Tilantongo

Tilantongo was a Mixtec citystate in the Mixteca Alta region of the State of Oaxaca which is now visible as an archeological site and a modern town of Santiago Tilantongo. It is located at 17°15' N. Lat. and 97°17' W. Long. Its Mixtec name was "Ñuu Tnoo-Huahi Andehui" meaning Black Town-Temple of Heaven [ [http://www.famsi.org/research/pohl/jpcodices/pohlmixtec9.html FAMSI - John Pohl's - Ancient Books - Mixtec Group Codices ] ]

History

Archeological excavations conducted by Alfonso Caso in the sixties suggest that Tilantongo is among the oldest settlements in Oaxaca with architecture from the preclassic Monte Albán I phase. Preclassic and Classic remains were found at Monte Negro and the Postclassic settlement was located in the present day town of Tilantongo, slightly north of the classic settlement.

The documentary record show that Tilantongo was an important Mixtec polity in the Postclassic period. Mixtec picture codexes such as the Codex Zouche-Nuttall tell the history of Lord 8 Deer who ruled Tilantongo in the eleventh century, and how he linked the Tilantongo dynasty with the central Mexican Toltecs.

References

* |year=1967 |title=The Mixtec Kings and Their People |location=Norman, Oklahoma|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=0-8061-1091-0