page_title: Tehuantepec
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Tehuantepec / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Guiengola, Oaxaca, Mexico: East Pyramid Deutsch: Guiengola, Oaxaca, Mexiko: Ostpyramide
context_page_description: Tehuantepec is a city and municipality in the southeast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Tehuantepec District in the west of the Istmo Region. The area was important in pre Hispanic period as part of a trade route that connected Central America with what is now the center of Mexico. Later it became a secondary capital of the Zapotec dominion, before it was conquered by the Spanish in the early 16th century.
  The city is still the center of Zapotec culture in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and is the second largest in the region. The city is known for its women and their traditional dress, which was adopted by Frida Kahlo. Tehuantepec has a reputation for being a "matriarchal society." Women do dominate the local markets and are known to taunt men. However, political power is still the domain of men. The city experienced a short economic boom in the early 20th century related to a rail line that was built linking the two oceans, but it was soon eclipsed by the Panama Canal. There have been plans to resurrect the line linking the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Ocean but financing has been a problem.
context_section_description: The full name of the city and municipality is Santo Domingo Tehuantepec. "Tehuantepec" comes from Nahuatl and has been generally regarded to mean "wild animal (tecuani) hill (tepec)".  The name was given to the area by the Aztecs, purportedly because of the ferocity of the native Zapotec warriors they encountered there. The Zapotec name for the area is Guie-Ngola, or Large Hill/Rock, with the city name being Guisi’si Gui.  Santo Domingo was added by Bartolomé de las Casas as he passed by in honor of the Dominican church was had already been established here. From pre Hispanic times, the settlement has been represented by an Aztec glyph, the earliest example of which comes from the Guevea Codex, also known as the Zapotec Codex. This glyph represents a hill with a jaguar, an ancient totem animal throughout MesoAmerica. Thus, the "wild animal" component of the hill's name may actually be related to a recognition of an ancient religious meeting site associated with the symbol of the jaguar.  The Nahuatl word "tehuan" actually means "among the people" or "a gathering", i.e. a meeting place.
  The hill is divided into sixty six parts and each part has a circle.
  The archeology of the area around the city is little studied, in part because the main archeological sites are difficult to access and the climate of the southern Isthmus makes excavation work difficult. Much of the area's early cultural interactions are only speculated about but it is known there was contact with Teotihuacan, Tula, Monte Alban and later, Tenochtitlan . The Tehuantepec area in the very early Pre Classic period was on the periphery of the zone where the Olmecs had influence as is noted by artifacts.  The area's initial importance was not as a center of a dominion but rather as part of a trade route which connected Central America with what is now central Mexico. Through its trade routes passed manta rays, jade, other precious stones, shells, sponges, gold, amber, salt, feathers, furs, cotton, spices, honey and cocoa. The main control point for this trade route in this area was mostly likely Lass Gui’e’e, according to recent excavations. This site has a history of at least 3500 years with Olmec and Chiapas-origin figures found in its oldest sections. This and the abundance of marine shells indicate that this site in the Cañada de Tehuantepec was the main axis of communication between the Oaxacan highlands the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and into Guatemala since early in Mesoamerican history.
  The Zapotec kingdom of Zaachila expanded into the Tehuantepec area under Cosijoeza starting in 1487, pushing the native Huaves to the narrow coastal strips around the Tehuantepec lagoons. With this, the Zapotecs gained control of the salt deposits of the area, which was a valuable commodity. Tehuantepec became a second Zapotec capital. This dominion had relations with the Aztecs but did not pay tribute and controlled the trade route to Central America. The influence of this dominion extended west to Nexapa and along the coast to Tlapanatepec. Tequixixtlan and Xallapan were subordinate dominions, ruled by governors sent from Tehuantepec. Tehuantepec increased in importance as the original capital of Zaachila came under pressure from the Mixtecs and later from the Aztecs by the end of the 15th century. The Aztecs’ interest here was the control the trade route between the Mexican Plateau to Soconusco in Chiapas and into Guatemala. The Aztecs attacked Tehuantepec in 1496, and it was defended by an alliance of Mixtecs and Zapotecs. These two groups normally fought each other, but allied in the face of the foreign threat. This and the city's formidable defenses led to a seven-month siege under Aztec ruler Axayacatl. The next Aztec chief Ahuiztotl, decided to marry his daughter Coyolicatzin to the Zapotec king Cosijoeza. This ended the war.
  At the time of the Conquest and for some time after, the area was dominated by three linguistic groups, Zapotec, Mixe and Chontal, which are unrelated. The Zapotecs occupied the area from the Sierra Madre del Sur and Xallapan up to Tehuantepec. 
caption: East pyramid of Guiengola
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