Archaeologists may have discovered lost settlement of Apancalecan in Mexico

[Judi Lynn]

1. INAH confirms discovery of pre-Hispanic settlement in Guerrero

MND Staff
August 2, 2023



Apancalecan archaeological site in Guerrero, Mexico
Until now, Apancalecan was known only through references in pre-Hispanic codices – but may now have finally been found. (Frédéric Henri Jean-Marc Bochet/INAH)


An archeological site believed to be the important Aztec settlement of Apancalecan has been discovered in the Costa Grande region of the state of Guerrero, about 100 km north of Acapulco, announced archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) this week.

Until now, Apancalecan was known only through references in codices — pictorial manuscripts that recorded the pre-Hispanic history of Mexico. Apancalecan’s name in Nahua means “place of the houses with water channels,” and it is referred to as a “main town” or “head town” in the Matrícula de Tributos codex of the early 1500s.



Apancalecan glyph
The glyph representing the town of Apancalecan. Its name in Nahua means “place of the houses with water channels.” (Mesolore)

The site in the El Cerrito community of Tecpan de Galeana — not far from the highway that connects Zihuatanejo and Acapulco — includes one large mound and “26 minor mounds … such as altars and elongated structures in a good state of conservation … as well as residential areas and ball-playing fields,” INAH noted in its Tuesday press release.

Located 850 meters from the Tecpan River and 1 km from the Tetitlán Lagoon, the complex also includes “deep holes … possibly associated with water storage and dams,” according to anthropologist Rodolfo Lobato Rodríguez.

More:
https://mexiconewsdaily.com/culture/pre-hispanic-settlement-discovery-guerrero/