Around 1430-1440 it was conquered by the Aztecs/Mexica and became a city tributary of the Triple Alliance. During the Aztec apogee, Tenayuca was connected to Tlatelolco, the twin city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, through a causeway, possibly to ensure quick access to the city and its surroundings which were rich in raw materials.
In the 16th century when the Spanish invaded the North American continent and reached what is today Mexico City, Tenayuca waged a ferocious battle, but eventually surrendered to the Europeans in 1521. In the mid-16th century Franciscan friars founded a Catholic church, using much of the construction material robbed from the ancient temple. Shown in this photo is a closeup of the façade of the church, where a stone carved by the builders of the church includes both the Nahuatl name glyph and the Latin letters for the city of San Bartolo.
A bibliography has been collected for this project.
