Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised May 30, 2026

Tilantongo

Tilantongo was a Mixtec city-state and Postclassic political centre in the Mixteca Alta region of the modern-day state of Oaxaca, which is now visible as an archeological site near the modern town of Santiago Tilantongo.

Last revised
May 30, 2026
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Tilantongo
Ñuu Tnoo-Huahi Andehui
Eight Deer Jaguar Claw (Iya Nacuaa Teyusi Ñaña, 1063 - 1115), Lord of Tilantogo
Tilantongo
Location within Mexico
LocationOaxacaMexico
RegionOaxaca
Coordinates17°15′N 97°17′W / 17.250°N 97.283°W / 17.250; -97.283
History
PeriodsPostclassic
CulturesMixtec
Site notes
Discovered1960s
ArchaeologistsAlfonso Caso

Tilantongo was a Mixtec city-state and Postclassic political centre in the Mixteca Alta region of the modern-day state of Oaxaca, which is now visible as an archeological site near the modern town of Santiago Tilantongo.12

Tilantongo, Temple of Heaven, from Codex Nuttall source ↗

Toponymy

Tilantongo seems to be the Nahuatl translation of the original Mixtec name. Tillantonco meaning 'at the small black place' (tlilli 'black)', -ton diminutive, -co locative). In Mixtec, this site was known as Ñuu Tnoo-Huahi Andehui meaning 'Black Town-Temple of Heaven.'1 Although, modern day speakers of the local variant simply call the town ÑūTnúu, The Black Town (Also referenced to as the Charred Town, Burnt Town, and other names).

History

Archeological excavations conducted by Alfonso Caso in the 1960s suggest that Tilantongo is among the oldest settlements in Oaxaca with architecture from the preclassic Monte Albán I phase. Preclassic and Classic remains were found at Monte Negro and the Postclassic settlement was located in the present day town of Tilantongo, slightly north of the Classic settlement.

The documentary record shows that Tilantongo was an important Mixtec polity in the Postclassic period. Mixtec picture codices, such as the Codex Zouche-Nuttall and Codex Bodley, tell the history of Lord 8 Deer who ruled Tilantongo in the eleventh century, and how he linked the Tilantongo dynasty with the central Mexican Toltecs.3

References

References