Tepetlaoztoc or Tepetlaoxtoc (

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...

for "

tepetate Tepetate (Spanish ''tepetate''; Nahuatl ''tepetlatl'') is a Mexican term for a geological horizon, hardened by compaction or cementation, found in Mexican volcanic regions. Tepetates at the surface are problematic for agriculture, because of thei ...

-cave place", ) is an archaeological site located in the Central Mexico plateau region of Mesoamerica, which was an Aztec/ Nahua settlement during the Late Postclassic period of Mesoamerican chronology, with an occupancy continuing through the Colonial period. The site is situated in the Valley of Mexico, 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 system drawn in the Codex of Santa María Asunción (manuscript in the Biblioteca Nacional) 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 William Timothy Sanders (1926–2008) was an American anthropologist who specialized in the archaeology of Mesoamerica.Jeremy PearceWilliam T. Sanders, 82, Anthropologist, Is Dead ''The New York Times'', July 16, 2008. Early life and education San ...

'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