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| Three Tlaxcalan Altepetl | |
|---|---|
| Name | Three Tlaxcalan Altepetl |
| Settlement type | Confederation |
| Country | Mexico |
| State | Tlaxcala |
Three Tlaxcalan Altepetl
The Three Tlaxcalan Altepetl were the tripartite political and territorial configuration centered on the altepetl of Tizatlán, Ocotelolco, and Tepeticpac within the Tlaxcala region, forming a distinctive pre-Columbian and colonial-era coalition that interacted with polities such as Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, Azcapotzalco, Huexotzinco, and Puebla de los Ángeles. The confederation negotiated alliances and conflicts involving figures like Moctezuma II, Hernán Cortés, Pedro de Alvarado, and institutions including the Spanish Empire, Viceroyalty of New Spain, and Catholic Church.
The Tlaxcalan altepetl emerged amid the Postclassic networks that included Acolhua, Chichimeca, Toltec-descended lineages, and interactions with city-states such as Cholula, Tlaxcallan neighbors, and the expanding Triple Alliance of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan. Archaeological phases parallel to occupations at Cacaxtla, Xochitecatl, El Tajín, and Cantona reflect regional dynamics that influenced urbanism in Tizatlán, Ocotelolco, and Tepeticpac, which engaged in ritual exchange with cult centers like Tlaloc shrines, Quetzalcoatl iconography, and calendrical networks connected to Tōnalpōhualli and Xiuhpohualli. Tlaxcalan polities maintained diplomatic ties with rulers such as Itzcoatl and Axayacatl while preserving autonomy through military confederacies akin to those led by rulers titled tlatoani in neighboring altepetl.
Each altepetl—Tizatlán, Ocotelolco, Tepeticpac—had its own ruling lineage and offices comparable to those in Coyoacán and Xochimilco, including nobility linked by marriage alliances with houses from Huejotzingo and Acolman. Councils in Tlaxcala negotiated with envoys from Tenochtitlan and military commanders from Texcoco during campaigns recorded alongside names such as Xicotencatl the Elder and Xicotencatl the Younger, whose interactions affected relations with conquistadors like Hernán Cortés and Pedro de Alvarado. Treaties and truces mirrored diplomatic practices used in pacts like the Pact of Xochimilco and later Spanish capitulations within the Viceroyalty of New Spain, while inter-altepetl rivalry resembled factional contests seen in Tetzcoco and Tlacopan.
Tlaxcalan society integrated noble houses, commoner calpulli, and specialist lineages comparable to those in Texcoco and Cholula, sustaining craft production paralleling workshops at Tlatilco and textile centers linked to trade routes to Veracruz, Puebla, and Oaxaca. Markets in Tlaxcala functioned like those of Tlatelolco and facilitated exchange in goods such as cacao, obsidian from Pachuca, salt from Tehuantepec, and feathers like those prized in Tenochtitlan. Ritual calendars and festivals in Tlaxcala featured priests and chanters akin to those of Cuauhtinchan and incorporated iconography related to deities venerated at sites such as Cacaxtla and Xochicalco, while martial culture produced warriors whose deeds were commemorated alongside accounts involving Itzcoatl and Axayacatl campaigns.
Tlaxcala’s altepetl forged a strategic alliance with Hernán Cortés that paralleled other indigenous–Spanish collaborations such as those between Tlaxcala allies and Tlaxcala city forces in campaigns reaching Tenochtitlan, Cholula, and Texcoco. Leaders like Xicotencatl the Younger negotiated complex positions that intersected with Spanish figures including Bernal Díaz del Castillo, Malintzin (La Malinche), and royal commissioners from the Council of the Indies. After conquest, the Three Tlaxcalan Altepetl received privileges confirmed by documents issued under Charles V, interacting with colonial institutions like the Audiencia of New Spain, real audiencia records, and ecclesiastical authorities such as Bishop Juan de Zumárraga and orders including the Franciscans, Dominicans, and Augustinians. Tlaxcala’s militia served on frontier expeditions toward Chichimeca territories and participated in resettlement efforts in regions like Nuevo León and Coahuila under Spanish oversight.
Excavations at Tlaxcalan sites reveal architecture and artifacts comparable to finds at Cacaxtla, Tepeticpac, and ceremonial compounds like those in Coyoacán; material culture includes ceramics in styles related to Michoacán and obsidian toolkits sourced from Pachuca and Ucareo. Colonial-era codices and pictorial manuscripts produced in Tlaxcala are studied alongside Lienzo de Tlaxcala, Florentine Codex accounts, and administrative records from the Archivo General de la Nación. Iconographic programs on murals and painted cloths link Tlaxcalan visual culture to productions at Cacaxtla and Tlatilco, while burial assemblages echo practices observed at Tlatelolco and Xochitecatl.
The historical memory of Tlaxcala’s three altepetl persists in monuments and civic rituals in Tlaxcala City, museums such as the Museo Nacional de Antropología, and local festivals that reference figures like Xicotencatl the Younger and events involving Hernán Cortés. Scholarly discourse engages with sources including works by Bernal Díaz del Castillo, Diego Muñoz Camargo, and Miguel León-Portilla, as well as contemporary studies housed in institutions like the Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and international centers such as the Smithsonian Institution and the British Museum. Commemorations intersect with debates over indigenous agency, colonial documentation like royal cedulas, and heritage policies enforced by bodies such as the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia.
Category:Pre-Columbian peoples of Mexico Category:Tlaxcala