La Gran Chichimeca
Encyclopedia
La Gran Chichimeca was a term used by the Spanish
conquistador
es of the 16th century to refer to an area of the northern central Mexican altiplano (plateau)
, a territory which today is encompassed by the modern Mexican states
of Jalisco
, Aguascalientes
, Nayarit
, Guanajuato
and Zacatecas
. They derived the term from the Aztec
who referred to the nomadic tribes of the area as “chichimeca
”.
The Nahuatl name Chīchīmēcah (plural, tʃiːtʃiːˈmeːkaʔ; singular Chīchīmēcatl) means "inhabitants of Chichiman"; the placename Chichiman itself means "Area of Milk". It is sometimes said to be related to chichi "dog", but the i's in chichi are short while those in Chīchīmēcah are long, a phonemic
distinction in Nahuatl. The word could either have a negative "barbarous" sense, or a positive "noble savage
" sense.
Seventy years after the 1521 fall of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan (present-day Mexico City
), the Spaniards had failed to subdue the north of New Spain
, La Gran Chichimeca. This meant they were unable to exploit the rich silver
deposits in the region. The Spanish, who were unable to defeat the Chichimecas militaristically, were forced to make "peace by purchase" by offering them land, farming tools and other goods in exchange for peace.
During the 1920s and 1930s archaeologists, anthropologists, and cultural geographers began to devise the boundaries of what was thought to be Mesoamerica
, the Southwest, and the area between known as the La Gran Chichimeca. Based upon language groups
, iconography
, trade items, and re-examinations of Mesoamerican architecture
, the boundaries have moved around over the years as a result of new evidence. Adding to this confusion not all researchers agree the specifics of the boundaries. However, the participation of the cultures of La Gran Chichimeca in overall Mesoamerican traditions, even if peripherally and occasionally, has led a number of researchers to include the region in the overall Mesoamerican framework.
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
conquistador
Conquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
es of the 16th century to refer to an area of the northern central Mexican altiplano (plateau)
Mexican Plateau
The Central Mexican Plateau, also known as the Mexican Altiplano or Altiplanicie Mexicana, is a large arid-to-semiarid plateau that occupies much of northern and central Mexico...
, a territory which today is encompassed by the modern Mexican states
States of Mexico
The United Mexican States is a federal republic formed by 32 federal entities .According to the Constitution of 1917, the states of the federation are free and sovereign. Each state has their own congress and constitution, while the Federal District has only limited autonomy with a local Congress...
of Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
, Aguascalientes
Aguascalientes
Aguascalientes is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 11 municipalities and its capital city is Aguascalientes....
, Nayarit
Nayarit
Nayarit officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its capital city is Tepic.It is located in Western Mexico...
, Guanajuato
Guanajuato
Guanajuato officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 46 municipalities and its capital city is Guanajuato....
and Zacatecas
Zacatecas
Zacatecas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Zacatecas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas....
. They derived the term from the 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...
who referred to the nomadic tribes of the area as “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"...
”.
The Nahuatl name Chīchīmēcah (plural, tʃiːtʃiːˈmeːkaʔ; singular Chīchīmēcatl) means "inhabitants of Chichiman"; the placename Chichiman itself means "Area of Milk". It is sometimes said to be related to chichi "dog", but the i's in chichi are short while those in Chīchīmēcah are long, a phonemic
Phoneme
In a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
distinction in Nahuatl. The word could either have a negative "barbarous" sense, or a positive "noble savage
Noble savage
The term noble savage , expresses the concept an idealized indigene, outsider , and refers to the literary stock character of the same...
" sense.
Seventy years after the 1521 fall of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan (present-day 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...
), the Spaniards had failed to subdue the north of New Spain
New Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...
, La Gran Chichimeca. This meant they were unable to exploit the rich silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
deposits in the region. The Spanish, who were unable to defeat the Chichimecas militaristically, were forced to make "peace by purchase" by offering them land, farming tools and other goods in exchange for peace.
During the 1920s and 1930s archaeologists, anthropologists, and cultural geographers began to devise the boundaries of what was thought to be Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
, the Southwest, and the area between known as the La Gran Chichimeca. Based upon language groups
Mesoamerican languages
Mesoamerican languages are the languages indigenous to the Mesoamerican cultural area, which covers southern Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize and parts of Honduras and El Salvador. The area is characterized by extensive linguistic diversity containing several hundred different languages and...
, iconography
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
, trade items, and re-examinations of Mesoamerican architecture
Mesoamerican architecture
Mesoamerican architecture is the set of architectural traditions produced by pre-Columbian cultures and civilizations of Mesoamerica, traditions which are best known in the form of public, ceremonial and urban monumental buildings and structures...
, the boundaries have moved around over the years as a result of new evidence. Adding to this confusion not all researchers agree the specifics of the boundaries. However, the participation of the cultures of La Gran Chichimeca in overall Mesoamerican traditions, even if peripherally and occasionally, has led a number of researchers to include the region in the overall Mesoamerican framework.