CENTRAL HIGHLANDS OF MEXICO: CLIMATE, CULTURES, ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES - GEOGRAPHY - 2024

The central highlands of Mexico is an extensive and ancient region that includes Mexico City and part of the states of Jalisco, Durango, San Luis de Potosí, Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Aguas Calientes and Querétaro. It also extends through the state of Mexico and other neighboring areas such as Hidalgo, Michoacán, Tlaxcala, Morelos, Puebla and Guerrero.

At present the name of this historical region has fallen into disuse, because there is another geographical-scientific division. In its place, the Mesa del Centro or Mesa Central was created, comprising most of the territory of the old region. It is called the central highlands because it is a predominantly flat plateau.

Teotihuacán, central highlands of Mexico.

This plateau has an altitude on average that ranges between 1700 and 2300 meters above sea level. One of the factors that most influences its temperate semi-dry climate is the presence of high mountain ranges on its sides.

Weather

In the central highlands of Mexico the predominant climate is temperate semi-dry; however, there is a variety of climates depending on the area. The semi-dry climate is located in the northern part of the states of Querétaro and Hidalgo, and on the border of Puebla with the state of Oaxaca.

The temperate climate with scarce summer rains is the most characteristic in the entire plateau, while in the river valleys of Puebla, Morelos, Guerrero and Tlaxcala, the climate is temperate and subtropical.

North of Hidalgo, in the state of Morelos and in the north and south of Puebla, the climate is warm tropical. The valleys of the central highlands mainly have a cold temperate climate and are very fertile lands.

It has very few rivers, so since ancient times the sources of water (rivers and rains) were channeled through aqueducts and storage tanks for human use and in agricultural work.

In this region in general the rain is not abundant, since there is only rainfall between April and September.

Geographic units

Another characteristic of the highlands is its great geological complexity and ecological diversity, which were very well used by the peoples who inhabited these territories since the Preclassic.

This territory located in central Mexico is made up of four geographic units. To the south is the Morelos Valley and to the east the Puebla-Tlaxcala valleys. To the west is the Tolula Valley and in the central zone is the Mexico Basin.

The valleys of Morelos are located in hot lands. The other three units have a cold temperate climate with altitudes that exceed 2000 meters above sea level, with the Volcanic Axis to the north.

Cultures that inhabited it

According to the evidence found, the sites where the first nomadic groups settled were in the caves of Tehuacán, and in Texcal and Tlapacoya. These groups became more sedentary and agricultural societies. The periods of human occupation are as follows:

Middle Preclassic (1200-400 BC)

During this period the development of populations like Tlatilco and Chalcatzingo takes place, by the Olmec culture.

Late Preclassic (400 BC-200)

In this period Cuicuilco was built, an archaeological zone with the first monumental pyramids. Teotihuacán also began to rise, between the years 300 and 100 BC. C.

However, this city was abandoned in years close to the Christian Era, due to a series of eruptions from the Xitle volcano. It is estimated that about three-quarters of the population of Cuicuilco and the basin moved towards the Teotihuacán Valley.

Classic (200-900)

Teotihuacán, or city of the gods, was an advanced and planned mega city that concentrated a significant volume of population. This population was distributed by department complexes.

It had an architecture characterized by the use of the slope and board. There temples and urban complexes were built around a large causeway or central avenue.

The city of Teotihuacán was a center of political and economic power within which Mesoamerican cultural integration was consolidated. The gigantic networks of commercial exchange that it created and the political agreements expanded its influence remarkably.

This pre-Columbian metropolis had a great influence on the culture and architecture of other peoples, in terms of the use of the slope and board. Similarly, they were influential in the use of the 365-day agricultural calendar, the 260-day ritual calendar, and the cult of the Feathered Serpent.

Epiclassic (650-900)

In this period the splendor of Teotihuacán began to decline and ended up collapsing. Political power and influence shifted to other cities in the central highlands, such as Xochicalco, Cacaxtla, Cholula, and Tula.

These cities created their own artistic and architectural styles that emerged from the combination of various cultures. Examples of this are found in the cities Teotenango, Cantona and San Miguel Ixtapan. Also in the reliefs of Xochicalco and the murals of Cacaxtla.

Early Postclassic (900-1200)

The city of Tula, of great influence in the central area of ​​Mexico, owed its power to the figure of its king Quetzalcóatl (Ce Ácatl Topiltzin). After his fall, power was transferred to other places, but they did not have the influence of it, although they exercised dominance in areas such as Calixtlahuaca, Texcoco, Huamango, Cholula, Azcapotzalco and Huexotzinco.

The Chichimecas were predominant during this period in the highlands; they were considered barbarian and uneducated peoples, different from the Toltecs.

Towards the year 1430, Tula and other Tepanec territories were conquered by the Mexica and the Texcocanos. A political-military alliance was formed with the cities of Texcoco and Tlacopan, which helped them to conquer more territories.

However, the Mexica did not manage to seize all the territories. There were cases like those of Metztitlan, Yopitzinco, Tlaxcala and Cholula in which they could not impose their political dominance.

Archaeological sites

The following archaeological sites were characterized by their civic-religious constructions:

The seedling

An old agricultural village located in the archaeological site located in the municipality of Tlalnepantla de Baz.

Tlatilco

One of the first towns to settle on the shores of Lake Texcoco, located northwest of Mexico City.

Ticoman

Village located on the northwest shore of Lake Texcoco.

Ecatepec

Reservoirs located in the Cerro del Dios del Viento or de la Cruz, in Ecatepec, which are part of the Sierra de Guadalupe.

Ticoman

Archaeological site located in the Gustavo A. Madero delegation, in Mexico City.

Zacatenco

Archaeological zone located approximately 12 kilometers north of Mexico City, close to the villages of Ticomán and Tlatilco.

Cuicuilco

Archaeological zone near the ancient lake of Chalco-Xochimilco in Mexico City.

Tlapacoya

Archaeological zone located in the municipality of Ixtpaluca, on the El Elefante hill, state of Mexico.

Azcapotzalco

This deposit is located northwest of Mexico City, on the border with the municipalities of Tlalnepantla de Baz and Naucalpan de Juárez, in the state of Mexico. The location is near the delegations of Miguel Hidalgo, Gustavo A. Madero and Cuauhtémoc.

Teotihuacan

It is the most important archaeological site in the central highlands of Mexico and covers an area of ​​264 hectares. Its most important monuments are the Pyramid of the Sun, the Pyramid of the Moon, the Citadel, the Temple of the Feathered Serpent and the Palace of Quetzalpapálotl.

Cholula

It is located 7 kilometers from Puebla de Zaragoza, in the state of Puebla.

Xochicalco

They are archaeological ruins located in the municipality of Miacatlán, state of Morelos.

Totimehuacan

This archaeological site is located about 10 km southeast of the city of Puebla.

Tula

The deposits of this city in the state of Hidalgo are located 93 kilometers northwest of Mexico City.

Tenayuca

Archaeological zone located in the municipality of Tlalnepantla de Baz, state of Mexico.

References

1. The cultures of the Central Highlands. Retrieved March 23, 2018 from mexicodesconocido.com.mx
2. Central Altiplano architecture and its cultures. Consulted of monografias.com
3. Central Mexican Plateau. Consulted of fundacionarmella.org
4. Central Highlands. Consulted of places.inah.gob.mx
5. Central region of Mexico. Consulted of tasksuniversitarias.com
6. Tlapacoya Archaeological Zone - Inah. Consulted of inah.gob.mx
7. first peoples that inhabited Mexico. Consulted of historiaybiografias.com