Totonac Culture – Archaeological Site | ||
Name: | Huatusco Archaeological Site | |
Type | Mesoamerican archaeology | |
Location | Huatusco, Veracruz Mexico | |
Region | Mesoamerica | |
Coordinates | 18°49′24″N96°33′30″W / 18.82333°N 96.55833°W | |
Culture | Totonac – Mexica | |
Language | Totonac, Tepehua & Nahuatl | |
Chronology | ||
Period | Mesoamerican Postclassical | |
Apogee | ||
INAH Web Page | Non existent |
Huatusco is an archaeological site located in the Carrillo Puerto municipality, near the small, almost deserted town of Santiago Huatusco, on the northern bank of the Rio Atoyac in the Rancho El Fortin. The importance of the site due to the nearly undamaged pyramid from prehispanic times, the largest part of the actual temple is still standing, in the state of Veracruz, Mexico.
The city was a Nahuatl speaking capital and probably an Aztec garrison developed by the name of Cuauhtochco in prehispanic times. Upon the conquest of Mexico, this garrison was defeated in November 1521, after the fall of Tenochtitlan by Gonzalo de Sandoval. [1]
During the colonial period the area was of little interest due to the rapid depopulation, a small number of prehispanic religious buildings remain unnoticed and therefore unharmed. While the postclassical pyramid of Castillo de Teayo is well known and frequently visited, probably took visitors from this site to Huatusco, Veracruz. This may be due to site name confusion, because the place where this site is located, Santiago Huatusco, is about 70 km (43 mi) south-east from the city Huatusco also known as Hustusco de Chicuellar. In addition, access to the small settlement of Santiago Huatusco, where the site is located, is rather cumbersome.
The prehispanic history of Veracruz is complex. It was inhabited primarily by four native cultures. The Huastecos and Otomis occupied the north, while the Totonacs resided in the north-center. The Olmecs, one of the oldest cultures in the Americas, became dominant in the southern part of Veracruz. [2]
Remains of these past civilizations can be found in archeological sites such as Pánuco, Castillo de Teayo, El Zapotal, Las Higueras, Quiahuiztlán, El Tajín, Cempoala, Tres Zapotes and San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán. [3]
The first major civilization in the territory of the current state is that of the Olmecs, a civilization with roots in the previous Archaic and Formative societies on the Gulf Coast and in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. [4] The Olmecs settled in the Coatzacoalcos River region and it became the center of Olmec culture. The main ceremonial center here was San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán. Other major centers in the state include Tres Zapotes in the city of Veracruz and La Venta in Tabasco. The culture reached its height about 2600 years ago, with its best-known artistic expression being the colossal stone heads. [3] These ceremonial sites were the most complex of that early time period. For this reason, many anthropologists consider the Olmec civilization to be the mother culture of the many Mesoamerican cultures that followed it. By 300 BCE, this culture was eclipsed by other emerging civilizations in Mesoamerica. [2]
Another major group was the Totonacas, who have survived to the present day. Their region, called Totonacapan, is centered between the Cazones River and the Papaloapan River in the north of the state. Pre-Columbian Totonacas lived from hunting fishing and agriculture, mostly of corn, beans, chili peppers and squash. This is also the native region of the vanilla bean. Clay sculptures with smiling faces are indicative of this culture. The major site is El Tajin, located near Papantla, but the culture reached its apogee in Cempoala (about five miles (8 km) inland from the current port of Veracruz), when it was conquered by the Aztecs. [3] When the Spaniards arrived in 1519, the territory was still home to a population of about 250,000 people living in fifty population centers and speaking four Totonac dialects. 25,000 were living in Cempoala alone. [2]
The Huastecas are in the far north of the Veracruz and extend into parts of Tamaulipas, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro and Puebla. The language and agricultural techniques of these people and the Maya are similar; however, only a few buildings and ceramics remain from the early Huasteca culture. This culture also reached its peak between 1200 and 1519, when it was conquered by the Spanish. [3]
During the 15th and very early 16th century, the Aztecs came to dominate much of the state and dividing it into tributary provinces, of Tochtepec, Cuetlaxtlan, Cempoallan, Quauhtochco, Jalapa, Misantla, and Tlatlauhquitepec. The Aztecs were interested in the areas vegetation and crops such as cedars, fruit, cotton, cacao, corn, beans and vanilla. However, the Totonacs chafed under Aztec rule, with Aztec rulers from Axayacatl to Moctezuma II having to send soldiers to quell rebellions. The Huastecs were subjugated more successfully by the Aztecs and relegated to the provinces of Atlan and Tochpan. [2]
Huatusco or Guatusco, is a deformation of the Nahuatl words Cuauh-tuch-co: cuahuitl; tree, Tuchtli; rabbit, Co; in: “in the place of the rabbit tree”. Natives called “Cuauhtochtli” to a squirrel type living in the trees. [5]
The 16th-century town of San Antonio Otlaquiquiztla, belonged to the ancient province of Cuauhtochco, whose capital was Santiago Huatusco (today Carrillo Puerto). In time the name Otlaquiquixtla was lost, becoming San Antonio. Since it belonged to the noted province, it was then called San Antonio Huatusco. The region was originally part of the Totonacapan región occupied by the Totonacs, subsequently changed hands over to the historical Olmecs. Around 1454 CE, a son of Netzahualcoyotl conquered the region, including Otlaquiquixtla. [5]
Over 100m above the bed of Atoyac River are the ruins on the northern shore. Access from the South is blocked by a well-preserved walls made from round river stones. The site surface is divided into two sections. In the larger northern side, are several largely destroyed buildings and terraces.
The section is dominated by the central pyramid, a four-stage building, with a low platform to the west side.
This structure is certainly the best preserved Temple of late postclassical Mesoamerica. A wide, slightly above the actual body of the pyramid is an excellent stairway; it leads to the top of the pyramid platform. There seems to be about 52 steps.
The remarkably large and well-preserved temple buildings, whose walls measure 7–8 meters while the wall with the wide entrance located at the western side almost completely misses its upper half, probably because the wooden door beams are missing.
The walls are horizontally divided: the walls are perpendicular to a height of approximately 2.3 meters, then, on a small ledge the walls slope slightly inwards. On a higher cornice rectangular strip, almost covering the entire upper third of the wall is a recess with a niche frieze depicting a “sky full of stars".
Much like in Castillo de Teayo, the Interior floors were divided. Huatusco has three roof levels. The lowest level at 2.50 m high is a trend, narrow exposed wooden beams formed a ceiling from east to west, with walls resembling a brick groove. In the middle of the edges, were wooden support beams deeply anchored into the side walls, but also resting on brick pillars projecting from the side walls. The beams were at least twice supported by wooden or brick pillars because of the length of the room. The second level was also formed by parallel beams at intervals of about 1 meter of exposed wooden beams that were embedded in the sidewall. Remains of these beams are still numerous in the wall openings. Also, there was a beam which ran from the center to the north and southeastern side. The third level in turn consisted of a structure probably formed by exposed wooden beams. There are no remains of these beams. Also on this level, which probably had a stuccoed finishing, the side walls continued to the roof to provide lateral support. The second and third floors rooms were not as high as those in the first floor. Whether they had a specific reason or served only to achieve an optical illusion is uncertain.
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in eastern Mexico, Veracruz is bordered by seven states, which are Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo, Puebla, Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Tabasco. Veracruz is divided into 212 municipalities, and its capital city is Xalapa-Enríquez.
The Huastec or Téenek are an indigenous people of Mexico, living in the La Huasteca region including the states of Hidalgo, Veracruz, San Luis Potosí and Tamaulipas concentrated along the route of the Pánuco River and along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
The Totonac are an indigenous people of Mexico who reside in the states of Veracruz, Puebla, and Hidalgo. They are one of the possible builders of the pre-Columbian city of El Tajín, and further maintained quarters in Teotihuacán. Until the mid-19th century they were the world's main producers of vanilla.
Papantla is a city and municipality located in the north of the Mexican state of Veracruz, in the Sierra Papanteca range and on the Gulf of Mexico. The city was founded in the 13th century by the Totonacs and has dominated the Totonacapan region of the state since then. The region is famed for vanilla, which occurs naturally in this region, the Danza de los Voladores and the El Tajín archeological site, which was named a World Heritage Site. Papantla still has strong communities of Totonacs who maintain the culture and language. The city contains a number of large scale murals and sculptures done by native artist Teodoro Cano García, which honor the Totonac culture. The name Papantla is from Nahuatl and most often interpreted to mean "place of the papanes". This meaning is reflected in the municipality's coat of arms.
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of prehispanic Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian ; the Archaic, the Preclassic or Formative (2500 BCE – 250 CE), the Classic (250–900 CE), and the Postclassic (900–1521 CE); as well as the post European contact Colonial Period (1521–1821), and Postcolonial, or the period after independence from Spain (1821–present).
Misantla is a city in the Mexican state of Veracruz, the administrative seat of the municipality (municipio) of the same name. The municipality is bordered by Martínez de la Torre, Colipa and Papantla.
Cempoala or Zempoala is an important Mesoamerican archaeological site located in the municipality of Úrsulo Galván in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The site was inhabited mainly by Totonacs, Chinantecas and Zapotecs. It was one of the most important Totonac settlements during the postclassical Mesoamerican period and the capital of the kingdom of Totonacapan. It is located one kilometer from the shore of the Actopan River and six kilometres from the coast.
Mesoamerican pyramids form a prominent part of ancient Mesoamerican architecture. Although similar in some ways to Egyptian pyramids, these New World structures have flat tops and stairs ascending their faces, more similar to ancient Mesopotamian Ziggurats. The largest pyramid in the world by volume is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the east-central Mexican state of Puebla. The builders of certain classic Mesoamerican pyramids have decorated them copiously with stories about the Hero Twins, the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl, Mesoamerican creation myths, ritualistic sacrifice, etc. written in the form of Maya script on the rises of the steps of the pyramids, on the walls, and on the sculptures contained within.
Totonacapan refers to the historical extension where the Totonac people of Mexico dominated, as well as to a region in the modern states of Veracruz and Puebla. The historical territory was much larger than the currently named region, extending from the Cazones River in the north to the Papaloapan River in the south and then west from the Gulf of Mexico into what is now the Sierra Norte de Puebla region and into parts of Hidalgo. When the Spanish arrived, the Totonac ethnicity dominated this large region, although they themselves were dominated by the Aztec Empire. For this reason, they allied with Hernán Cortés against Tenochtitlán. However, over the colonial period, the Totonac population and territory shrank, especially after 1750 when mestizos began infiltrating Totonacapan, taking political and economic power. This continued into the 19th and 20th centuries, prompting the division of most of historical Totonacpan between the states of Puebla and Veracruz. Today, the term refers only to a region in the north of Veracruz where Totonac culture is still important. This region is home to the El Tajín and Cempoala archeological sites as well as Papantla, which is noted for its performance of the Danza de los Voladores.
The Danza de los Voladores, or Palo Volador, is an ancient Mesoamerican ceremony/ritual still performed today, albeit in modified form, in isolated pockets in Mexico. It is believed to have originated with the Nahua, Huastec and Otomi peoples in central Mexico, and then spread throughout most of Mesoamerica. The ritual consists of dance and the climbing of a 30-meter pole from which four of the five participants then launch themselves tied with ropes to descend to the ground. The fifth remains on top of the pole, dancing and playing a flute and drum. According to one myth, the ritual was created to ask the gods to end a severe drought. Although the ritual did not originate with the Totonac people, today it is strongly associated with them, especially those in and around Papantla in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The ceremony was named an Intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in order to help the ritual survive and thrive in the modern world. The Aztecs believed that Danza de los Voladores was the symbol of their culture.
Laguna de los Cerros is a little-excavated Olmec and Classical era archaeological site, located in the vicinity of Corral Nuevo, within the municipality of Acayucan, in the Mexican state of Veracruz, in the southern foothills of the Tuxtla Mountains, some 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of the Laguna Catemaco.
Classic Veracruz culture refers to a cultural area in the north and central areas of the present-day Mexican state of Veracruz, a culture that existed from roughly 100 to 1000 CE, or during the Classic era.
The pre-Columbian history of the territory now making up the country of Mexico is known through the work of archaeologists and epigraphers, and through the accounts of Spanish conquistadores, settlers and clergymen as well as the indigenous chroniclers of the immediate post-conquest period.
Qualpopoca was an Aztec administrator and military commander whose operations on behalf of the Aztec Emperor Moctezuma Xocoyotzin against the Spanish conquistadors at Nautla prompted the crisis in Aztec-Spanish relations that provided Hernán Cortés with the pretext he needed to capture Moctezuma and overthrow the Aztec state. Qualpopoca had killed and captured a number of conquistadors in a battle close to Nauhtla after a dispute about tribute, and thus was the first Aztec commanders who succeeded against the Spanish. In revenge, Cortes forced the captive Moctezuma to order his arrest, return him to the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan and subsequently burn him alive in front of the Templo Mayor.
El Zapotal is a Totonac archaeological site located in the Ignacio de la Llave Municipality in Veracruz, Mexico. It contains the ruins of a Totonac city that flourished from 600 to 900 CE, during what archaeologists call the Classical Period.
Huapalcalco is a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican archeological site located some 5 kilometers north of Tulancingo in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico.
Mesa de Cacahuatenco is a Mesoamerican pre-Columbian archeological site, located in the municipality of Ixhuatlán de Madero in northern Veracruz, Mexico, south of the Vinasca River.
La Joya is a Mesoamerican prehispanic archeological site, located in the municipality of Medellín in central Veracruz, Mexico, about 15 kilometers from the port of Veracruz, near the confluence of the Jamapa and Cotaxtla Rivers.
Las Choapas is a recently found archaeological site located within the municipality of Las Choapas, in the southeastern border of the Veracruz State, inside the San Miguel de Allende Ejido, bordering the municipalities of Huimanguillo, Tabasco and Ostuacán, in Chiapas.
The Totonac culture or Totonec culture was a culture that existed among the indigenous Mesoamerican Totonac people who lived mainly in Veracruz and northern Puebla. Originally, they formed a confederation of cities, but, in later times, it seems that they were organized in three dominions: North, South and Serran. Its economy was agricultural and commercial. They had large urban centers such as: El Tajín (300–1200), which represents the height of the Totonac culture, Papantla (900–1519) and Cempoala (900–1519).