Tepetlaoxtoc de Hidalgo
Encyclopedia
Tepetlaoxtoc de Hidalgo is a town and the seat of the municipality of Tepetlaoxtoc, which contains the archeological site of Tepetlaoxtoc, in the State of Mexico in Mexico
. The name Tepetlaoxtoc comes from Náhuatl
and means in limestone caves, and is used interchangeably to refer to the town, the municipality and the archeological ruins. 'de Hidalgo' was added to the town's name to honor Miguel Hidalgo
who began the Mexican War of Independence
. It is located about 100 km northeast of Mexico City
. During the era of Teotihuacán
, it was part of a city called Patlachique. Because of this association, this area inherited and improved upon Toltec
and Chichimeca
culture and architecture, whose ruins can still be seen. After the fall of Teotihuacán and Tula, the town came under the rule and influence of a number of other cultures such as the Chimalhuacan, Xaltocan
, Zumpango, Tenayuca
, and Ayotla most of these being associated with the Náhuatl (Aztec) culture. Tepetlaoxtoc, along with these towns was invaded by the Chichimeca chief Xólotl, whose son Nopaltzin discovered the ruins of the ancient Teotihuacán-era city. The Tepetlaoztoc Codex, also called the Kingsborough Codex, written in 1554 puts the foundation of the ancient city at about 1114, but the Texcoco chronicler Don Fernando de Alva Ixtlixóchitl, puts the foundation date at about 1207. This area never formally became part of the Aztec Empire but during the time of Nezahualcóyotl
, the lord of the area was Cocopin, who married a daughter of Nezahualcóyotl
, called Azcaxóchitl or Azcasuch, to secure an alliance. She succeeded her husband to the lordship of Tepetlaoxtoc, the only female to ever rule the area. After the Spanish conquest, the lord of the area, Tlilpotonqui, permitted himself to be baptized and called Don Diego, and kept a certain amount of autonomy under Spanish rule. Don Diego ruled over 70 years but left no heirs so this arrangement ended in 1593 when the government passed into the hands of Luis de Tejada.
The friar Domingo de Betanzos chose Tepetlaoxtoc to found a hermitage, small cloister and chapel between 1527 and 1528, which the Indians called Tlaxcantla. The monastery of Santa María Magdalena was founded in 1535, becoming a parish in 1646. The town was an "ayuntamiento" (or seat) by the early 19th century. During the rest of the century, its economy and political importance grew to lead the Congress of the State of Mexico to rename the town Villa (town) de Tepetlaoxtoc de Hidalgo. During the Mexican Revolution
, the town was completely destroyed by the Liberation Army of the South
(Zapatistas) and was abandoned. While people did eventually return, the town never regained the economic importance it once had.
The population of the town as of 2005 was 5,602 and is located at an altitude of 2300 meters above sea level.
The municipality borders the municipalities of Teotihuacán de Arista
, San Martín de las Pirámides
, Otumba
; Papalotla
, Acolman
, Chiautla and Texcoco
as well as the states of Tlaxcala
and Puebla
. It has a territory of 172.38 km². The terrain is hilly with the western part belonging to the Sierra Norte. The highest elevations are (in meter above sea level) Huilotepec (3,550m), Tlamacas (3,340), Montecillo-el Organo (3,100), Huilo Chico (3090), and Tepeyahualco (3000). In 1977, the state government set aside 3, 123 hectares in the municipality as the Parque “Sierra Patlachique”(Sierra Patlachique Park).
90% of the municipality's economy is still agricultural, with many rural people living on ejido
s and taking secondary work in addition. Despite the ancient ruins, tourism has not been developed here. In addition to the main ruins near the seat, other significant sites include: Texocotla, Texaxal, and Xoxoqui.
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...
. The name Tepetlaoxtoc comes from Náhuatl
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...
and means in limestone caves, and is used interchangeably to refer to the town, the municipality and the archeological ruins. 'de Hidalgo' was added to the town's name to honor Miguel Hidalgo
Miguel Hidalgo
Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor , more commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or simply Miguel Hidalgo, was a Mexican priest and a leader of the Mexican War of Independence.In 1810 Hidalgo led a group of peasants in a revolt against the dominant...
who began the Mexican War of Independence
Mexican War of Independence
The Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the people of Mexico and the Spanish colonial authorities which started on 16 September 1810. The movement, which became known as the Mexican War of Independence, was led by Mexican-born Spaniards, Mestizos and Amerindians who sought...
. It is located about 100 km northeast 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...
The town
The location of this town is one of the oldest settlements of the Valley of MexicoValley of Mexico
The Valley of Mexico is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with the present-day Distrito Federal and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico was a centre for several pre-Columbian civilizations, including...
. During the era of Teotihuacán
Teotihuacán
Teotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas...
, it was part of a city called Patlachique. Because of this association, this area inherited and improved upon 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...
and 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"...
culture and architecture, whose ruins can still be seen. After the fall of Teotihuacán and Tula, the town came under the rule and influence of a number of other cultures such as the Chimalhuacan, Xaltocan
Xaltocan
Xaltocan was a pre-Columbian city-state and island in the Valley of Mexico, located in the center of Lake Xaltocan, part of an interconnected shallow lake system which included Lake Texcoco...
, Zumpango, 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 Ayotla most of these being associated with the Náhuatl (Aztec) culture. Tepetlaoxtoc, along with these towns was invaded by the Chichimeca chief Xólotl, whose son Nopaltzin discovered the ruins of the ancient Teotihuacán-era city. The Tepetlaoztoc Codex, also called the Kingsborough Codex, written in 1554 puts the foundation of the ancient city at about 1114, but the Texcoco chronicler Don Fernando de Alva Ixtlixóchitl, puts the foundation date at about 1207. This area never formally became part of the Aztec Empire but during the time of Nezahualcóyotl
Nezahualcoyotl
Nezahualcoyotl was a philosopher, warrior, architect, poet and ruler of the city-state of Texcoco in pre-Columbian Mexico...
, the lord of the area was Cocopin, who married a daughter of Nezahualcóyotl
Nezahualcoyotl
Nezahualcoyotl was a philosopher, warrior, architect, poet and ruler of the city-state of Texcoco in pre-Columbian Mexico...
, called Azcaxóchitl or Azcasuch, to secure an alliance. She succeeded her husband to the lordship of Tepetlaoxtoc, the only female to ever rule the area. After the Spanish conquest, the lord of the area, Tlilpotonqui, permitted himself to be baptized and called Don Diego, and kept a certain amount of autonomy under Spanish rule. Don Diego ruled over 70 years but left no heirs so this arrangement ended in 1593 when the government passed into the hands of Luis de Tejada.
The friar Domingo de Betanzos chose Tepetlaoxtoc to found a hermitage, small cloister and chapel between 1527 and 1528, which the Indians called Tlaxcantla. The monastery of Santa María Magdalena was founded in 1535, becoming a parish in 1646. The town was an "ayuntamiento" (or seat) by the early 19th century. During the rest of the century, its economy and political importance grew to lead the Congress of the State of Mexico to rename the town Villa (town) de Tepetlaoxtoc de Hidalgo. During the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
, the town was completely destroyed by the Liberation Army of the South
Liberation Army of the South
The Liberation Army of the South was an armed group formed and led by Emiliano Zapata that took part in the Mexican Revolution. The force was commonly known as the Zapatistas....
(Zapatistas) and was abandoned. While people did eventually return, the town never regained the economic importance it once had.
The population of the town as of 2005 was 5,602 and is located at an altitude of 2300 meters above sea level.
The municipality
As municipal seat, the town of Tepetlaoxtoc de Hidalgo has governing jurisdiction over the following communities: Concepción Jolalpan, Los Reyes Nopala, San Andrés de las Peras, San Bernardo Tlalmimilolpan, San José del Moral (El Moral), San Juan Totolapan, San Nicolás (San Nicolás Altica), San Pedro Chiautzingo, Santo Tomás Apipilhuasco (Santo Tomás), La Trinidad, La Virgen, La Loma (San Isidro), Rancho Maldonado, Atlahutle, San Antonio, Colonia Tulteca Teopan, La Venta (La Loma), El Árbol, La Besana, Las Liebres, Colonia Pinar de Santa Cecilia, La Huerta los Ruiloba, Rancho Molino Blanco, Rancho los Nogales (El Nogal), Rancho el Potrillo, El Revire, Rancho San Gabriel, San Telmo, Santiago Papalotla (Ejido de Papalotla), Rancho el Techachal, Tecorral, Rancho el Cortijo Tetlameya, Rancho Lauro del Río, Rancho el Oasis, Granja María Antonieta, Ejido de San Francisco Tlaltica (Las Joyas), El Tepetloxto (Colonia Lomas de San Gabriel), Rancho Chiconcuajio, La Cuesta, Polvorones, San José Bellavista, Hacienda de la Flor, Rancho San Antonio, El Tetepayo and La Presa. The municipality had a total population of 25,523 people in 2005.The municipality borders the municipalities of Teotihuacán de Arista
Teotihuacán de Arista
San Juan Teotihuacán is a town and municipality located in the State of Mexico. It is in the northeast of the Valley of Mexico, 45 km northeast of Mexico City and 119 km from the state capital of Toluca. Teotihuacan takes its name from the ancient city and World Heritage site that is...
, San Martín de las Pirámides
San Martín de las Pirámides
San Martín de las Pirámides is a small town and municipality, in Mexico State in Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 70 km².As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 21,511....
, Otumba
Otumba
Otumba may refer to:*Otumba, Mexico State, a municipality in the State of Mexico, Mexico*Otumba de Gómez Farías, a town and the municipal seat of Otumba municipality, State of Mexico*Otompan, a pre-Columbian altepetl...
; Papalotla
Papalotla
Papalotla is a small town and municipality in Mexico State in Mexico. The municipality covers an area of .As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 3766....
, Acolman
Acolman
Acolman de Nezahualcoyotl is a town and municipality located in the northern part of Mexico State, part of the Greater Mexico City area, just north of the city proper. According to myth, the first man was placed here after being taken out of Lake Texcoco. In the community of Tepexpan, the...
, Chiautla and Texcoco
Texcoco, Mexico State
Texcoco is a city and municipality located in the northeast portion of Mexico State, 25 km northeast of Mexico City. In the pre-Hispanic era, this was a major Aztec city on the shores of Lake Texcoco. After the Conquest, the city was initially the second most important after Mexico City,...
as well as the states of Tlaxcala
Tlaxcala
Tlaxcala officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala is one of the 31 states which along with the Federal District comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipalities and its capital city is Tlaxcala....
and Puebla
Puebla
Puebla officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 217 municipalities and its capital city is Puebla....
. It has a territory of 172.38 km². The terrain is hilly with the western part belonging to the Sierra Norte. The highest elevations are (in meter above sea level) Huilotepec (3,550m), Tlamacas (3,340), Montecillo-el Organo (3,100), Huilo Chico (3090), and Tepeyahualco (3000). In 1977, the state government set aside 3, 123 hectares in the municipality as the Parque “Sierra Patlachique”(Sierra Patlachique Park).
90% of the municipality's economy is still agricultural, with many rural people living on ejido
Ejido
The ejido system is a process whereby the government promotes the use of communal land shared by the people of the community. This use of community land was a common practice during the time of Aztec rule in Mexico...
s and taking secondary work in addition. Despite the ancient ruins, tourism has not been developed here. In addition to the main ruins near the seat, other significant sites include: Texocotla, Texaxal, and Xoxoqui.