S. Andres Cholula, Mx


Cholula was one of the most important Meso-American cities, where different cultures and lifestyles converged with a common religion. This great metropolis was a place devoted to Quetzalcoatl; people from remote places, including people from Central America, are said to have visited the site to worship such a popular deity. Due to the complexity of its architecture, the diversity of the foreign features and its long cultural development, *Cholula was given the name of Tollan* in the Classic Period (100-900 AD). This name was given to the most important cities of the Central Plateau like Teotihuacan and Tula.**


Cholula was divided in barrios; its territorial division corresponded to the different ethnic identities living in that zone. In the Toltec-Chichimec History, it is mentioned that the city was ruled by ten main Xicalanca-Olmec lords. Two of them were Aquiach and Tlalchiac; this names were used for subsequent periods. The former had and eagle-like weapon and the second a jaguar-like weapon. They were called nobles of Tiznquiznauac barrio among the priests of the Temple of Quetzalcoatl. The initiates of this religion received a black cape which they had to keep for four years. Afterwards, they received a black cape which they kept for four years; then, a red and black cape for four years and, finally, they were given a black cape to keep for the rest of their lives. The priests Aquiach and Tlalchiach ruled and chose the kings that came to Cholula to bring offerings to Quetzalcoatl. In addition, they pierced their nose, ears and lips according to their rank. When the Toltecs of Tula declined, after a long pilgrimage, they conquered and defeated the Xicalanca-Olmecs of the region; these groups would later be related when the barrios continued during the Colonial Period. As a matter of fact, they are still related.


Apparently, the Chichimecs arrived in Tollan Chollolan on the day 4 herb after a long pilgrimage; Marquina mentions that the Toltec left their hometown in the year 1 flint and that, when they arrived in Cholula, they begged to live in this region. They were authorized to settle there and given old weapons for their survival. However, when they were ready to leave, Tezcatlipoca ordered them to make war and defeat the Olmec-Xicalanca, hence, becoming the rulers of the region. This passage of the Toltec-Chichimec History might refer to Cholula’s last occupation and the establishment of a new city.


In the year 1 rabbit, there was a drought resulting in the emigration of the people of Cholula running away from starvation to Cuahtinchan; at least 12 groups, some of them barrios, arrived in this city: Ixmeciuhca, Tepetzinca, Quauhteca, Izcolloca, Matlaltzinca, Tochpaneca, Couaca, Cuitlatepeuaque, Tzocuillaca, Tlaxichca, Calmecauaque, and Xochicaltzinca. Some authors like Cook and Merino consider that the site had two "golden ages": the first one, contemporary to Teotihuacan, El Tajín and Monte Alban’s flourishing periods. The Cholultecs kept a strong interchange and trade with them resulting in cultural feedback. The second took place around 400-500 AD. Besides controlling most of the region, Cholula was part of a cultural and trade corridor via Plateau-Oaxaca. At this time, a great number of population cores were located around the valley. Just before its abandonment around 600 AD, the arrival of the Xicalanc-Olmecs and their settlement in Cacaxtla, the main capital, accelerated the fall of the site.


The reoccupation of what once was a sacred city might have gone beyond the site’s disuse; it might have been the consequence of political conflicts, overexploitation of the environment, and malnutrition as it can be seen from some skeletons found in that area. In the historical sources where droughts are mentioned it is explained that these droughts forced them to reduce the ceremonial center transferring it where the municipality downtown now stands. In general, the more monumental an archaeological site is, the more oppressed the people were by the high hierarchies. The constant modifications of the buildings and basically any architectonic elements were a display of political control. There is evidence that some buildings from the last occupation stage were burned.