Altépetl: archeological evidence for a political-territorial organization in pre-hispanic Tlaxcala

Abstract

Scholars of Mexico’s ancient history, both historians and ethnohistorians, have long been aware of the náhuatl concept of the altépetl and its connotations, both territorial (from “a”, meaning water, and tepetl, mountain), and social (demographic, symbolic) in Mesoamerica. However, no connection has been found that links historical information with geographical and archaeological data, so we have never had solid material evidence to confirm the existence and nature of this concept. The objective of this article is to present a proposition that unites archaeological findings with historical data in the geographical context of pre-hispanic Tlaxcala, as a means of advancing our understanding of later developments in political, territorial and colonial organization.