Totógal: Investigations of Postclassic Occupation and the Aztec Frontier in the Tuxtla Mountains, Veracruz, México

Overview

From March to August of 2004 archaeological fieldwork was conducted at Totógal, a site located on the southern slopes of Cerro el Vigía near Santiago Tuxtla, Veracruz, México. According to Urcid and Esquivias (2000; see also Gerhard 1993), modern Santiago Tuxtla corresponds to 16^th Century Tuxtla (Tustla) and to Toztlan (Figure 1, shown below), the easternmost tributary of the Aztec Empire’s Tochtepec province (Codex Mendoza [Berdan and Anawalt 1992]). At the outset of this project, information from ethnohistory, local histories, and Postclassic artifacts suggested that the archaeological site of Totógal probably was prehispanic Tuxtla. This research was designed to explore Postclassic occupation (ca. A.D. 1000-1521) at Totógal, clarify the Postclassic chronology of the Sierra de los Tuxtlas, and determine the character of Aztec/local relations in this imperial frontier. Archaeologists have had difficulty in identifying evidence for Postclassic occupation in the Tuxtlas (e.g. Esquivias 2002; Killion and Urcid 2001; Pool 1995; Santley and Arnold 1996) and a recent reinterpretation of the Aztec domain placed Totógal and the Tuxtla Mountains beyond the imperial boundary (Berdan 1996; Berdan and Anawalt 1992; cf. Barlow 1949; Carrasco 1999; Esquivias 2002; Urcid and Esquivias 2000).

Totógal has escaped the attention of most scholars working in the southern Gulf Lowlands. Medel and Alvarado (1993) mentions a settlement on Totogaltepetl (Totógal hill) ¹   that was the home of Santiago Tuxtla’s indigenous population prior to early Colonial resettlement (see also Ortíz Ceballos 1975; Rivas Castellanos 1999). Blom and La Farge (1923:19-20) refer to ruins on the southern side of the "Santiago volcano" as the source of Postclassic-style monuments they observed in San Andrés Tuxtla. Likewise, Gerhard (1993) refers to Tuxtla’s naturally fortified mountain position. This description certainly characterizes the location of Totógal, but Gerhard does not directly identify the site.

Endnote

1. The extinct volcano on the outskirts of Santiago Tuxtla is known more commonly as Cerro el Vigía. It is seen in some local histories or colonial maps of the region as Cerro de Tuxtla or Tuxtantepec (Rivas Castellanos 1999).

Table of Contents  |  Next Page

Return to top of page