Taxco el Viejo
Taxco el Viejo is a town in the Mexican state of Guerrero. In 2010, it had a population of 3,172. It is located approximately ten kilometers south of the city of Taxco.
History
The name Taxco is most likely derived from the Nahuatl place name Tlachco, which means "place of the ballgame". However, one interpretation has the name coming from the word tatzco which means "where the father of the water is", due to the high waterfall near the town center on Atatzin Mountain.Before the arrival of the Spanish in Mexico, Taxco el Viejo was known simply as "Taxco". In pre-Hispanic times, this village was the most important in the area as it was the seat of the Aztec governor who presided over tribute collection in the surrounding seven districts. The modern Spanish city of Taxco was founded by Hernán Cortés in an area previously known as Tetelcingo.
The town was part of Cohuixco and may have been subject to the Tlahuica of Cuauhnahuac in the early fifteenth century. It fought wars with Cuauhnahuac and Ixcateopan. It became the capital of an Aztec tributary province that covered much of the northern portion of what is now the state of Guerrero. Tribute demanded by the Aztecs consisted of cotton and maguey clothing, warrior costumes, grains, honey, bowls and copal. Local products included cotton and cacao, but salt was acquired from distant Ocotlan, Igualtepec and Tehuacan instead of more nearby sources in Tzicapotzalco and Alahuixtlan. The main languages were Nahuatl and Chontal, but "Mazatec", Matlatzinca and Purepecha were also spoken here.