Tlatelolco (archaeological site)
Encyclopedia
Tlatelolco is an archaeological excavation site in Mexico City
, Mexico
where remains of the pre-Columbian
city-state of the same name
have been found. It is centered on the Plaza de las Tres Culturas
, a square surrounded on three sides by an excavated Aztec
site, a seventeenth-century church called the Templo de Santiago, and the modern office complex of the foreign ministry.
The main temple of Tlatelolco, one of the excavated buildings recently saw the discovery of a pyramid
inside the visible temple which is more than 700 years old. This indicates that the site is older than previously thought, according to Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (National Institute of Anthropology and History; INAH). Because it has design features similar to pyramids found in Tenayuca
and Tenochtitlan, it may prove to be the first mixed Aztec
and Tlatelolca construction found.
containing forty-nine human skeletons, laid out in neat lines on their backs, with their arms crossed and wrapped in maguey leaves. The archaeologists located the skeletons in a 13-by-32-foot (four-by-10-meter) burial site as they took part in a search for a palace complex at the Tlatelolco site.
The remains found include those of forty-five young adults, two children, a teenager, and an elderly person wearing a ring that potentially signifies a higher status. Most of the young men were tall and several had broken bones that had healed, characteristics of warrior
s. At least 50 further bodies are expected to be located in the future. The grave contained both evidences of Aztec rituals such as offerings of incense
and animal sacrifice
, as well as Spanish elements such as buttons and a bit of glass.
Salvador Guilliem, head of the site for the governmental archaeology institute, expressed his astonishment at the find: "We were completely taken by surprise. We didn't expect to find this massive funeral complex". According to him, it was likely that the indigenous people buried in the grave died while fighting the invading Spanish or were killed by diseases, such as hemorrhagic fever epidemic, responsible for wiping out a large proportion of the native population in 1545 and 1576. The site differs from most other Spanish conquest-era graves in the area, because of the manner in which the bodies were buried. The burial was similar to Christian
customs of the time, as opposed to the thousands of graves found in other Aztec cities where bodies were thrown in without care. Guilliem added: "It is a mass grave, but they were very carefully buried." Susan Gillespie of the University of Florida
suggested an alternative theory that the men could have been held prisoners by the Spanish for some time and executed later.
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...
where remains of the pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
city-state of the same name
Tlatelolco (altepetl)
Tlatelolco was a pre-Columbian Nahua altepetl in the Valley of Mexico. Its inhabitants were known as Tlatelolca. The Tlatelolca were a part of the Mexica ethnic group, a Nahuatl speaking people who arrived in what is now central Mexico in the 13th century...
have been found. It is centered on the Plaza de las Tres Culturas
Plaza de las Tres Culturas
The Plaza de las Tres Culturas is the main square within the Tlatelolco neighbourhood of Mexico City. The name "Three Cultures" is in recognition of the three periods of Mexican history reflected by those buildings pre-Columbian, Spanish colonial, and the independent "mestizo" nation...
, a square surrounded on three sides by an excavated Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
site, a seventeenth-century church called the Templo de Santiago, and the modern office complex of the foreign ministry.
The main temple of Tlatelolco, one of the excavated buildings recently saw the discovery of a pyramid
Pyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
inside the visible temple which is more than 700 years old. This indicates that the site is older than previously thought, according to Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (National Institute of Anthropology and History; INAH). Because it has design features similar to pyramids found in 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...
and Tenochtitlan, it may prove to be the first mixed Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
and Tlatelolca construction found.
Discovery of mass grave
On 10 February 2009, INAH archaeologists announced the discovery of a mass graveMass grave
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple number of human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. There is no strict definition of the minimum number of bodies required to constitute a mass grave, although the United Nations defines a mass grave as a burial site which...
containing forty-nine human skeletons, laid out in neat lines on their backs, with their arms crossed and wrapped in maguey leaves. The archaeologists located the skeletons in a 13-by-32-foot (four-by-10-meter) burial site as they took part in a search for a palace complex at the Tlatelolco site.
The remains found include those of forty-five young adults, two children, a teenager, and an elderly person wearing a ring that potentially signifies a higher status. Most of the young men were tall and several had broken bones that had healed, characteristics of warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
s. At least 50 further bodies are expected to be located in the future. The grave contained both evidences of Aztec rituals such as offerings of incense
Incense
Incense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term "incense" refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, and for...
and animal sacrifice
Animal sacrifice
Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing of an animal as part of a religion. It is practised by many religions as a means of appeasing a god or gods or changing the course of nature...
, as well as Spanish elements such as buttons and a bit of glass.
Salvador Guilliem, head of the site for the governmental archaeology institute, expressed his astonishment at the find: "We were completely taken by surprise. We didn't expect to find this massive funeral complex". According to him, it was likely that the indigenous people buried in the grave died while fighting the invading Spanish or were killed by diseases, such as hemorrhagic fever epidemic, responsible for wiping out a large proportion of the native population in 1545 and 1576. The site differs from most other Spanish conquest-era graves in the area, because of the manner in which the bodies were buried. The burial was similar to Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
customs of the time, as opposed to the thousands of graves found in other Aztec cities where bodies were thrown in without care. Guilliem added: "It is a mass grave, but they were very carefully buried." Susan Gillespie of the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
suggested an alternative theory that the men could have been held prisoners by the Spanish for some time and executed later.
