Tzintzuntzan

Tzintzuntzan, meaning “place of hummingbirds,” was the capital of the Purépecha state (also known as the Tarascan state), located on the shores of Lake Pátzcuaro in present-day Michoacán, Mexico. Rising in the early 14th century, the Purépecha became a formidable power that checked Aztec expansion to the northwest, establishing the second-largest state in Mesoamerica until their downfall after the Spanish conquest.

Unlike the Aztec and Maya, the Purépecha left no surviving written records, and much of what is known today comes from the Relación de Michoacán. This account, compiled around AD 1540 by Franciscan friar Jerónimo de Alcalá, preserves oral histories recounted by Purépecha nobles.

Following the fall of Tenochtitlan in 1521, Purépecha ruler Tangáxuan II sought to preserve his kingdom by sending envoys to the Spanish. In 1522, conquistador Cristóbal de Olid arrived at Tzintzuntzan to find a Purépecha army of up to 100,000 warriors assembled. Despite their overwhelming strength, the Purépecha leadership chose diplomacy over resistance, accepting Spanish authority in exchange for a measure of autonomy and agreeing to pay tribute.

This fragile arrangement collapsed within a decade. In 1530, conquistador Nuño de Guzmán seized Tangáxuan II and had him executed. Spanish authorities installed puppet rulers in Tzintzuntzan, but soon shifted the provincial capital to nearby Pátzcuaro. Deprived of political significance, Tzintzuntzan fell into decline and was eventually abandoned.

Archaeological evidence suggests the city was founded around AD 1450 during the Late Postclassic period. Built on a vast artificial platform along the slopes of Yauarato Hill, it commanded sweeping views of Lake Pátzcuaro. The city was divided into roughly 40 neighborhoods, each with about 25 households, and organized around ceremonial precincts containing plazas and elite residences.

The most distinctive monuments of Tzintzuntzan are its five yácata pyramids. Unlike the angular pyramids of the Aztec and Maya, these structures combined rectangular and circular forms, creating a keyhole shape. Each yácata was crowned with a wooden temple where major rituals were performed, including elite burials — more than sixty of which have been discovered.

Today, the ruins of Tzintzuntzan remain a powerful reminder of the Purépecha, a people whose ingenuity and resilience shaped the cultural landscape of pre-Hispanic western Mexico.