Acolman

History

According to an ancient myth, when the gods created the first man, they took him from the waters of Lake Texcoco and placed him alone in Acolman. The arm of this man, ringed by drops of water from the lake is the Aztec glyph for the site. The glyph can also be seen on the monastery which dominates the landscape here. Acolman is derived from a Nahuatl phrase which has been interpreted in various ways. It may mean "man with hand or arm" or "where man is made." Acolman is the modern name but the settlement has been referred to as Oculma, Axuruman and Aculma in colonial era documents. fossilized skeleton that was found in the mid-20th century. The founding of the settlement of Acolman is attributed to the Acolhuas, a Chichimeca people, around the eighth century. The settlement started out independent but was first conquered by the Huexotzincas and remained subject to one dominion or another since. By the time of the tlatoani Nezahualcoyotl, Acolman was an important town in the Tetzcoco altepetl after it was conquered by the Aztecs in 1396. The town was important because it was the only place in Mesoamerica that specialized in the breeding and raising of dogs (today known as the breed called xoloitzcuintli). At the time of the Spanish conquest, Acolman was governed by Moctezuma II. After, Acolman became the encomienda of Pedro de Solis de los Monteros and his son Francisco. The Franciscans arrived first, but the Augustinians were in charge of evangelization efforts after 1539, with twenty-four friars in residence by 1580. This order built one of the most important early colonial era monasteries in New Spain here. The 17th and 18th century was marked by severe floodings issues, which caused widespread damage and population shifts. These floods eventually caused the…

Most-observed species

• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  4,134
• Broad-billed Hummingbird

  Cynanthus latirostris Swainson, 1827 · Aves
  3,408
• Vermilion Flycatcher

  Pyrocephalus rubinus (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  3,325
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,283
• Inca Dove

  Columbina inca (R.Lesson, 1847) · Aves
  3,244
• Great-tailed Grackle

  Quiscalus mexicanus (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  3,178
• Bewick's Wren

  Thryomanes bewickii (Audubon, 1827) · Aves
  3,032
• Canyon Towhee

  Melozone fusca (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  2,885

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2024-09-26
  2 km N of Álvaro Obregón, Mexico
• M 3.2 — 2023-05-11
  3 km SSE of Colonia Nativitas, Mexico
• M 3.1 — 2019-07-17
  3 km ESE of Venustiano Carranza, Mexico
• M 4 — 2013-09-23
  2 km ENE of Chilcuautla, Mexico
• M 4.1 — 2013-05-06
  12 km NW of San Pedro Benito Juárez, Mexico
• M 3.9 — 2010-05-20
  3 km N of La Estancia, Mexico