History Of Cholula: The Mesoamerican Acropolis

Prior to the arrival of Hernán Cortés and his “Conquistadores” in the New World, the ancient civilizations of the Americas had seen prosperity, drought, and aggravated territorial wars instigated by neighboring tribes or intrasocietal demagogues. There would be no tragedy so harrowing as the one that would eventually befall many, if not all the Native American civilizations. Innovative cities such as Tenochtitlan were razed to the ground at the hands of the Spanish crown, and pieces of history would forever be eradicated. Centuries later, archaeologists would salvage artifacts such as pottery, whorls, and paintings, and gradually recover parts of lost history. Before delving deep into investigation, we must first ask ourselves: What is a city? How is a city defined? The objective definition of a city finds itself in a constant tug-of-war between urbanists and anthropologists alike. For the purpose of this investigation, a city can be defined as a large human settlement, characterized by a related culture, and contains systems to provide for its inhabitants, for example utilities, and food distribution (Haub). The city examined in this paper will be the city of Cholula, more commonly known today as the city of Puebla, located in East-Central Mexico, a previous “vassal” of the Aztec Empire. Cholula and its citizens met their demise at the hands of Cortés and the “Conquistadores,” but what remained of the city is worthwhile for research. This paper will aim to explore the cultural landscape, architectural ingenuity, and economic constituency of Cholula, as well as the religious importance of Tlachihualtepetl, the largest Pre-Columbian structure in the world, founded and built in Cholula.

Like today, households served as the foundation for ancient economic systems. According to data collected in 2013, Cholula’s household movement of goods was comparatively higher than other Mesoamerican cities/trading outposts, thus making it a more commercialized city. Cholula’s strategic position made it a prime trading outpost, with connections to the Gulf of Mexico, as well as Tehuacan Valley. Cholula served as a link for trade between the Chichimeca Kingdoms in northern Mesoamerica, and smaller city-states in the south. Rather than being slave to its geographical circumstances, like many Mesoamerican cities, Cholula thrived and engendered a strong income for itself, and later for its Aztec suzerains. The income generated for Cholula came from the massive textile industry, which was a modicum used for tribute or minor exchanges. The Spaniard colonials mention in writings how adept the Cholulans were at dying their textiles, and archaeological evidence supports the importance of textile production to the city of Cholula. Eyewitness testimony also supports the idea of wealth inequity in Cholula, as Juan de Torquemada, a Spanish missionary states:

“The poor people would dress in henequen, which is a thick thread made of maguey, and the rich people would dress in cotton, with an embroidered border of feathers and rabbit fur.” From the years of 600 AD to 700 AD, Cholula grew from a small intermediate village to a large regional trade center, one that rivaled the city of Teotihuacan. Cholula narrowly avoided the same annihilation that befell Teotihuacan. For a short period, Cholula transitioned from an ancillary city to a primary manufacturer and exporter of textiles near northern Mesoamerica. Cholula steadily grew into an economic powerhouse as it shifted into the Postclassical period. During the Postclassical period, Cholula would undergo and experience a multitude of cultural changes, as it began its extensive development of large temples, and eventually the pyramid of Tlachihualtepetl.

Construction of Tlachihualtepetl began approximately a thousand years prior to the arrival of the Spanish to the New World. Each new leader consecutively built the pyramid larger and larger until it became the most sizable pyramid by volume in the world. From the 3rd century BC to the 9th century AD, gradual construction of the pyramid-temple network began, in dedication to the deity of Quetzalcoatl. During the early postclassic period, the pyramid was expanded and covered 16 hectares of land. When Cholula was conquered by the Aztecs during the 13th century AD, the Great Pyramid of Cholula was expanded upon and was oriented 26 degrees northwest, in a way that corresponded to the summer solstice. Historians and archaeologists both infer that this orientation is in worship to the Aztec solar deity of Tonacatecuhtli.

The city of Cholula lived in pusillanimity from the warmongering Aztec Empire prior to its subjugation, and rivaled the city of Tenochtitlan, even reaching a population of approximately 100,000 people, the second largest city in Mexico at the time. Tlachihualtepetl was a spiritual site for pilgrimage for many postclassical Native Americans. The inhabitants of Cholula actively participated in ritual, such as human sacrifice and the bloodletting of young children at the mound. Eventually, the great pyramid was abandoned and was left to its own devices for it to be overgrown by weeds and other foliage. Temples and other altars were built on top of the mound, and sacrifice was made to Tlaloc, the Aztec god of rain. Not only was the city of Cholula renowned for its sacred, religious significance, but it also was home to many artistically inspired works, such as the mural, “The Drunkards” as well as a collection of figurines kept in a 4 meter deep well, inspired by the Mixteca-Puebla tribes as well as a variety of Gulf Coast influences. The figurines found represented a multitude of deities worshipped by the inhabitants of Cholula, and some specific to the Aztec Empire. Respectively, in Cholula, the figurines were dedicated to Tlaloc, most likely for good fortune during harvesting season. At the time of Cortés’s arrival, Cholula maintained an uneasy alliance with the Aztec empire. According to secondary sources, Cortés invited the Cholulan nobles in a courtyard, and accused them of treachery. What followed was nothing short of inexorable massacre, as the nobles were slaughtered in the town center with the help of the Spanish allies, the Tlaxcala. The slaughter sent an unequivocal message to the Aztec emperor Montezuma II (Minster). The massacre of Cholula would eventually precipitate a wave of Spanish domination in the region for centuries to come. A church was constructed on the former ground of Tlachihualtepetl, and the Aztecs met their end at the hands of the Spanish. Thus, the postclassical period was over, and the Spanish ushered in a new age of European proto-imperialism and the infancy of a global exchange system. The fall of Cholula was nothing short of inevitable, however the religious significance of the city, now called Puebla, is still reverberated today. Nearly 220,000 Mexicans and tourists alike make a trek to the site of the largest pyramid in the world, Tlachihualtepetl. The area the pyramid encompasses is patrolled by police regularly, and parts of the site are closed during the ritual of Quetzalcoatl. While most of the region once called Cholula has been modernized, there have been great strides made to protect this valuable cultural site, and the city serves as a testament to the sheer brilliance of its designers and forerunners.