An Unexplored Realm in the Heartland of the Southern Gulf ... - Famsi

A system of señoríos, lordships or noble estates, predated even Aztec imperial
dominions along the Southern Gulf lowlands (Delgado-Calderón 2000; Scholes and
Warren 1965:779) (Figure 4.11). This well-established organization of feudal-type
provinces was part of a hierarchal political and economic structure that was adhered to by
the Aztec imperialists and adopted later by the Spanish conquistadors. These
sociopolitical divisions contained major centers (cabeceras), and subsidiary towns
(sujetos) that supported the centers.
The Aztec conquest of the Papaloapan Basin resulted in the establishment of a
tribute collection center and military garrison in Tochtepec (Tuxtepec), near the present-
day border of Oaxaca and Veracruz. Chronicles refer to the region as the Province of
Tochtepec and describe a major tributary town of Tlacotlalpan, located on the lower
Papaloapan near the Gulf of Mexico (Berdan and Anawalt 1992; Delgado-Calderón
1997b) (Figure 3.11). This province was the southernmost tribute-paying region along the
Gulf Coast and may have included the eastern section of the Tuxtla Mountains (Berdan
and Anawalt 1997:112-114; Scholes and Warren 1965:777).
The emphasis on the Papaloapan Basin and the Tuxtla Mountain region appears to extend
deep into the region’s history. Diehl (2000a:173) speaks of the convergence of “natural
communication routes” in these areas by Early Classic traders from Teotihuacán that,
“exhibit evidence of sustained Teotihuacán contacts.” From the Early Classic to the
Postclassic periods, the overland routes converged along the Papaloapan at Tuxtepec.
From this point, they separated; one going south to Oaxaca and the Pacific side of the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the other following the Papaloapan River north toward the
Gulf and then east to the Tuxtla Mountain region. The Aztec Pocheteca, or long-distance
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