Tlatilco

Ceramic art recovered from Tlatilco, commonly known as the "Acrobat". circa 1300 - 800 BCE.

Tlatilco was a large pre-Columbian village in the Valley of Mexico situated near the modern-day town of the same name in the Mexican Federal District. It was one of the first chiefdom centers to arise in the Valley, flourishing on the western shore of Lake Texcoco during the Middle Pre-Classic period, between the years of 1200 BCE and 200 BCE.^[1] It gives its name to the "Tlatilco culture", which also included the town of Tlapacoya, on the eastern shore of Lake Chalco.

Tlatilco is noted in particular for its high quality pottery pieces, many featuring Olmec iconography, and its figurines, including Olmec-style baby-face figurines. Much else, however, seems to be in a native ceramic tradition.^[2] These Olmec-style artifacts have been led to speculation concerning the nature of Olmec influence on other Mesoamerican cultures.

The Tlatilco site was used in modern times as a source of clay for brick-making. By the 1930s, many of the ancient artifacts thereby uncovered made their way into the hands of collectors, including Miguel Covarrubias, artist and ethnographer. Covarrubias led the first controlled excavation in 1942. By 1949, over 200 burials were identified at Tlatilco, leading to its categorisation as a necropolis.^[3] Two major archaeological excavations followed, with over 500 burials eventually identified, many with intact grave offerings.^[4] The last field season also undertook a systematic survey of non-burial structures, leading to the realization that these hundreds of burials were apparently located under ancient houses -- although no traces of them remain - as well as among the various trash pits, and that Tlatilco was not a necropolis, but rather a major chiefdom center.^[5]

Many burials, primarily of high status individuals, show evidence of dental mutilation and artificial cranial deformation, most probably through the use of cradleboards.

The Tlatilcans' agriculture was focused on maize, but also included beans, amaranth, and squash, and chili peppers. These plants were supplemented with various fowl, including migratory birds, wild rabbits and other smaller mammals, and deer and antelope.^[6]

Tlatilco reached its heydey during the period from 1000-700 BCE, during the Olmec horizon.^[7] The following Zacatenco phase (700-400 BCE) saw a cessation of the use of Olmec iconography and forms.

Tlatilco figurines

Small ceramic mask from Tlatilco commonly referred to as the duality mask

Many Tlatilco figurines show deformities or other anomalies, including a "duality" mask and several two-headed female figures. This has led some researchers to wonder whether Tlatilco was perhaps a cluster site for conjoined twins.^[8]

The name "Tlatilco" comes from the Nahuatl language, in which it means "place of mounds".

Notes

↑ Niederberger (1996) p. 86.
↑ Adams, p. 75)
↑ Niederberger (1996), p. 87.
↑ Adams, p. 75.
↑ Niederberger (1996), p. 88.
↑ Niederberger (1996), p. 84.
↑ Niederberger (1996), p. 84, although others give slightly different dates. Blaton et al. give a range of 1400 - 900 for this Olmec (or "Early") horizon (Table of Contents).
↑ Bendersky, aa well as Kennedy.

References

Adams, Richard E W (1991) Prehistoric Mesoamerica, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma.
Bendersky, Gordon (2000); "Tlatilco, Diprosopus, and Emergence of Medical Illustrations" in Perspectives in Biology & Medicine; Summer 2000, v43 #4, p477.
Blanton, Richard E.; Kowalewski, Stephen A.; Feinman, Gary M.;Finsten, Laura M. (1993) Ancient Mesoamerica: A Comparison of Change in Three Regions, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-44606-6.
Diehl, Richard A. (2004) The Olmecs: America's First Civilization, Thames & Hudson, London.
Kennedy, G. E. (2001) "The 3,000-year history of conjoined twins", Western Journal of Medicine, September 2001, 175(3): 176-177.
Niederberger, Christine (1996) "The Basin of Mexico: a Multimillennial Development Toward Cultural Complexity", in Olmec Art of Ancient Mexico, eds. E. P. Benson and B. de la Fuente, Washington D.C., ISBN 0-89468-250-4, pp. 83-93.

External links

(Spanish) Information about Tlatilco.

Coordinates: 19°30′N 99°15′W / 19.500°N 99.250°W / 19.500; -99.250

Pre-Columbian civilizations and cultures
Americas	Paleo-Indians · Genetic history · Archaeology of the Americas · Indigenous peoples of the Americas
North America	North American pre-Columbian cultures – Caddoan Mississippian – Chichimeca – Hopewell tradition – Coles Creek – Fremont – Marksville – Mississippian – Mogollon – Plaquemine – Plum Bayou – Poverty Point – Troyville – Weeden Island
Mesoamerica	Mesoamerican pre-Columbian chronology – Capacha – Cholula – Coclé – Epi-Olmec – Huastec – Izapa – Mezcala – Mixtec – Olmec – Pipil – Quelepa – Shaft tomb tradition – Teuchitlan – Purépecha – Teotihuacan – Tlatilco – Tlaxcaltec – Toltec – Totonac – Veracruz – Xochipala – Zapotec
South America	South American Indigenous people – Pre-Columbian chronology – Cañaris – Chachapoya – Chancay – Chavín – Chimú – El Abra – Hydraulic culture of mounds (Bolivia) – Las Vegas – Lima – La Tolita (Tumaco) – Manteño-Guancavilca – Mapuche – Moche – Mollo – Muisca (Chibchas) – Nariño – Nazca – Norte Chico – Quimbaya – San Agustín – Shuar – Sican – Taíno – Tairona – Tiwanaku – Tierradentro – Valdivia – Wari
	Aztec	Maya civilization	Inca Empire – Andean civilizations
Language	Nahuatl	Mayan languages	Quechua
Writing	Aztec writing	Maya script	Quipu
Religion	Aztec religion	Maya religion	Inca religion
Mythology	Aztec mythology	Maya mythology	Inca mythology
Calendar	Aztec calendar	Maya calendar
Society	Aztec society	Maya society	Inca society
Infrastructure	Chinampas	Maya architecture	Inca architecture (road system) Incan agriculture
History	Aztec history		Inca history Neo-Inca State
People	Moctezuma I Moctezuma II Cuitláhuac Cuauhtémoc	K'inich Janaab' Pakal Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil Jasaw Chan K'awiil I	Manco Cápac Pachacuti Atahualpa Manco Inca Yupanqui Túpac Amaru II
Conquest	Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (Hernán Cortés)	Spanish conquest of the Maya Spanish conquest of Yucatán (Francisco de Montejo) Spanish conquest of Guatemala (Pedro de Alvarado)	Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire (Francisco Pizarro)
See also
Portal:Indigenous peoples of North America – Portal:Mesoamerica – Columbian Exchange – Mesoamerican writing systems – Native American cuisine – Native American pottery – Population history of indigenous peoples of the Americas – Pre‑Columbian art – Painting in the Americas before European colonization

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