tell the history of Lord 8 Deer
Eight Deer Jaguar Claw
Eight Deer Jaguar Claw was a powerful Mixtec ruler in 11th century Oaxaca referred to in the 15th century deerskin manuscript Codex Zouche-Nuttall, and other Mixtec manuscripts. His surname is alternatively translated Tiger-Claw and Ocelot-Claw. John Pohl has dated his life as having lasted from...
who ruled Tilantongo in the eleventh century, and how he linked the Tilantongo dynasty with the central Mexican Toltec
Toltec
The Toltec culture is an archaeological Mesoamerican culture that dominated a state centered in Tula, Hidalgo in the early post-classic period of Mesoamerican chronology...
s.