Tepetlaoztoc or Tepetlaoxtoc ( Nahuatl for " tepetate-cave place", ) is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

located in the Central Mexico plateau region of

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica ...

, which was an

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...

Nahua The Nahuas () are a group of the indigenous people of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. They comprise the largest indigenous group in Mexico and second largest in El Salvador. The Mexica (Aztecs) were of Nahua ethnicity, a ...

settlement during the Late Postclassic period of

Mesoamerican chronology Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of prehispanic Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian (first human habitation until 3500 BCE); the Archaic (before 2600 BCE), the Preclassic or Formative (2500 BCE –&nb ...

, with an occupancy continuing through the Colonial period. The site is situated in the

Valley of Mexico The Valley of Mexico ( es, Valle de México) is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with present-day Mexico City and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico w ...

, to the northeast of Texcoco. In the 1970s the area was relatively undeveloped, and one could, on aerial photographs, still discern the 16th century field lines and

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

system drawn in the Codex of Santa María Asunción (manuscript in the

Biblioteca Nacional Biblioteca Nacional (Spanish or Portuguese: ''National Library'') may refer to: *Biblioteca Nacional de Chile, in Chile *Biblioteca Nacional de España, in Spain *Biblioteca Nacional del Perú, in Peru * Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal, in Portugal ...

) and the Codex Vergara. Likewise one could locate many of the aldeas that were tributary to Tepetlaoztoc, and still find the wall bases of their houses. By the time of William T. Sanders's work in the 1990s, development had largely destroyed these remnants.

References

* Altepetl Aztec sites Archaeological sites in Mexico Valley of Mexico Former populated places in Mexico 1990s archaeological discoveries {{mesoamerica-stub