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Historical Archaeology
In spite of the commotion produced by the destruction and death accompanying the Spanish Conquest, the line that marked the end of the pre-Hispanic era and the beginning of New Spain was extremely subtle. As may be seen in this hall, some completely Mexica cultural elements survived for some time intermixed with the new European ones, though developing with time into new forms and styles that little by little led to the disappearance of the ancient world. The objects exhibited here cover a time span from the beginning of the colonial period to the 20th century.
Taking a journey through time, we see how Moctezuma II
witnessed different phenomena that he interpreted as dire omens, noteworthy among which was the vision of a long-tailed comet. When the Spaniards arrived, Moctezuma thought that Ce-Ácatl Topiltzin Quetzalcóatl
Once the war of conquest began and after several days of bloody battle, the Mexica besieged and Moctezuma already dead, Hernán Cortés abandoned the city of Tenochtitlan in June of 1519. On the so-called "Sad Night," the Spaniards, weighed down by rich booty, try to escape by the Tlacopan causeway, today Tacuba, and given the haste of their flight, a Spanish soldier lost this gold bar.
In the Templo Mayor excavations, many objects were found from the time of the Spanish occupation. From the beginning of this occupation is the base of a colonial column that shows the re-use of pre-Hispanic sculptures with religious content for the construction of colonial buildings.
Heraldic coats of arms were also used by nobles, both Creoles as well as peninsular Spanish. The designs corresponded to surnames and were placed on the facades of houses, in order to distinguish one family from another.
From 1541, the conquered Mexicas began to learn different techniques of European pottery making, such as glazed wares and the use of the potter's wheel. Thus, indigenous ceramics acquire new forms and styles. In addition, beginning in the 16th century, trade with the Orient was conducted on the Manila Galleon, which brought luxurious products such as silks, porcelains and ivories to the port of Acapulco. It was in 1815 when the last Manila Galleon arrived at this port, thus ending a 250-year period of continuous trade.
One of these new techniques, the product of European influence, was the type of ceramics known as majolica, which was earthenware covered by a glassy metallic layer produced by a mixture of tin, lead, sand, salt and water and that according to the regulations of potters in 1653 had to have an arroba (25 pounds or Spanish liquid measure varying from 2.6 to 5.6 gallons) of lead and six pounds of tin.
The technique of blown glass began to be worked in Puebla in 1542, and glass sheets for windows and stained glass was made until the 19th century. Of special interest in this hall are several glass objects; for example, the fragment of stained glass painted with the representation of the face of a child, a knitting needle, and a "burial bottle." The tile mosaic is another of the techniques of Arab origin used during the colonial period and there are quite a few examples that were found in the excavations of the Templo Mayor Project and as part of the Urban Archaeology Program.
As a result of the strong European influence in the first half of the 18th century, the use of the mold increased in the production of a series of figures of light brown clay, which was that most favored during this time. We should recall that the use of molds was already common from the pre-Hispanic period.
In archaeological work a visitor's well was found, which is a piece of ceramics that possibly served as a device for the channeling of water, in addition to serving to clean the sediment accumulated in tubes.
On the other hand, the use of metals such as gold, silver and copper was a common practice in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica by the Postclassic period. By the arrival of the Spaniards, the exploitation and use of other metals such as bronze and tin, among others, as well as new techniques, increased this horizon substantially. In the excavations of the Templo Mayor and the Urban Archaeology Program were found many metal objects which correspond to different stages of our history, depending on the depth at which they were found. Thus we have spoons, thimbles, a bracelet, scissors, nails, buttons, needles, a lipstick case and gunpowder, among others, in addition to coins that also cover several historical periods.
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Last Modified: January 14, 1998.
Museo del Templo Mayor, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e História, México.
Seminario #8, Centro Histórico. Cuauhtémoc, México, D.F. 06060
©Copyright 1997
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