Otumba is the name of an important Aztec city-state in the Basin of Mexico. The term is a Spanish corruption of the Nahua word (the language spoken by the Aztecs) “Otompan” which means “land of the Otomí –an ethnic group from Central Mexico. Population estimates for Otumba range from 2,500 to 6,500 persons in the urban center and between 19,000 and 75,000 for the entire city-state. Its development spanned between AD 900 to its apogee during the Late Aztec period (1328-1520).
Otumba: From Small Village to City-State
During the Early Postclassic, (around AD 900), Otumba was one of the many villages that arose in the arid Teotihuacan Valley, after the decline of Teotihuacan as the great metropolis of Central Mexico.
Before the Aztec arrived in the Valley of Mexico, Otumba was an independent center often at war with its neighbor cities. In the first decades of 1400 AD, Otumba along with other cities in the Teotihuacan valley became tributaries of the Tepanecs of Azcapotzalco, when the Tepanecs, allied with their vassals Aztecs/Mexica were fighting the city-state of Texcoco to gain control over the Basin of Mexico.
By 1430, the political alliances were reversed and the Aztecs established the famous Triple Alliance with the cities of Texcoco and Tlacopan, defeating the Tepanecs. Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, became the most important city-state in the Valley of Mexico.
Under Aztec rule, Otumba became an important city-state of the empire thanks to its strategic position on major trade routes and its closeness to an important obsidian source.
Archaeological Research at Otumba
Research at Otumba was directed by archaeologist Thomas Charlton between 1960-1980. An incredibly detailed surface survey helped collecting huge amounts of artifacts related to craft production such as figurine molds, ceramic spindle whorls, and remains from obsidian working. These data allowed the archaeologists to reconstruct the importance of this peripheral city-state as a center of craft production. This was a turning point research since before archaeologists though that specialized craft production mainly occurred within the Aztec capital, where the bulk of the production was directed.
The territory occupied by the city-state of Otumba consisted of small and large hamlets and the urban center of Otumba. The city core was occupied by elite residences, a pyramid plaza complex, and an important market. Other important activity areas recognized at Otumba included an administrative center and different craft workshops.
Otumba’s Marketplace and Craft Specialization
During Aztec times, Otumba was an important market that met once a week (every five days). It was important for the abundance of the transactions as well as for the quality of its craft products. Specialized products included: obsidian blades, and ornaments, basalt (a volcanic stone) implements, such as grinding stones and non domestic artifacts, pottery figurines and vessels, textiles of cotton and maguey fibers, jewels.
Otumba commercial importance derived also by being the center of an important Pochteca guild. Pochteca is the name for professional long-distance merchants, who occupied an important role in Aztec society. They held a relatively high status position between nobles and commoners and were organized independently into guilds. Membership of these guilds was strictly controlled and hereditary.
Otumba and the End of the Aztec Empire
Otumba occupied a strategic position within the core of the Aztec empire and it played a crucial role in its destruction. In the summer of 1520, an important battle occurred between Aztecs and Spaniards outside the town of Otumba. Even if native forces outnumbered the Europeans, their armies were defeated. This event marked the end of Otumba as an independent city-state as well as an important success in course of the Spanish conquest.
Sources
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to the Ancient Mesoamerica and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Charlton TH, Nichols DL, and Charlton CLO. 1991. Aztec Craft Production and Specialization: Archaeological Evidence from the City-State of Otumba, Mexico. World Archaeology 23(1):98-114.
Smith Michael, 2003, The Aztecs, Second Edition, Blackwell Publishing
Van Tuerenhout Dirk R., 2005, The Aztecs. New Perspectives, ABC-CLIO, Santa BArbara, California