Ixcateopan is an archaeological site located in the town and municipality of Ixcateopan de Cuauhtémoc, 36 kilometers from Taxco, in the isolated and rugged mountains of the northern part of the Mexican state of Guerrero.
The explored archeological remains are part of a city which functioned as an important regional ceremonial center. Ixcateopan was a place of cult and army garrisons inhabited by various native groups, such as the Cohuixcas (people of the place where there are lizards), the Chontales (foreigners)Chontal, from the Nahuatl word chontalli, means "foreigner", has been applied to various different ethnic groups in the Mesoamerican world and by the Aztecs, at the time when the latter were at war with the Purépecha.
The city is known as the final resting place of Cuauhtémoc, the last Aztec Tlatoani, whose remains were found under the parish church here in the mid-20th century. This church has been converted into a museum with displays a number of pre-Hispanic artifacts, offerings left in honor of the emperor and the remains of Cuauhtémoc himself.
Only a portion of the "original" structures remain, as a result of a street construction and multiple sackings that have occurred by people seeking “carved” stones.
Only the civic-religious section can be seen, constituted by several rooms and open spaces, where remains of red stucco in the floors can be observed, the main structure is of circular shape and might have been dedicated to Quetzalcoatl. The chronological placing of the site is from 1350 to 1521 CE.
Background The first humans in the state's territory were nomadic hunter-gatherers who left evidence of their existence in various caves starting about 22,000 years ago. Up until about 8,000 years ago, climatic conditions better favored human habitation than those today; however, sedimentary human habitation happened around this time in the mountainous areas with more moisture, and better soil for agriculture. After that, settlements appeared near the coast because of fishing. At these sites, evidence of weaving, ceramics, basketry and other crafts have been found. Around this time, a grain called teocintle, or the forerunner to corn, became the staple of the diet.
The first settlers of the state were the Olmecs during the Mesoamerican Preclassical period, establishing themselves in the vicinity of the Balsas River, living in caves. The chichimecas inhabited the Tierra Caliente region.
There is debate as to whether the earliest civilizations here were Olmecs who migrated to this region or native peoples who were heavily influenced by the Olmecs, especially in the Mexcala River area. Olmec influences can be seen in cave paintings such as those found in Juxtlahuaca and well as stone tools and jade jewelry from the time period.
Eventually, the peoples of the Mexcala River area developed their own distinctive culture, called Mezcala or Mexcala. It is characterized by its own sculpture and ceramics, distinguished by its simplicity. Olmec influence remained with this culture, especially evident in the grouping of villages, construction of ceremonial centers and a government dominated by priests. Later, the culture assimilated aspects of the Teotihuacan model, which included the Mesoamerican ball game.
Later migrations to the area brought ethnicities such as the Purépecha, the Mixtecs, the Maya and the Zapotecs who left traces on the local cultures as they established commercial centers around the 7th century. In the 8th century, Toltec influence was felt as they traveled the many trade routes through here in search of tropical bird plumage and amate paper. From the 12th century to the 15th, the various peoples of the state were influenced by the Chichimecas, culminating in Aztec domination by the 15th century.
In the 11th century, new migrations entered the area from the north, which included the Nahuas, who occupied what is now the center of the state and the Purépecha who took over the west. The Nahuas established themselves in Zacatula, Atoyac and Tlacotepec, later conquering the areas occupied by the Chontals and Matlatzincas.
By the 15th century, the territory of the modern-day state of Guerrero was inhabited by a number of peoples, none of whom had major cities or population centers. The most important of these peoples were the Purépecha, Cuitlatecs, Ocuiltecas and Matlatzincas in the Tierra Caliente, the Chontales, Mazatecos (not to be confused with the Mazatec of Oaxaca) and Tlahuicas in the Sierra del Norte, the Coixcas and Tepoztecos in the Central Valleys, the Tlapanecos and Mixtecs in the La Montaña, the Yopis, Mixtecos and Amuzgos in Costa Chica and Tolimecas, Chumbias, Pantecas and Cuitlatecos in Costa Grande. Most of these lived in smaller dominions with moderate social stratification. One distinctive feature of the peoples of this was the use of cotton garments.
The Aztecs began making incursions in the Guerrero area as early as 1414 under Chimalpopoca as part of the conquest of the Toluca Valley. Incursions into the Tierra Caliente came around 1433 under Itzcoatl who attacked the Cuitlatecos settled between the Teloloapan and Cocula Rivers. By 1440, the Aztec Empire controlled the north of the state, or the mountainous areas. Attempts to take the Costa Chica area began in 1452 against the Yopis, which failed. Various battles would be fought between 1452 and 1511 before most of the rest of the state became Aztec tributary provinces. The modern state of Guerrero the comprised seven Aztec provinces.
Some of the inhabitants of this area before the Conquest were the Cohuixcas and the Chontals. The native community located at what is now the southern edge of the town dates back to at least 350 CE. This community was an important regional ceremonial center as well as the headquarters for the guardian soldiers. It was also closely associated with the production of cotton and cotton products, a valuable commodity at the time. Ixcateopan was one of the last cities to be subjugated by the Aztec Empire. The location served as a point to gather and then distribute tribute from surrounding areas. Mexica from other parts of the Aztec Empire, including soldiers, came here due to the wars between them and the Purépecha Empire. Because of this, Ixcateopan, originally a purely Chontal city, became multicultural.
Tlatoani Cuauhtémoc Cuauhtémoc, the last Aztec Tlatoani (emperor), was born here in 1501. His mother, Cuayauhtitali, was the daughter of the Ixcateopan lord. Shortly before Cuauhtémoc was born, Ixcateopan was subjugated by the Aztecs and Cuayauhtitli was captured and brought to Tenochtitlan. There she met prince Ahuizotl, who married her. Cuauhtémoc was born of this union. Cuauhtémoc was educated in Tenochtitlan and then sent back to Ixcateopan. In 1519, he was ordered back to the Aztec capital to help defend it against the Spanish. After the deaths of Emperors Moctezuma II and, a short time later, Cuitláhuac, Cuauhtémoc became emperor, but was a captive of Hernán Cortés when Tenochtitlan fell in 1521. After enduring much torture, he and nine other Aztec lords were hung near a place called Izancánac in what is now the state of Chiapas. The remains of Cuauhtémoc, the other Aztec lords and a priest who opposed their execution were brought to Ixcateopan and buried here. From that time to the mid-20th century, the whereabouts of his tomb remained unknown.
Fray Torbio de Benavente, the local evangelist, and Fray Bernardino de Sahagún wrote texts about the death and burial of Cuauhtémoc which were initially kept at the Church of San Hipólito in Mexico City but somehow wound up in the hands of the family of Salvador Rodriguez Juárez, who was the doctor of Ixcateopan in the first half of the 20th century. The documents had been passed down in his family for generations. They told of how Cuauhtémoc's body had been recovered and brought to Ixcateopan and initially buried at the palace of his maternal grandparents in 1525. In 1529, Fray Toribio de Benavente had the body moved to a spot in front of the destroyed pagan temple, where the Church of Santa Maria de la Asunción would be built over it. The documents indicated that this tomb was nearly directly under the main altar of the church. After Rodríguez Juárez showed the documents to elders at the parish church, the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) was contacted, which sent archeologist Eulalia Guzmán to investigate the authenticity of the documents. After examining the documents, investigating the oral traditions of the area and other archeological and historical evidence, it was decided to excavate in the place where the documents indicated.
Toponymy The word Ixcateopan is of Nahuatl origin, from íxcatl or íchcatl, "Cotton", and teopan, teopancalli or teopantli, "temple", hence "cotton temple".
Ixcateopan (sometimes spelled Ichcateopan) from the Nahuatl words “ichcacates” (or “ixcatle”) and “moteopan,” “teopan,” or “teopancalli.” Most interpret the first word as meaning cotton and the second temple, leading to a translation of temple of cotton. However, some sources claim the real name of the area is Zompancuahuithli, and the name was changed to Ixcateopan after the arrival of Cuauhtemoc's body and means (here is the temple/church). The glyph in the Mendoncino Codex for Ixcateopan reflects both interpretations, a cotton flower, a depiction of Cuauhtémoc and a pyramid. “De Cuauhtémoc” was added to Ixcateopan's name by the Congress of the State of Guerrero in 1950.
However, according to the Mexico Municipalities Encyclopedia, Ixcateopan is a Nahuatl derived word, from the words Ichacates and Moteopan, which mean: "here is your Lord of great respect" according to this version, the ancient name of the municipality was Zompancuahuithli, other authors attribute the meaning to "here is the Church" and others "Temple of cotton".
Hieroglyphs in the Codex Mendoza represents two elements; a cotton flower called Ixcatl in Nahuatl placed on the steps of a pyramid representing a temple (in Nahuatl teopantli), the translated symbols of means: "in the Temple of cotton".
As noted above, there were three main groups occupying the area, at one time or another, these were the Cohuixcas, Chontales and Aztecs.
Cohuixcas Towards 1100 CE, the Nahua-Cohuixcas and Purépecha arrived in the area; the Cohuixcas settled the central region of the State of Guerrero, founding the towns of: Taxco, Iguala, Tepecoacuilco, Huitzuco, Tlaxmalac, Cocula, Teloloapan, Atenango, Tlamacazapa, Ixcateopan, Acapetlahuaya, Zumpango del Rio, Tlapa, Tixtla, Acapulco and Chilapa. The Purépecha groups founded Pungarabato, Coyuca Zirándaro and took over throughout the Tierra Caliente region.
They are referred to as Nahua-Cohuixcas, possibly because they spoke Nahuatl.The Nahuatl (derives from the words nāhua-tl, "clear or pleasant sound" and tlahtōl-li, "tongue or language) or Mexican is a Uto-Aztecan language spoken mainly by Mexico and Central America Nahuas. Emerged since at least the 7th century. Since the expansion of the Toltec at the end of 10th century Mesoamerican culture, Nahuatl began its diffusion over other mesoamerican languages to become the lingua franca in most of Mesoamerica, especially under territories conquered by the Mexicas, also called Aztecs, since the 13th century until their fall (August 13, 1521), this is the reason why the Nahuatl language is also known as the Mexican language.
The Nahua name is given to different ethnic groups who have Nahuatl or Mexican as a common language. Nahuatl means "something that sounds good, such as bell" and also "cunning or crafty man" (Ladino). The most important ethnic group in the state of Guerrero was the Cohuixcas, who settled the central and northern regions. They came from northern territories. Coahuixca means "plain of snakes".