Tlatelolco (archaeological site)

On one side of the square is this excavated Tlatelolco site, on a second is the oldest European school of higher learning in the Americas called the Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco, and on the third stands a mid-20th-century modern office complex, formerly housing the Mexican Foreign Ministry, and since 2005 used as the Centro Cultural Universitario of UNAM (National University of Mexico).

This indicates that the site is older than previously thought, according to the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (National Institute of Anthropology and History; INAH).

(De La Cruz, González‐Oliver et al, 524)[3] The above is not the only theory that has been studied, as it has also been proposed that children were chosen as victims of sacrifices, because their youth provided them with purity to properly communicate with the gods and obtain their favor (López Austin 1984, Vol.1: 324).

(De La Cruz, González‐Oliver et al, 524)[3] In Tlatelolco, the burials that have been found have demonstrated a great diversity in the form and customs with which the deceased were buried.

[7] On 10 February 2009, INAH archaeologists announced the discovery of a mass grave containing forty-nine human skeletons, laid out in neat lines on their backs, with their arms crossed and wrapped in maguey leaves.

[9] The remains found include those of forty-five young adults, two children, a teenager, and an elderly person wearing a ring that potentially signifies a higher status.

[9] The grave contained evidence both of Aztec rituals, such as offerings of incense and animal sacrifice, and Spanish elements, such as buttons and a bit of glass.

In the case of Tlatelolco, there was a lot of movement and interaction among the indigenous peoples who occupied the region, thanks to this, the design in the ceramic artifacts reveals unique styles of some tribes or geographic regions that influenced the life of the Tlatelolcan society due to its importance as a commercial center and interchange between different cultures, and we can observe the evolution of ceramic utensils from the beginning of the city to the occupation by the Spanish colonizers.

In the first half of the 15th century, this Aztec pottery, in the strict sense, is mostly presented in Texcoco and the dependent towns of it, because this city was in those days in full apogee under the scepter of Nezahualcóyotl.

These examples show once again how the most insignificant and fragile part of man's cultural heritage can play an important role as a witness in the verification of historical facts and in supporting written traditions.