Tepeticpac in its archaeological context

Tepeticpac was one of several suburb settlements that made up the Tlaxcallan urban core and a member of the larger state-level geopolitical entity, or Huey Altepetl (Figure 1). The site lies in the Central Plateau of Mexico, on the south-central region of the current state of Tlaxcala. It was erected over a system of hills flanked by steep ravines. There are six large plazas, at least 10 temples, and around 169 terraces built over an area of 98 ha. The distribution of architectural elements alternates with areas devoid of buildings and several restricted access points, delimiting at least five sectors (A, B, C, D, and E) (López Corral et al. Reference López Corral, Almanza, Ibarra Narváez and Santacruz Cano2019).

Figure 1.

Map of the Puebla-Tlaxcala Valley and the huey altepetl of Tlaxcallan. Courtesy of the Tepeticpac Archaeological Project archive.

Tepeticpac was identified in the 1960s (Angulo Reference Angulo, García Cook and Merino Carrión1965; Snow Reference Snow1969; Tschohl and Nickel Reference Tschohl and Nickel1972), and in recent years, new projects resumed interest in the Postclassic cultures of Tlaxcallan (e.g., Fargher et al. Reference Fargher, Blanton and Heredia2010; López Corral et al. Reference López Corral, Fargher and Santacruz Cano2016). Since 2010, the Tepeticpac Archaeological Project (PAT) has carried out archaeological explorations with the aim of reconstructing the social, political, and economic structure of the settlement during its various periods of occupation, which expands from the Epiclassic (A.D. 650–900/950) to the Early Colonial periods (ca. A.D. 1519–1550). Research has also focused on analyzing the processes of change and abandonment of the settlement, including those generated after the Spanish conquest.

Architectural Complex 2 (CA-2) is located about 110 m southwest of the Tepeticpac Chapel in Sector C, over one of the most prominent sections of the site (Figure 2). Initial excavations of CA-2 and preliminary analysis of data associated the complex to the teccalli, or the “noble house” socioeconomic organization. Recent work provides additional information on the social and cultural dynamics under which CA-2 was inhabited, abandoned, and reoccupied, thereby allowing a further evaluation of the complex relationship with local elite ruling groups.

Figure 2.

Site map of Tepeticpac showing the (a) sectors and (b) location of Architectural Complex 2. Courtesy of the Tepeticpac Archaeological Project archive.

The Mesoamerican palace

The palace, in ancient times, was the place of residence for those who administered power, expressing an explicit fusion of public and private roles (Barber and Joyce Reference Barber, Joyce, Jessica Joyce and Sarro2006:211; Christie Reference Christie, Christie and Sarro2006:2; Fargher et al. Reference Fargher, Antorcha-Pedemonte, Heredia Espinoza, Blanton, Corral, Cook, Millhauser, Marino, Rojo, Alcántara and Costa2020:6; Manzanilla Reference Manzanilla2001). A palace can be distinguished from an elite dwelling considering that it is “…the residence of the highest-ranking member or institution of a polity and as the seat of governmental activities” (Christie Reference Christie, Christie and Sarro2006:3). Palaces can be identified using evidence of installations related to domestic and political activities because elite households seek to concentrate religious, political, and economic events around the palace (Elson Reference Elson1999). Palaces are usually multifunctional and range from administrative to residential, displaying varied and diversified designs through time and space (Flannery Reference Flannery, Feinman and Marcus1998; Sheehy Reference Sheehy, Mastache, Parsons, Santley and Serra Puche1996; Yasur-Landau et al. Reference Yasur-Landau, Cline, Koh, Ben-Shlomo, Marom, Ratzlaff and Samet2015). Palaces are strategic locations for social practices of ruling elite. Therefore, their architectural complexity reflects the functions for which a palace was designed according to the prevailing political and economic order.

The scale, design, and use function are good parameters for identifying palaces. The scale of palaces is relative to other buildings and reflects the level of organization that elites exercise over the workforce (Charlton and Nichols Reference Charlton, Nichols, Chase and Chase1992:244). The size of palaces can be considerably variable (Flannery Reference Flannery, Feinman and Marcus1998; Sheehy Reference Sheehy, Mastache, Parsons, Santley and Serra Puche1996), and it is said that for the Postclassic period, their surface can diverge between 479 and 11,000 m² (Fargher et al. Reference Fargher, Antorcha-Pedemonte, Heredia Espinoza, Blanton, Corral, Cook, Millhauser, Marino, Rojo, Alcántara and Costa2020:Table 1).

The design of Mesoamerican palaces is also variable (see Evans and Pillsbury Reference Evans and Pillsbury2004), but commonly, they were built at prominent or restricted sectors using high-quality materials and decorative details (Christie Reference Christie, Christie and Sarro2006:2). The construction of these enclosures reflects an investment of resources that promotes hierarchical and symbolic differences between rulers and the governed.

The use and functionality of palaces refers to how governing groups use them for public and private activities. Palaces embrace administrative, residential, recreational, or political activities (Inomata et al. Reference Inomata, Triadan, Ponciano, Terry and Beaubien2001:341), and they function as council rooms, courtrooms, rest houses (Evans Reference Evans, Evans and Pillsbury2004), state storage rooms (D'Altroy and Earle Reference D'Altroy and Earle1985), ritual spaces (Barber and Joyce Reference Barber, Joyce, Jessica Joyce and Sarro2006:215), houses of servants (Fargher et al. Reference Fargher, Antorcha-Pedemonte, Heredia Espinoza, Blanton, Corral, Cook, Millhauser, Marino, Rojo, Alcántara and Costa2020:6), or as artist residencies (Flannery Reference Flannery, Feinman and Marcus1998:35). Unlike other elite spaces, palaces house ruling elites and serve to sponsor multiple public, economic, and ideological functions. Commonly, they are relatively larger buildings within a given settlement and were constructed with high-quality construction materials using sumptuous and exclusive decorative ornamental features with elaborate designs.

Collective government in Tlaxcallan

Late Postclassic Tlaxcallan had a sociopolitical organization based on the sharing of power among various leaders (Gibson Reference Gibson1967; Martínez Baracs Reference Martínez Baracs2014). Leaders were of noble descent, and they controlled property, territory, and labor through an estate known as the teccalli—or the noble house (Muñoz Camargo Reference Muñoz Camargo1998 [1580]—the prevailing socioeconomic institution of several Puebla-Tlaxcala societies (Chance Reference Chance2000; Hicks Reference Hicks2009; Martínez Reference Martínez, Escobar Ohmstede and Rojas Rabiela2001). Another form of estate was the yaotequihuacalli (Anguiano and Chapa Reference Anguiano, Chapa, Carrasco and Broda1982), which was provided to the yaotequihua, or war captains (Zapata y Mendoza Reference Zapata y Mendoza1995 [1689]), that emerged from the common people (macehualtin) through outstanding war achievements (Durán Reference Durán2006[1579]:vol. I, chap. XI, pp. 111–117).

Tlaxcalla's collective form of government has been labeled as a confederation, complex altepetl, senate, señorío, or republic (Fargher et al. Reference Fargher, Heredia and Blanton2011b; García Cook and Merino Carrión Reference García Cook, Merino Carrión and Tlaxcala1986; Lockhart Reference Lockhart1992). A collective government polity is defined as “built on cooperation between individuals and groups making up a political community” (Blanton and Fargher Reference Blanton and Fargher2008:12), a condition that applies well to Tlaxcallan given that the polity was headed by dozens of leaders (López Corral and Carballo Reference López Corral and Carballo2021). Fargher and his colleagues (Reference Fargher, Blanton and Heredia2010:316) argue that Tlaxcallan's collective sharing of power was expressed through a decentralized settlement pattern, an abundance of large plazas with relatively small temples, and a lack of palaces. Following this perspective, the architectural complexes found at Tizatlán, another member of the confederation that lies east of the Tlaxcallan urban limits, are considered a capital where the Tlaxcallan leaders organized meetings for state-related issues (Fargher et al. Reference Fargher, Blanton and Heredia2010:12–13), unlike the historical version that identify these dwellings as the palace of the ruler Xicohténcatl the Elder (Díaz del Castillo Reference Díaz del Castillo1998; Muñoz Camargo Reference Muñoz Camargo1998 [1580]). However, considering the evidence of CA-2 and that Tlaxcallan probably had as many as 200 tecuitli (noble rulers) and yaotequihua (war captains) leaders, each with its own teccalli or yaotequihuacalli estate, we hypothesized that palaces did exist throughout the geopolitical unit, although each varied in size, morphology, composition, quality of building materials, and associated artifacts.

Taphonomy and architectural sequence of CA-2

CA-2 was explored with an extensive excavation of 216 m² (Figure 3), exposing a group of structures and spaces delimited by architectural elements designated as “units” (Figure 4). The complex consisted of a platform facing south, following the natural hill slope. It had a large patio in front and several associated rooms. The archaeological deposits were shallow, mainly due to partial damage caused by historical agricultural activities that left a scarce 40 cm of soil over the platform. Despite the destruction, we recovered substantial evidence on the overlap between architectural elements and a relatively complex occupational sequence. Through a stratification analysis scheme (Harris Reference Harris1989), we identified three phases of occupation and two of abandonment (Figures 5 and 6).

Figure 3.

Excavation of Operation 2 (CA-2), view from the west (see chapel in the background). Courtesy of the Tepeticpac Archaeological Project archive.

Figure 4.

Plan view of Architectural Complex CA-2 showing labeled features. Courtesy of the Tepeticpac Archaeological Project archive.

Figure 5.

Plan views of the (a) construction and (b) early occupation of CA-2. Courtesy of the Tepeticpac Archaeological Project archive.

Figure 6.

Plan views of the late (a) construction and (b) occupation of CA-2. Courtesy of the Tepeticpac Archaeological Project archive.

To complement the architectural/stratigraphic evaluation of CA-2, we used the proportions and distribution of ceramic artifacts as markers to identify elite groups (Olson and Smith Reference Olson and Smith2016; Smith Reference Smith1987). Ceramic types were classified according to a modal system employing the attributes of paste, surface finish, decoration, designs, and shapes (Rattray Reference Rattray2001) and were grouped as (1) wares for preparing, serving, and storing food; (2) ritual and ceremonial wares; (3) prestige, luxury, or possible ritual function wares; and (4) salt production or trade wares.

Service wares include pots, comales, cazuelas, ladles, bowls, and plates in which food can be served, prepared, and stored (Figures 7a–7m); these types proliferate in all deposits, and their proportion (between 80 and 96 percent) remains constant throughout the occupation of the complex—a pattern consistent with domestic activities carried out in a multifunctional palace. In turn, textile printing ceramic types linked to the trade of salt occur in low quantities (0.5 to 1.4 percent).

Figure 7.

Examples of service wares: (a–c, g–h) Camiltic Reddish Brown; (d, f, i) Chilcoztic Orange or Metallic; (e) Ayocuxqui Coarse; (j) San Francisco Smoothed Red; (k–m) Machiyotl Geometric Design. Examples of luxury types: (n, o) Amoxtli Codex Glyph and (p) Iztlaca False Negative. Courtesy of the Tepeticpac Archaeological Project archive.

Ceremonial wares include braziers, incense burners, and bowls and pots for rituals (Figures 8a–8i). Luxury goods, or bulk luxury goods, include polychrome vessels with fine decoration and complex “codex-style” glyphs (López Corral et al. Reference López Corral, Almanza, Ibarra Narváez and Santacruz Cano2019:340) (see Figures 7n–7p), which served ritual functions or were used as containers for food, offerings, or intoxicating drinks (Hernández Reference Hernández2010). Foreign imported types came from the Basin of Mexico (Cervantes et al. Reference Cervantes, Fournier, Carballal, Merino Carrión and García Cook2007), Puebla and Oaxaca (R. Spores Reference Spores1972:26–28), and north Tlaxcala (Heath-Stout Reference Heath-Stout2019; Merino Carrión Reference Carrión and Leonor1989) (Figures 8j–8o). Ritual ceramics, decorated types, and foreign pastes, because they are difficult to acquire, have a symbolic value that contributes to creating social distinctions (Olson and Smith Reference Olson and Smith2016:143).

Figure 8.

Examples of ceremonial wares: (a–b) Tlecaxitl Coarse; (c–d) Popocaxitl Incense Burner; (e) Tlaquilli Whitewashed Polychrome; (f–i) Chiltic Red Burnished. Examples of trade wares: (j–l) Tliltic Black Incised Burnished; (m) Aztec Black-on-Orange III; (n–o) Texcoco White and Black on Red; (p) Mixtec Black or Red on Cream and (o) Ehualtic Cream. Courtesy of the Tepeticpac Archaeological Project archive.

Architectural Complex 2 (CA-2)

CA-2 consisted of a platform with a façade that was 16 m long and 8 m wide, and a patio 7 m wide in front. The complex had at least six substantial space modification events. The original construction plan included an elevated platform (Units 1, 3A, and 3B) and a patio (Unit 4) to which the southeast room (Unit 5) was attached at a late stage. After a closing event that partially destroyed the original building, a central room of the patio (Unit 2) was built, and another one (Unit 5) was remodeled. The platform was oriented 23° west of north, whereas the central room (Unit 2) of the patio and the eastern wall of the room next to it were oriented 9° to the south in relation to the original platform.

Construction of CA-2

The construction of CA-2 required leveling the surface floor at different heights; the northern portion that supported the main building, was about 50 cm higher than the southern one. A set of platforms with rooms and a large patio with an extensive earthen floor were built (see Figure 5a). The platform façade (Units 3A and 3B) was erected with a thick retaining wall (1 m wide) and had a set of protruding and receding planes, following the style of other architectural elements registered at the site; a talud (inward-sloping façade surface or panel) was made with a careful arrangement of slabs and worked stones interleaved with rectangular bricks. The original morphology of this central section was altered by the late construction of Unit 2 but most likely had an access that connected the patio with the upper part of the platform. The eastern end of the façade showed a break toward the south side, but it is unclear if this section continued further south as part of the original design. A later addition of Unit 5 consisted of two rows of calcareous and basalt rocks joined with clay (tepetate) and sand mortar; this construction system is like the western counterpart of the same façade (Unit 3A).

The room walls on the platform were made of adobe, and their basal rows were embedded in the bedrock (tepetate). We only have evidence of one of these walls on the southwestern edge and, in the center, the perimeter of another room (Unit 1) whose contours and thick stucco floor were well preserved (see Figure 5a). At least 18 elaborated fragmented almenas (ceramic roof ornaments with varying decorative designs) that were decorated with stucco and black paint were recovered in the collapse over the patio (Figure 9), suggesting that at least the font part of the building was decorated with these ornaments. There are two types of almenas with decorative motifs similar to those seen in the Telleriano-Remensis and Florentine codexes. One had spirals with circular applications, probably representing cut seashells, that resemble the scepters called xiyatlatli carried by deities such as Mixcoatl and Quetzalcoatl. Another type of almena contained rectangular elements at the base, sometimes with a numeral inside, and curved elements on top (probably plant leaves or feathers), perhaps indicating a date.

Figure 9.

Excavation photograph of Unit2-Sub1 showing in situ location of two almena fragments. Courtesy of the Tepeticpac Archaeological Project archive.

Considering the central position and depth of Unit 1, this was an interior patio (ithualli) or vestibule around which other rooms would have been distributed. The south wall of Unit 1 is a late addition, indicating that there was an access that connected the lower south patio with this unit.

Early occupation

Several modifications were made to the platform during the early occupation. The west façade was modified by superimposing a layer of small limestone slabs (8 x 3 cm to 30 x 16 cm) placed longitudinally and alternating with thick rectangular bricks of different dimensions. On the other side of the façade, three perpendicular adobe walls were attached to another parallel wall (Unit 5). These do not align with the original design of the complex, indicating significant changes in the use and function of the patio (Figure 5a). The southern limit of Unit 1 was modified, breaking the original floor, and adding adobes, either to close the access or to place a step.

Several artifacts were recovered from an irregular pit excavated in the tepetate bedrock—probably a garbage dump (Feature 1)—located at the northern end of the excavated area. For this occupation, the volume of ceramics increases compared to the previous one (2.07 percent) (Figure 10), and 69 percent of the ceremonial wares consist of incense pan-shaped burners (Figure 11), which are considered ritual objects commonly found in Postclassic domestic contexts of the Basin of Mexico and Morelos (Carballo Reference Carballo2011:160; Huster et al. Reference Huster, Smith, Novic, Vigliani and Junco2013:209; Smith Reference Smith and Plunket2002) and are depicted in codex scenes associated with priestly rituals. Recovered sherds of luxury pottery (1.3 percent) and foreign types (1.3 percent) include Aztec Black and White on Red from the Basin of Mexico, and ceramics similar to those reported for the Postclassic in the Tehuacán Valley (MacNeish et al. Reference MacNeish, Peterson and Flannery1970:204) (Figure 12).

Figure 10.

Percentual comparison of the principal wares by deposit. Service and salt production wares were excluded. Courtesy of the Tepeticpac Archaeological Project archive.

Figure 11.

Percentual relationship of the main ritual ware forms by deposit. Courtesy of the Tepeticpac Archaeological Project archive.

Figure 12.

Percentual comparison of the principal trade wares by deposit. Courtesy of the Tepeticpac Archaeological Project archive.

Late construction and occupation

Upon the destruction of the early occupation of CA-2, Unit 2—of much lower construction quality—was built, and modifications were made to Unit 5. Unit 2 was a rectangular room of 2.9 x 3.1 m, with a banquette on one of its sides (Unit 2-Sub1) (Figure 13). The northwest corner of Unit 2 was embedded into Unit 3A (see Figure 6a), orienting it 9° to the south with respect to the rest of the complex, coinciding with the layout of the nearby Chapel of Tepeticpac. The structure had an earthen fill topped with a stoned floor that supported a rectangular hearth (tlecuilli) (40 x 50 cm) made of bricks. The south section, possibly a patio, was delimited by an isolated wall located in the southwestern portion. The occupational surface was probably the earthen floor of the early patio (Unit 4).

Figure 13.

Stratigraphic scheme (north–south section) showing the deposits associated with the early closure and late abandonment stages of CA-2. Courtesy of the Tepeticpac Archaeological Project archive.

Unit 5 was also remodeled to create a single roofed room with a front roof supported by posts. The previous adobe walls were destroyed, leaving just their start some 10 cm above the patio's earthen floor and filling in the intermediate spaces to accommodate a stuccoed floor. Its west wall was built offset 4° to the east compared to the alignment of the previous adobe bricks; this orientation seems intermediate between that of the early occupation and Unit 2. Likewise, with the construction of Unit 2 and Unit 5, a narrow corridor-like space was created (Unit 6).

Ceramics associated with the occupation surfaces of this stage (Units 5 and 6) comprise only 1.1 percent of the CA-2 sample, but this reflects the dynamics of cultural change that occurred during the Contact period. An impoverishment of ceramic complexes can be noticed because more than 80 percent of the pieces are bowls, of which 68.3 percent correspond to polychromes with geometric designs and burnished red types (see Figure 11); burnished red decoration wares were highly consumed among Iberian and indigenous elites of the Contact period (Charlton et al. Reference Charlton, Fournier and Cervantes1990). Interestingly, the amount of ritual pottery grows proportionally and is followed by the occurrence of incense burners (66.6 percent of ritual pottery) and two brazier fragments. Foreign vessels (3 percent) also augment, signaling both the establishment of new interaction networks with the Basin of Mexico (54 percent) and a decline of ceramic trade interactions with southern Puebla–northern Oaxaca and northern Tlaxcala regions (see Figure 12).

Abandonment

The abandonment of Late CA-2 is marked by the fills underlying Layer A in Units 2, 5, and 6, which covered mixed pre-Hispanic and Early Colonial–period materials, including metal artifacts (Figure 13). The irregular cavities (Features 4, 5, 6, and 7) located in the southwestern section of the patio contained sherds that glued with others from Layer A, implying that they are part of the same late occupation or abandonment. At the bottom-center of Unit 2, there was an irregular hole (see Figure 6b).

Layer A was affected by agricultural activities after the abandonment of CA-2. This deposit contained fragmented codex-type polychrome vessels, many of which were recovered above the patio area (Unit 4) and therefore can be associated with the closure of the early occupation. Some of these luxury codex-type ceramics include allusions to the war, sacrifice, and nobility iconographic complex (López Corral et al. Reference López Corral, Almanza, Ibarra Narváez and Santacruz Cano2019:341–342, Figure 3b) (Figure 14). Additional materials show the entry of pastes that became popular in the New Spain regime—such as majolica, glazed ware, and porcelain—and new ceramic forms such as lantern-type braziers (see Figure 8c); around 50 percent of imported ceramics come from the Basin of Mexico and comprise rather late types, such as Aztec Black-on-Orange III and IV wares.

Figure 14.

Amoxtli Glyph Codex type vessel recovered at CA-2 exhibiting the iconography of the war, sacrifice, and nobility complex (also see López Corral et al. Reference López Corral, Almanza, Ibarra Narváez and Santacruz Cano2019:341–342, Figure 3b). Courtesy of the Tepeticpac Archaeological Project archive.

The evidence implies that the definitive abandonment of CA-2 was linked to the relocation of the population from the summit to the valley plain where the Colonial city of Tlaxcala was founded. This readjustment was most likely related to the significant mid-sixteenth-century population decline that originated from epidemics, which is reflected in the cadastral records of the Padrones de Tlaxcala (1556 to 1557) (Rojas Reference Rojas1987), but that was also due to taxation and religious conversion intentions promoted under the Spanish government; these changes may have allowed indigenous people some degree of participation within the new commercial and ritual order.

Interpretation of CA-2

The architecture of CA-2 basically includes its façade, the back of a possible interior patio or vestibule, the base of a wall and the patio to the south, and several structures attached to the front of its façade; on the platform, the northern limit is demarcated by a possible midden. Other rooms from the early occupation were probably located on the north section but unfortunately did not preserve.

The early construction stage of CA-2 probably functioned as an elite enclosure, considering its privileged location within the settlement, the quality of construction materials, and the type of recovered artifacts, including codex-type ceramics with leadership insignia and allusions to warfare (see Figure 14). Also, almenas with symbolic rulership or religious elements, such as xiyatlatli scepters (see Figure 9), make the architecture stand out given that these adornments are usually used in public architecture related to governing groups, as seen in graphic representations of civic-ceremonial precincts in codexes from the Puebla-Tlaxcala-Oaxaca region. Likewise, the existence of imported pottery signals a substantial degree of commercial linking with other regions, including southern Puebla and northern Oaxaca. Luxury ware include codex-type ceramics with probable logographic writing that so far have only been observed in minuscule proportions compared to other parts of Tepeticpac, or in equally prominent civic-religious-administrative locations such as Ocotelulco and Tizatlán (Contreras Reference Contreras1992; Fuentes Reference Fuentes, García Cook and Merino Carrión1996).

The materials from the collapse of the early occupation reflect important domestic activities. We recorded a substantial proportion of wares for serving and preparing food, data that coincides with the analysis of around 2,300 zooarchaeological remains that registered a consumption of at least 51 animal taxa including wild (e.g., rabbits, deer, peccary, quails, royal eagles, ducks, turtles) and domesticated (dogs and turkeys) (López Corral and Santacruz Cano Reference López Corral and Santacruz Cano2020:167–171). We also registered an increase of incense burners (70 percent of ritual ware) related to ritual activity (Huster et al. Reference Huster, Smith, Novic, Vigliani and Junco2013:209), and figurines with representative elements of deities such as Tlaloc, Ehecatl–Quetzalcoatl, Yacatecuhtli, and an Ave María.

The closure deposits also provided evidence of craft production activities. Artifacts associated with thread production and textile weaving included needles, complete pins, and spindle whorls used for processing short and fine fibers (such as cotton), and long raw ones (such as maguey fibers) (Ibarra et al. Reference Ibarra, López Corral and Santacruz Cano2018) (Figure 15a). Additionally, the analysis of obsidian artifacts points to an industry primarily focused on prismatic blade production and, to a lesser extent, bifaces and small projectile points made from blades and flakes (Vicencio Castellanos Reference Vicencio and Gabriel2015). The obsidian was imported from at least six sources (Paredón, Zaragoza-Oyameles, Otumba, Sierra de las Navajas, Pico de Orizaba, and Guadalupe Victoria), probably using commercial links with sites near the deposits (López Corral et al. Reference López Corral, Gabriel Vicencio Castellanos, Cano, Gentil and Arciniega2021:Table 2) but also through the marketplace, considering that Tlaxcallan likely had an open type of market (Marino et al. Reference Marino, Fargher, Meissner, Martindale Johnson, Blanton and Heredia Espinoza2020). However, given the political and military circumscription that Tlaxcallan suffered at the end of the Late Postclassic (Gentil et al. Reference Gentil, Gabriel Vicencio Castellanos and Hirth2021; Millhauser et al. Reference Millhauser, Fargher, Heredia Espinoza and Blanton2015), obsidian may have entered the region through political networks, itinerant craftsmen, the black market, or corruption strategies (López Corral et al. Reference López Corral, Gabriel Vicencio Castellanos, Cano, Gentil and Arciniega2021).

Figure 15.

(a) Spindle whorls and the (b) omechicahuaztli instrument found during the excavation of CA-2. Courtesy of the Tepeticpac Archaeological Project archive.

The location, architecture, and the type and variety of materials recovered indicate that the early occupation of CA-2 was probably an elite residential space linked to the state. Its residents concentrated on a range of economic functions and ritual activities related to agricultural cycles and the gods who provided maintenance, as has been identified in other similar contexts (Carballo Reference Carballo2016). This arrangement is consistent with the model of the “house society” that characterized various groups in Mesoamerica, where domestic ritual was fundamental among corporate groups—including lineages—to promote cohesion and achieve detachment from those with less access to knowledge and connections to the supernatural (Carballo Reference Carballo2011:156; Gillespie Reference Gillespie, Joyce and Gillespie2000; Plunket Reference Plunket and Plunket2002).

Although we cannot determine when CA-2 was initially built, radiocarbon dates and historical information suggest that the end of the early occupation and the abandonment of the late stage correspond to the early sixteenth century. Likewise, Unit 2 corresponds to the latest phase of the complex and was erected around the same time the Tepeticpac Chapel was constructed between 1533 and 1552 (Santacruz Cano and López Corral Reference Santacruz Cano and López Corral2011), indicating an ideological change in the architectural idea toward European standards.

The political, economic, and ideological rearrangements that took place after the arrival of the Spaniards must have had an impact on both the local settlement pattern and the function and use of domestic compounds, especially those associated with elite groups. The closure of CA-2 during the Contact and Early Colonial periods reflects the transition to a new form of social and government structure. After the deconstruction of the pre-Hispanic space, the rooms were rebuilt under a new ideological precept with a more modest scale and style, serving either as a space for food processing or as a room.

The residents of the late stage related to Unit 2 maintained commercial interaction with groups from Central Mexico, preserving a certain continuity in their socioeconomic status. The proportions of imported ceramics remained almost the same, providing certain stability in the acquisition and use of these artifacts. A fragment of omechicahuaztli (guiro instrument), considered of high cultural value, also corresponds to this occupation (Figure 15b); these artifacts are related to elite contexts and have been documented as part of funerary ceremonies dedicated to deceased warriors (Pereira Reference Pereira2005).

The use of Unit 2 must have been brief because after 1556–1557, Tepeticpac was probably abandoned, and its population relocated around the newly founded city of Tlaxcala. Archaeologically, this brevity is manifested by the scarce presence of diagnostic Early Colonial materials such as majolica, glazed ceramics, or metal objects, and only a tiny sample of animal remains of Indo-European origin (0.09 percent of the entire collection) (López Corral and Santacruz Cano Reference López Corral and Santacruz Cano2020:167–171).

Oversized house or Tlaxcalteca palace?

Distinguishing between an elite house and a palace requires reviewing the criteria used for each case. It is likely that the design of architectural spaces, the type of construction materials, and the consumption of certain goods may be similar between an elite household and a palace. However, both cases can be differentiated by detecting markers related to ruling individuals in iconography and architectural decorative elements (e.g., almenas, mural paintings, ornaments, stele), and the multifunctionality of the architectural complex. The multifunctionality may include evidence of a varied form of production or consumption of goods, particularly those of greater economic value, such as textiles, foreign luxury goods, last-stage production of obsidian artifacts, and a diversity of local and nonlocal animals and plants consumed.

To understand the configuration of CA-2, it is necessary to consider all the available archeological evidence and contrast it with the local written history. This is because what was recorded during the Early Colonial period does not necessarily apply to the Postclassic. Taking into consideration all evidence, CA-2 was probably a multifunctional complex, perhaps a section of a tecpan (palace), which formed part of the living quarters of an elite group from a noble house (teccalli). The comparison of the evidence in CA-2 of Tepeticpac in relation to other elite and nonelite architectural complexes excavated within the Tlaxcallan geopolitical entity, as well as those of similar characteristics from other sites, show that the overall architectural quality and construction materials of the highest status enclosures reflect the multifunctionality that a palace economy exhibited (Table 1).

Table 1.

Comparison of 10 elite and one rural nonelite Late Postclassic residences from Tlaxcala, the Basin of Mexico, and Oaxaca.

In some historical sources from Tlaxcala, the terms teccalli and tecpa (synonymous for tecpan) are used interchangeably. Although tecpa probably denotes the structure of the palace (tecpancalli), it often describes the social structure of its surroundings (Megged Reference Megged2021:124). For example, in 1573, a document about a dispute over the inheritance and ownership of land in the town of Tlaltepexic narrates that Don Diego de Soto, governor of Tlaxcala, ordered an investigation regarding the tecpa domains of a person named Tecpatzin, grandfather of Doña Inés Teohuaxochitl, who claimed to have been the legitimate owner of those lands since 1473. The document affirms that the ruins of a building made of adobe with thick sunken walls and covered with plaster were identified as Tecpatzin's property. Another palace type of construction is exhibited in the “Genealogy of Zacatelco” regarding an individual named Coatzin teuctli, who was the ancestral founder of a calli (house) or minor noble house of the teccalli of Tepeyanco. In this scene, the leader is seated inside a tecpancalli made with adobe walls at the base and a roof topped with almenas (Megged Reference Megged2021:150, Figure 6). In both cases, the construction of palace-type structures is similar to the archeological remains of CA-2, including the use of brick decorations, adobes, stuccoed floors, and almenas. Also, these historic documents support that in the Tlaxcalteca concept of “palace,” there was a key ruling element designated to tecuitli leaders and correlated with the political-economic structure of the teccalli; it also shows that this idea was probably widespread among indigenous nobilities of central Mexico, as seen in the still standing sixteenth-century palace “casa de la Cacica” in Teposcolula (Terraciano Reference Terraciano2001:158–165).

CA-2 yielded a variety of daily life–related artifacts and goods, particularly serving wares, animal bones, and items related to thread making and obsidian artifact production, but also codex-style luxury wares. Altogether, such product diversity suggests consumption activities at the domestic level but resembling more the tradition of tax labor payment (tlacalaquilli) by macehualtin (nonnoble) groups to elite rulers—a strategy well documented in regional annals (Carrasco Reference Carrasco1973). In the Puebla-Tlaxcala region, this form of taxation included the provision of personal services, food preparation, working and guarding agricultural lands, and supplying raw materials, as was recorded in historical sources of the sixteenth-century (Martínez Reference Martínez1984; Reyes Reference Reyes1988; Zorita Reference Zorita1963). This points more to a type of palace economy in which multiple productive economic activities take place within an elite-related architectural complex and at a greater scale and quality than others in the same locality. This is also consistent with other documented cases of economies where a palace behaves like a large domestic complex or estate, being perceived as an “oversized house,” as has been observed in the Canaan region during the Middle Bronze Age and other settlements of the Near East (e.g., Manzanilla Reference Manzanilla2001:158–166; Yasur-Landau et al. Reference Yasur-Landau, Cline, Koh, Ben-Shlomo, Marom, Ratzlaff and Samet2015:13).

Recently, Fargher and colleagues (Reference Fargher, Antorcha-Pedemonte, Heredia Espinoza, Blanton, Corral, Cook, Millhauser, Marino, Rojo, Alcántara and Costa2020) reported the remains of another architectural complex at Tepeticpac, just a few meters north of CA-2, on terrace T.30 of Sector C. This complex presented considerable dimensions and was strategically located on a raised platform, presenting stuccoed walls and floors and decorative bricks like those found in CA-2. The building, in general, presents little ostentation and low architectural space complexity, so it did not seem to correspond to a Mesoamerican palace according to the formal parameters (Fargher et al. Reference Fargher, Antorcha-Pedemonte, Heredia Espinoza, Blanton, Corral, Cook, Millhauser, Marino, Rojo, Alcántara and Costa2020:13). We agree that both buildings on T.30 and CA-2 are quite modest, resembling more of a residential structure in terms of scale and type of construction materials, yet both are set on one of the most prominent points within the Tlaxcallan urban core and basically share the same types of ceramics and other cultural materials that display the consumption of a diversity of products. Certainly, the size and ostentation of Tlaxcallan local palaces do contrast considerably with those from political entities with centralized authority, polarized access to power, and supreme rulers, with the Mexica and Acolhua of Texcoco being the most salient contemporary example (Alva Ixtlilxochitl Reference Alva Ixtlilxochitl1997; López Luján and Chávez Reference López Luján, Chávez, López Luján and MCewan2010; see also Codex Quinatzin in Mohar [Reference Mohar2004]). However, the type of associated materials, the construction, and the ornamentation design of the building (including the use of almenas), in conjunction with local historical documents, suggest that spaces such as CA-2—and perhaps also T.30—had a political-economic use and functionality consistent with the teccalli socioeconomic system.

The relative architectural simplicity of complexes T.30 and CA-2 in comparison to those of other contemporary Nahua, Mixtec, or Zapotec populations (see Barber and Joyce Reference Barber, Joyce, Jessica Joyce and Sarro2006) might be explained by considering the collective form of governance in Tlaxcallan. Perhaps rulers sought to keep a modest image according to their ethic code and displayed authority based on humility and reticence, in the same way that they were required to do so during their public ceremonies and severe penitence rituals of tecuitli promotion (Torquemada Reference Torquemada1969 [1615]:chap. XXIX). But having a collective government does not necessarily mean that everyone had an equal socioeconomic hierarchy. According to the analysis from CA-2, Tlaxcallan leaders must have highlighted hierarchical differences, including economic privileges such as the control of tribute and labor, or access to luxury goods. The key difference may lie in the genealogical ties that tecuitli made with respect to their inclusion in a teccalli noble house, or the possibility of obtaining benefits through social mobility, as the yaotequihua did. This argument gains strength if we consider how some individuals from the Early Colonial period fought to maintain their status as nobles and their bloodline connections to a teccalli ancestor to justify or strengthen their privileged social position in the face of the new Spanish political regime (Hicks Reference Hicks2009; Lockhart Reference Lockhart1992; Martínez Baracs Reference Martínez Baracs2014).