The Tarascan/Purépecha Empire: The Forgotten Empire of Mexico
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 พ.ค. 2024
- *Forgive in the incorrect title card in the intro.*
During the 14th century, an empire was founded in Western Mexico that is nearly forgotten today. The Iréchikwa Tzintzuntzani was one of the greatest empires in the Pre-Columbian Americas. Discover what made this empire so unique in Mesoamerica.
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Sources and Bibliography:
docs.google.com/document/d/1k...
Fantastic work, as usual, I just wish the scheduling had worked out for us to have worked together more then we did here! To to add onto and to correct a few things for viewers, it should be noted that many images used, such as at 9:02, 14:45, 26:57 to 28:23, 31:20, 32:17 to 33:20, 33:25 and 34:20 aren't depicting Purepecha versions of those things (most of the code images there are Aztec, for example). This isn't Ancient America's fault, though: It is VERY difficult to find images of Purepecha things, and sadly I wasn't able to get him better images to use on time, so it's on me! Also, as usual, it's worth keeping in mind the maps used only shows key places being disscussed, and there are thousands of villages, towns, and cities not shown: The Valley of Mexico alone had 300+ population centers!
To get more into the granular specifics, while the video did stress that the Purepecha army's use of bows was important, to clarify why this is a big deal, it is because in contrast, many other Mesoamericans generally used Atlatl instead of bows, or at least more then bows: To the Mexica of the Aztec capital and some other Nahua groups (though not all, the Tlaxcalteca made major use of bows too), the Atlatl was seen as the more refined and cultured weapon, associated with the Toltec (a maybe historical, probably mythical civilization the Nahuas saw as the originators of high culture), while the bow was seen as more primitive, tied to the nomadic Chichimeca. Atlatl pack more power, but have less range relative to bows, and the Purepecha army exploited that. Secondly, it is my understanding (I did a cursory double check via Hassig's Aztec Warfare and I THINK right, but the wording is vague and I haven't slept in 30 hours and aren't triple checking) that technically speaking, the Aztec Empire did NOT have dominion over the Toluca valley at the time, when the Purepecha Empire expanded into it, but regardless that expansion still set off the war between the two empires.
The nature of forts alongside the Purepecha-Aztec border following the conflict is something I really wish to dig into further: Firstly, many sources assert that it was not just the Purepecha who built forts and invited other ethnic groups to found cities alongside it in exchange for acting as lookouts, but the Aztec did so as well. On the flip side, I have seen a number of researchers sort of downplay the nature of these "forts": David Haskell, a Purepecha researcher, said this when I asked "They might not meet your expectations of what a "Garrison" is like,....Mostly, the border was reinforced just by towns with a Purepecha contingent to oversee defense. Might use landforms and some walls to aid defense". On the Aztec side, there's a wider debate about the nature of so called "garrison colonies", outside Purepecha border context, too, where some researchers reject the Aztec built garrisons/forts at all (while others assert they did). Interestingly, the one source Haskell suggested to me on border forts I have been able to access explicitly mentions AZTEC forts on the border, but not really Purepecha ones... but there's more sources I haven't checked yet he suggested. Again, if scheduling happened to line up better, this is something I wish I could have dove into deep for the script.
Similarly, while I haven't dived deep into the issue yet, my understanding is while contact between West Mexico and South America is generally well supported by metallurgical evidence (that is, metallurgy seems to have spread between Ecuador and West Mexico due to near identical styles of goods as well as metalworking techniques) as well as perhaps textile and linguistic evidence, there's really not much evidence to suggest the Purepecha in particular were South American migrants, and that that theory has mostly fallen out of favor, even if trade links is still has academic support.
The media reports I have seen regarding the LIDAR scans of Anagamuco report that the evidence suggests it had a population of 100,000 people, rather then 30,000 (100,000 is huge, but it is worth noting Anagamuco is also quite expansive, so that figure would be over a pretty wide area, more akin to Maya megalopoli like Tikal or Copan where they had 100,000+ over a extended sprawl). Even for Tzintzuntzan, where 30,000 is what I've seen most sources report, it's possible this may not be the full figure, as (i'm sure you're aware but viewers may not be) Mesoamerican cities had both an urban core and then surrounding radial suburbs, and population estimates often don't include both... but I haven't looked into the methodology of Tzintzuntzan's estimates so I'm not sure how much of the city that figure is meant to encompass.
Yes, those Mexica stereotypes are always interesting to look at! The Florentine Codex includes them for a number of groups, ranging from the Purepecha here to the Chichimeca, Otomis, Huastecs and Totonacs, Zapotecs, etc. It's usually some variation of "Their language is unrefined and they dress scandalously, but their [food/textiles/wares] are pretty good. I think it's pretty telling how much such stereotypes centralize economic resources, consistent with the Mexica's interests in acquiring economic goods in expansionism.
As a final quick blitz: I actually HAVE seen an image alleging to show some Purepecha "Day signs", but like you I've seen sources claim that the Purepecha didn't have a ritual calender of astrological day/year signs. Not sure if the image is merely erronous, or if it's a subject of active research. It's worth noting that whole the Purepecha Empire/West Mexico definitely had the largest centers of bronze production, that it was not limited to them: Indeed, bronze sewing needles have even been found at Cuexcomate (or Capilco, I forget which, Dr. Michael E. Smith excavated both, it's mentioned in "At Home in the Aztecs") a small village inside the Aztec empire, which wouldn't have been affluent; and that contrary to some pages online, the Purepecha still didn't really use bronze for weapons much (I have seen 1 source noting they may have used it on one occasion, but that's about it). As a nitpick, I have a little issue with saying that the Aztec Empire was "falling" during the Cortes expedition, since it was really Tenochtitlan, and the hundreds of other subject and vassal states only ceded to Spanish rule or were conquered later. Lastly, local rulers being left in charge wasn't actually that uncommon in the early Spanish colonial period, what caused an issue was the allegation that taxes were still be collected that the Spanish weren't getting a cut off. And yes, Guzman was so brutal that he actually was brought back to Spain in chains and tried for his abuses!
Thank you MajoraZ! You are always a huge help and a font of knowledge!
This is the longest comment on TH-cam
I just recently attended the SAA conference in Chicago this year. Research hasn't been published yet, but LIDAR was recently done on Tzintzuntzan and it appears to be much much larger than originally believed.
@@marijkestoll816 Are there any revised population estimates that were presented with that? I was informed during my research that there were recently discovered sections of the city but no population figures were given. That's why I kept the population estimate a bit vague. I can't wait to see what further investigation finds.
@@AncientAmericas I wish I could tell you! It was a poster session so I can't remember exactly, but it would be reasonable to assume that with these newly discovered the population would be larger. I believe the archaeologist's name is Sergio Manterola R. but I can check with my friends who work in Michoacan.
I am Carpenter in Colorado and at one point did had an employee that was full blooded Purépecha from Michoacan. Spanish was his second language and when he phone his family in Mexico he spoke Purépecha language with them. The only word I ever learned from him was "Naski Ni Nashka" (is wrongfully written of course), that means : how are you?. I am from neighbor Guanajuato state born, and from a town right in the border with Michoacan state and find this interesting. Kudos man never knew about this mighty empire
Thank you!
Moroleon?
@@rogeliolopez6325 Claro!
Saludos de otro guanajuatense !
Nacido en Yuririapundaro (Yuriria) saludossss vale.
I'm glad you covered the P'urhépecha. I grew up in a P'urhépecha town and in my younger years I used to be able to speak the language almost fluently (Sadly, I've forgotten most of it by now). It wasn't until like 2 years ago that I wanted to learn more about my roots, but I noticed that there wasn't much about the P'urhépecha outside of the state of Michoacán that wasn't very superficial. Seeing this pop up in my recommendations was a very exciting feeling. Keep up the good work and thank you for covering this wonderful group of people.
Thank you!
Saludos compa where you from we probably were close Im from Cheran Michoacán
@@rob1014 saludos, yo soy de Paracho.
@@jacintoelgrande5009 órale un parte de mi familia vive ahí también
Stay righteous, Jacinto. Remind everyone that a tree will stop growing, once it has lost it's roots...
Glad someone finally covered the Purépecha. They don’t get much credit for how differently their culture differed from other Mesoamericans
The tarascan probably conquered the aztec in the course of time without the europeans.
I'm from Michoacan.
Soy de Tierra Calinte Cochos!!!
@@fabulooser No way, the Aztecs were on a roll until the Spanish came along, after they had expanded inwards and southwards a little more to places like Oaxaca and Tlaxcalla and further consolidated their borders they 100% would've come back for the Tarascans in force.
@@Threezi04 hahaha the aztecs "never" won a war against the tarascans, instead they lose territory close to Tenochtitlan
As a Mexican, I love how much respect you have for these cultures and their languages, that's hard to come by, even in their own land.
Thank you!
"A Mexicans worst enemy is another mexican."
@@music4thedeaf truly tragic. There is so much more that we can learn about native peoples and their history.
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
The Tarascans were also cannibals like the entire Caribbean and Mesoamerica, which were in the Stone Age and thanks to Spain they became the 1st world power?
I was born in michoacan and haven't been there in about 20 years until this summer. I took my kids to see my grandma and grandpa and they loved it.
We drove all over michoacan and I went to purepecha towns and got hand made indigenous sweaters and other stuff.
I'm glad I took my kids to see where I came from.
Such a lovely experience. I'm glad my dad took me as a child, I got to visit the pyramid and got to go to posada. I also learn how to drive there lol I'm forever greatfulm for those memories, I'm sure your children will be as well when when they're older.
That’s badass bro I’m purépecha as well and I took my kids to meet their great grandmother in Michoacán 2 years ago glad I was able to show them out roots and were our bloodline comes from
Realizing if Europeans never came to the Americas there would of been a continent full of different countries and cultures and languages what a shame
My mothers last name is Tzintzun, I was taught that it meant hummingbird as a child and made the connection to this amazing people group and culture as I got older. I love learning about all things but its a different sort of joy when it so closely relates to your life!!!
My grandfathers name is Alfonso Tzintzun. I grew up being extremely proud of our last name and the history it holds. Very rare, we might be relatives.
The number of Mexicans in this comment thread claiming something other than Aztec heritage is refreshing. Far too many American born Mexicans seem to have no idea that the Aztecs weren't the only people in Mexico. I blame the superficial romanticism Europeans fabricated around the Aztecs, and the utter apathy American schools show toward native history. It makes me unbelievably happy to see Latinos reconnecting and celebrating their pre-Columbian roots. I honestly believe that creators like you play a significant role in that, with your deep dives into seldom covered civilizations such as this. Keep it up!
Thank you!
@@AncientAmericas you're most welcome. Thank you for consistently providing top-notch content!
Very well put! When I was first told our state was purepecha rather than aztec, I was excited to learn about it but found little. I was born and raised in Michoacan so im more connected to the history but it is sad that many Mexican Americans just assume they're all of mexica ancestry.
@@tanania a person's roots are their history. Everyone deserves to know the true story of their people. Far too many indigenous Americans have been robbed of that right, and it brings me a great deal of joy to see a revival of lost heritage.
I blame neither
The P'urhépecha culture is incredible and, unfortunately, vastly under-studied. I've been waiting for someone to highlight their beautiful culture/history in English so that I could share with my family and friends (many of whom visited Michoacán while we lived there). As a young gringo from Baltimore, I arrived in Zacapu, Michoacán without being able to speak Spanish. I married in that town, became a father in that town, and travelled to many remote villages all over Michoacán working with my father-in-law. I learned so much from my years in Zacapu (La Cuna del Imperio P'urhépecha) and all the surrounding area. Some of my favorite memories were exploring the ciénega and the foothills and mountains with my future uncles and cousins. We would find amazing structures, artifacts, rock drawings. There is so much yet to be uncovered. Thank you for this video.
I think there underrated.
Hello Chris,
It is fascinating to hear your experience and studying the landscape and the culture you are very fortunate. My family is from this region (tzintzuntzan) and I am wanting to explore similar to the journey you had. Any tips or recomendations?
@@TheManuel86g Manny, gracias por escribirme. Vive usted en Tzintzuntzan o nada mas visita a su familia que vive allí? Le pregunto a Ud. porque la próxima ves que yo visite Michoacán puedo avisarle y organizamos un viaje a los cerros. La verdad es que no conozco ningún guía local fuera de mi familia y, desafortunadamente, no tengo consejos para compartir con Ud. pero podemos investigar.
If you would have a Instagram account with pictures of beautiful findings (without mentioning the location to keep it safe) would be awesome!
I'm ready to return with you, Camera, GPS and mapping software ready to go, and I speak Spanish and English. ☺
The Quangariecha (means "brave men") was the most deadly military order in all mesoamerica, these warriors painted his body with ashes and yellow paint, they wore a doublet with feathers and fought with a curved weapon with a cooper knife ( that weapon look like a Sioux war club). You can get information of this military order in a tesis called "La Guerra en el Michoacán Posclásico Tardío" written by Ricardo Carvajal.
Nice! I'll have to check that out.
Interesting! Has that been translated into English?
Glad you cover my people I’m from a indigenous purepecha town named Cheran Just ten years ago we kicked out the government and gained our autonomy THE PUREPECHA ARE STILL STRONG.
Purepecha hegemony 👍
Guau! Que bien!
Tendré qué visitar algún día que al fin pueda viajar.
My parents are from Michoacán I have been to Pátzcuaro and the surrounding lake area many times. Today most Mexicans know of those areas as having the best-known Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico. Day of the Dead is celebrated very intensely in the towns and villages around Lake Pátzcuaro. Preparations include major cleaning and repair of the local cemeteries and the creation of flowered arches for gates of the atriums of local churches. These are made with a flower called cempasúchil, also known as the Mexican marigold. The island of Janitzio which is within Lake Pátzcuaro is well known for these celebrations. As part of this festivity, candle-lit boat processions make their way to the island and then to Janitzio's Church and graveyard, remaining there for the night for a large festive vigil with much imbibing involved.
My mom was from Michoacan. Iam a Texas born American but I learned many recipes and day of the dead customs that I still do. I have never been to Michoacan but just by listening to her I have been to her pueblitos. She would call herself Purepecha and said Tarascan meant like peasant and she didn't like that.
En unas bibliotecas hay libros explicando porque los españoles les nombraron tarascos
the question that any Central Mexican Nahua-speaker will have, though was...
... were the recipes tasty?
The tamale has been around since forever. In fact, our culture still eats very much like our ancestors. Corn, corn tortilla, more North, flower tortilla and fried bread. Squash, pepper, cactus, cactus fruit. Food is culture how you eat, is very telling of who you are. Our relatives on the Rez also make tamales. I like the blue corn tamale from the Rez, they look pretty. Remember, all the USA South West West tribes are from Mexico.@@zimriel
Wow, amazing I was born in Ocumicho, Michoacan a Purepecha town. A lot of my familly members still apeak Purepecha our native language. I speak purepecha, spanish and english. Mexican Histoy dont talk much about the Purepechas and they should because our ancestors empire was one of the biggest in America.
It's tarasco not purepecha language.
@@SebastianHernandez-gy7wf Tarasco is not correct. Thats what the spanish called our people when they invaded America. We are "Purhepecha" not Tarasco our Language is called Purhepecha not Tarasco. A lot of people still think that its tarasco because they dont take the time to check the Facts.
It is correct! That's how we call it in Michoacan. Example: when u would ask my grandma to teach me the language, we would say grandma can u teach us tarasco , we would not say teach us some purhepecha. Makes no sense. Purhepecha is our race. The purhepecha race!
@@SebastianHernandez-gy7wf Where I was born at no one says that they speak Tarasco. My grandparents, Parents and rest of my family say they speak Purhepecha. When I came to the US is when I started to hear in Corrido Music about Tarasco. My first language is Purhepecha, then I learned spanish and inglish. No one tought me Purhepecha thats was my first Language.
And where I was born , we say tarasco. And I'm im from paracho so yeah. I want to learn tarasco!!
I have a uncle in Uruapan, who has a museum dedicated just to the purepecha culutre, many of my mexican relatives are purepechas
Where is this museum if you don't mind me asking? I'm from Michoacan, tiny town called la maiza, close to Acuitzio and morelia, when I lived there we use to visit Uruapan! If im fortunate enough to ever visit again I'd love to check it out.
I definitely have family from my father side that were purepecha , currently in La Ruana I heard stories growing up. Makes sense now
Where is the museum bro I’ll be going to Michoacán soon and would love to visit your uncles mueseum
You have no idea how mich joy I was struck with once I saw this video in my recommended. My family being from Michoacán I got passed down that Purépecha blood and it makes me happy seeing the Purépecha people getting the recognition they deserve as they were a very interesting civilization.
My people, my culture, my life! Thanks for presenting this 👏✨
You're welcome!
After Getting into the Fall of Civilizations podcasts I just needed more American pre-Columbian history. This channel has been awesome, and I love the longer formats. Great work!
Thank you!
I agree about the longer formats, for sure!
The fall of civilizations podcast is one of my absolute favorites
Can you do the Chichimecan? More specifically the Zacatecos? From Zacatecas. They had incredible archers, hid from the Aztecs because they didn’t like the sacrifice, and fought off the Spanish so hard that the Spanish eventually just made a treaty to use the land. Zacactecos is my heritage, it would be so incredibly cool to watch your deep dive on it.
I definitely want to at some point. Couldn't say when that will happen though.
@@AncientAmericas I second that appeal, I’m descended from both the Zacatecas and Caxcan nations
A great Idea. I'm no stranger to the highlands of Oaxaca.
It would be extremely kool
I lived in Zacatecas
My favorite Mexican state. I wrote a historical fictional book set in this area, about my tiny long haired chihuahua. He was an archaeologist named Zorro the fastest digger in all of old Mexico and two large bad cats named Ringo and Rowdy. My friends big maine coon cats. Lol And of course a Purepeche princess!❤
In Colima there is a huge statue of COLIMAN the conqueror, who did resist the Spanish armies.
The Purepecha was a group of people that were very welcoming growing up.
A good film about the Purepecha based on Relación de Michoacan and oral tradition is Erendira Ikikunari. It has native speakers play the parts and much of what they were is modern stuff.
I think I've actually seen a good chunk of that film but was able to understand very little. Is there a version with English subtitles?
@@AncientAmericas if you buy the DVD. The one I have has the black and white cover of the erendira with a Spanish dress and diablito mask on a Spanish horse.
I was born in Zamora and consider myself of P'urhépecha descent. Before stumbling into this video the only thing I knew about the P'urhépechas was that they were one of the few "tribes" to fend off the Aztecs. Thank you for the history lesson. The narrative is quite entertaining (Tariacuri = Amalia Mendoza 😀)
Thank you!
They had better weapons or tech or strategy!? Almost like all these civilizations have power due to being near a lake.
I just want to say, don't be surprised that the Purépecha interest your viewers (myself included!) so much. You've said so yourself - there's very little accessible material on them. For such a developed and distinctive culture, they're criminally underrepresented...
Anyways, great material as always! I hope my comment pleases the Gods of the Algorithm!
Thank you!
Thank you so so much. My family is descended from the Purepecha, and I’ve been searching fervently for information about our culture for about 8 years on and off now, since I was in high school (I did a history paper on our culture). Back then, information in English available in the US seemed very old or split between a multitude of sources, with only tiny bits per source. This makes me feel so excited and finally relieved.
I’m only about 15 minutes in as of commenting, but I’ve learned so much from this. Thank you. I’ll show this to my family members.
You're welcome! I hope you enjoy it!
If I try to sum up why I love your channel so much: you create a wonderful balance between an academic historical perspective - complete with explicit statements of uncertainty - with a conversational style that preserves the drama and beauty of the subject matter (how gorgeous is that Purépecha shield?). And you're doing it in the context of an entire area of history that those of us raised in the Western orbit have learned about only in terms of its interaction with European ascendancy (with implied notions of cultural superiority). You also give us a sweep of different aspects of a culture from the typical exciting story of power through dramatic military actions to the economy, the arts, the backstory, and... the bureaucracy (loved the Amy Santiago quote).
For a proper history nerd who doesn't have an allegiance to a particular culture (see again Western superiority) this is probably the best historical video content I've ever seen.
Thank you! One note though, that shield is actually an Aztec shield. I could not find a Purepecha one but it would be very similar. Glad you liked the 99 quote.
💯
I always amazed at how deep you go into these, and how respectful you are of these cultures. As a South American myself I really appreciate it.
Thank you!
Well, you've outdone yourself! Great job Pete! I will be replaying it several times to take it all in. You've got me really intrigued when it comes to the Purapecha's origins. If I am remembering correctly also the Mixes seem to be linked to civilizations in Los Andes. I wonder if that's a coincidence. Also, I remember they were finding the remains of some hydraulic water management systems under downtown Patzcuaro's roads. They seemed to be very efficient when it comes to water management. Though not surprised, hehe
Thank you! I haven't heard that one about the Mixes. I'll have to read up on it.
14:50 step fret shield...the step fret is the link to "Los Andes"...nice emoji!🦞
I work in Oaxaca and have never heard of a link to the Los Andes for the Mixe. Rather they were link to the Zoque (Mixe-Zoque) and likely were displaced or moved in from the Maya region.
Yup we are from Michoacan, and I did 2 different DNA tests, and they both came back saying large percentage of Peruvian dna, mixed with a Lil bit of Mexican and Colombian. And about 20% Iberian. The other test said Andean with admixture from Michoacan Jalisco area.
@@favio6462 have you worked on your actual genealogical tree? It may give you more of a wider and assertive idea about both your family’s history and their whereabouts.
I’ve been working on mine for the past year, it has been truthfully rewarding
Been waiting for this! Actually deep in remapping the Mesoamerican linguistic landscape on my map at the moment, so this is a nice complimentary rabbit hole. First thought: It's interesting you went on that little tangent on the Purepecha origins. Language isolates are actually often more likely to be remnants of a regional area's population, no? I'm thinking about the Basque, Burushaki, Kusunda, and the isolates in the Bismarck and Solomon archipelagos. Anyway, I wonder what myths the Purepecha might have about their own origins. I mean, the Nahua and Totonacs have migration myths to explain how they arrived in this neck of the woods...
Thank you! Yes, I agree on language isolates but I've seen people really fixate on Purepecha and run with it. I was worried that if I didn't address it in the video, I'd be getting a lot of questions in the comments.
Lol. My partner is from Kerala and speaks Malayalam - one of the isolate Dravidian languages along with Tamil and Telugu. I'm always teasing her that her people are from space (because of David Icke's ridiculous claims about Hungarians).
@@thecaveofthedead David Icke's claim isn't ridiculous, it's just... his poetic license got revoked decades ago, and instead of getting it reinstated, he just kept letting it slide. And many of his informants have been the type of people who speak poetically, even mythically.
"Hungarians are from space" is a great poetic statement, as a placeholder until we know more, and to inspire young people to want to get to the bottom of this mystery.
So, I'd accuse him of taking poetry literally and not bringing his story up to date ("from space" becomes vestigial poetry when the real origins start to come to light. That's why I called it a poetic placeholder. Otherwise it could be like when a fairytale, that deals with a very endemic issue, then escapes into a generalized world. Its original purpose will likely be reinterpreted. That's why I think "Hungarians are from space" was great poetry, but thanks to David Icke, it generalized and its meaning became literal, and now it's past its sell-by date. Time to take it off the shelves, Mr. Icke!)
Where did the totonacs come from? Never heard of their myth
@@connormurphy683 Hm, you got me. I can't find my source anymore. I may have misremembered when I said that off the top of my head...May have confused the suggestions that the Totonacs are strong contenders for being responsible for building Teotihuacan, which is a bit out of their range.
Excellent video, once again my fellow traveler. Having a language isolate in the Mesoamerican sprachbrund is a fascinating concept, especially during the later 1400s and early 1500s when Nahuatl was the lingua franca of such a large portion of Mesoamerica.
Nahuatl was so ingrained as the lingua franca that after the Spanish-Aztec war the Spanish king allowed Nahuatl to become essentially the official language of "New Spain" wherein courts were conducted in Nahuatl, as were many plays, books, church services, trade agreements, et cetera. This is a rare example where the Spanish empire allowed an indigenous language to be used officially in place of Spanish. Alas this policy only lasted until the late 1600s when Spanish was declared the official language of New Spain. So in this context, a language isolate is vastly interesting.
Thrilled to see more historians & journalists learning & sharing information about the Purepecha people. It’s wonderful having the opportunity to learn more about the history & culture of this community!
Dang, assumed you were going to talk about the Mixtec, but you're right about this being a seldom mentioned civilization since this is the first time I've heard of it.
The Mixtec will definitely get a video someday. They just need to wait their turn like everyone else.
It is not surprising that it is hardly known. It only lasted 200+ years, neither is it very big in area, nor contributed anything significant to the modern world. This would be just a blip in world history. There are hundreds of other such blips all over the world that most people have no idea about, especially if they did not keep written records. But very enlightening to learn about the histories of various peoples.
@@jivvyjack7723 Are you a cultural anthropologist or an archeologist? Being a part of the P'urhépecha is offensive that a white person comes and says something like this. I'm give you an example; Mexican gastronomy is on the representative list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO. All that because traditional food of Michoacán, mainly P'urhépecha food. And I'm not even talking about the influence that P'urhépecha has on the Spanish language.
@@soyplebe7 Why is it offensive when it is a fact and there was no ill intent? If you don't like it, then change the situation. Put in more effort in educating people about not only this little known culture and the thousands of others which are also long gone.
And seriously, white people? it was mostly the white people who dig up the past long extinct ancient cultures and civilizations, studied them, published books and thesis on them and make them as university courses.
As someone who has been trying to rediscover herself and her roots I'm so happy to find more information on my ancestors. I remember going as a little girl to michoacan to meet my Dad's side of the family and I still remember my grandmother teaching me their native language.
Thanks for reveal to us Mexicans a past we didn't know or knew little about. Mexico is much more than the Aztec Empire, there were many others, more encient cultures that deserved the same greatness or even more!!
The area around lake Pátzcuaro is currently a major tourist destination - Pátzcuaro (the town, not the lake) and Janitzio in particular are considered the best places to visit during Day of The Dead in all of Mexico.
I know the bureaucracy is kind of a boring topic for a lot of people, but as a civil servant myself I'm always fascinated by how government and administration operated in historical societies.
Great video!
Thank you!
PurÉpechas ... my people!!! My ancestors are purépechas!!!
I love your channel! It help so much with my son’s homework!!! THANKYOU!!!!
Thank you!
I lived in Patzcuaro Michoacan and could see Janitzio from my techo. I ate sopa tarasca every day, and my grocery bill for two adults per week, including fresh chicken, fresh pork, fresh veggies and homemade cheese, handmade bread, everything local was about $40 US in 2021. The rent was $100 a month US, and the markets there are insane, with everyone being Indigenous and dressed in Traditional clothing. You can buy handmade wool serapes for less than $40 US. Plus the weather is like England and the landscape like the California coast, with pines and fog and houses made of wood. I love Michoacan and think it's one of the prettiest States in all of Mexico.
Thank you as always from your friends at Indigenous Podcast, for taking the time to spotlight yet another People and Community respectfully. Your strike a great balance between information and entertainment that helps the material remain accessible. Glad to your channel grow and your content expand. Metrics arent everything but its nice to have validation of one's effort.
Thank you Stephan! Great to see you here as always!
As always, a great and in-depth video on the Purepecha Empire, especially on explaining their bureaucracy! Interesting story on their name 'Tarasco', according to one linguist the name stuck due to many of the Spaniards associating the name to the legendary 'Tarasque' beast of southern France. Thank you for including the Matlatzinca and Otomi as well. I have family from the Toluca Valley and when I have visited them, they usually show me lithics made of obsidian, a dull grey color, according to a blog site run by an ASU archeological team, would have been sourced from Ucareo, located in about the northern fringes of the Purepecha Empire. Interesting to see how the peoples who made the lithics would have traded with the Purepecha. In regards to trade routes, there is a red shell found in the coasts of Ecuador/Peru that was found in west Mexican sites, although there whether it was directly trade or if there were middle men involved is not known. Maybe you could delve deeper into these supposed connections for a future video.
Thank you! And yes, I've been trying to assemble information about long distance trade in the Americas but it's slow going.
As someone who played a lot total war medieval 2 ive actually heard of these guys.
Yeeeeessssss! It's so hard for me to find information about these people! You're wonderful
Thank you!
I have something like 4 shows about them on my channel. You should check it out.
Finally I can learn about my heritage. This means a lot to me as even my pre columbian history class glosses over us.
Thank you for making this incredible video! I’m a gringo from Tennessee and my wife is from Michoacán. l cannot wait until we can go to Michoacán together!!!
Thank you!
Hey! My stepdad is a gringo living in TN & married to my mom who is from Michoacán! Hahaha! 😂
I had to double check your username to make sure you weren’t him but I don’t think he gets on TH-cam much.
Now I feel like y’all need to meet someday. They’re in Sevierville, up in the mountains 🏔️(small world)
Blown away. I had no idea this incredible culture even existed. Bravo. Keep up the great work!
Thank you!
Awesome video, I wrote a pretty surface level paper about the purepecha a few years back. Really cool to see someone take a much more in depth look. I would be very interested in a Tariacuri video at some point!
Ask and ye shall receive. th-cam.com/video/rWF-keCq4hk/w-d-xo.html
My grandfather on my dad’s side was “Tarascan”. Unfortunately he passed away when I was very young so I never got to ask him about his history and culture.
Man u lost alot of knowledge there my grandparents from my moms side were full blooded tarascos i still remember my great grandma as this really old lady whit beautifull redish skin and silver eyes . I was born lampiño just like them ( lampiño means almost no body hair exept head and privates hair) my grandpa liked to sit outside his house to talk about the old days whit the neighboors it was so kool sitting there whit this old guys listening to stories from when they were kids or young i learned about nahuales, witches, weird ass stories about weird ppl from the monte that were tall as hell and then dissapeared , giants, piramids hidden in caves and my grandma took me twice to " the cementery" a place were ancestors were resting. I learned alot about the land but i also forgot alot . I wish i could talk to them again now that im an adult
I just wanted to point out that the word huarache we use in mexico for straw sandals comes from tarascan "kwarachi" and the pronunciation is exactly the same as the japanese word for straw sandals waraji.
The teapot looks Asian not Peruvian
These are the folks I most remember from my Aztec History Class - the ones who the Aztecs feared.
Thank you so much for covering the Purépecha! I was born here in the US, but my family are originally from the Mexican state of Michoacán. It’s so cool to learn about their distinctive civilization with so much badass history to prove it.
You're welcome!
ive always wanted to learn more about the purepecha but never knew a good source! lovely to see!
Lovely to see you again!
@@AncientAmericas you too!
Stellar as always. Especially "I've locked all the doors. There is no escape."
Loved this✨! There's a piece of evidence that we had the day name system, from 1568 by Maturino Gilberti in Michoacán, it states...
"...Of the days they say they're experts; and they go saying that the day of the flower is a very good time to go out to look for their own sustenance, and that those conceived on the day of the skunk are going to be very spiteful, and that they can perceive when there will be a good time to build up wealth. [...] And this type of acts, the Purepecha believe that they are true." Gilberti 1568: 69, Luz del Alma Christiana en la Lengua de Mechuacan.
Ooo! That is an interesting detail! Thanks for pointing that out.
The algorithm sent me here and I never heard of your channel before today. Where do you get such wonderful people in the comments section? I am impressed.
I stumbled across this video and your channel by accident. I'm very happy that the algorithm picked it. This is exactly the type of thing I wish I could still find on television.
Dropped off a livestream to watch this immediately. It’s always a good day when ancient americas posts
Color me flattered!
My grandfather was purepechan. It has been too many decades for me to recall the details, but when I was young (late 60's, early 70's) he used to talk about what might be considered the mythological folk-tales he was taught. I found more interest in the mythological stories than his absolutely terrifying stories from when he was a child, and Mexico was in a revolution. Anyway, I want to say that I appreciate the effort you put into this, and I can finally point my friends at a video that might help them understand that it wasn't just the Aztecs who were toppled by the conquest that came from Europe. I look forward to anything and everything you create that involves the Purepecha. Now, can you explain those big heads and huge spheres? Saw those when I was a kid, and I grok a little about when they were made, but I've never seen their true meaning satisfactorily explained. Tallyho!
Thank you! For the big heads, watch my Olmec video. The giant spheres are from the disqui culture father east in central America but I haven't really researched them yet.
My great grandfather also told me
Some mythological stories he was given by his grandfather I found them very fascinating
@@rob1014do you mind sharing some?
I have actually visited the purepecha platform in Michoacan. I never realized or thought about its sheer size since my family was kind of on a rush to visit Janitzio. it’s an impressive monument and I was able to get a good picture of Lake Patzcuaro. Michoacán is a beautiful gem.
My family is from Huandacareo! I love how all are cities and towns still have native names!
A book called "Promiscuous Power: An Unorthodox History of New Spain" does focus on writings describing Michoacán and how differently it was governed by the Spanish since they did submit. Some of my favorite things I read were royalty being told to stop bringing servants to university classes since school isn't grounds for that. They also got in trouble for trying to build too many schools. Some pages can be previewed via google
I've been excited for this video to come out, you definitely have the best educational videos on the new world civilizations. I'm so glad to be included in a video even if it was brief 😅
Everyone deserves their moment of fame.
Another excellent video on MesoAmerica, thank you! I'm enjoying your stuff, AA!
Thank you! Glad you're enjoying it!
@@AncientAmericas You did a great video on 'Old Copper Culture' in America. Do you have any plans to do another video on metal-working technology in Mesoamerica? I'm really curious about that aspect of their cultures, particularly their work with Bronze and Arsenic Copper-but also their work with Silver, Gold and Platinum. I've see a couple of good videos on those topics on TH-cam, but you always do such detailed research and coverage. ({: ^)}
I've gone to the purepecha museum of Tzintzuntzan, it's pretty cool and those round pyramids are also quite cool.
Nice and accurate info, as a proud descendant of purépecha I would like to say 1.Michoacán (michihuacan) means in nahuatl "land of fishermen" because the three capitals of the empire surrounded the Pátzcuaro lake (very similar as the Mexican empire). 2. The word -echa means "people" so purépecha means "workpeople", uacúsecha means "eaglepeople" the nobles and govern and irecha means "king" in the nahuatl sources refered as "caltzontzin" "person who has houses as hairs". Thanks for your great divulgation job.
Thank you!
The suffix -echa is a plural marker, -cha is as well, but it also works as singular, irecha (king) is good example. Uacúsecha comes from the P'orhépicha word wakusï (eagle) + the plural marker -cha in this case, not one, but many eagles. I know some myself so just a heads up! 😁
@@JersonAscencio right!
My dad was from Chapala Jalisco the lake Chapala produced a soup fish soup called. Michi and the Michi the ancient people. Revered the water god Michi made offerings found in the lake figurines in the area
@@davidortega357Yes, now they call it "caldo volver a la Vida." Return to life soup. They call it that, bc its very nutritious and good. My grandmother was raised in Lagos de Morena in Jalisco. We always went to a particular restaurant for that soup when we would visit our family in Mexico.
Perfect timing, I have an exam that covers them this weekend. Thanks for always putting together such well made and interesting videos!
No problem! Good luck on the test!
Dude, youre my new favourite channel
Im an animator and character designer, but ive always been extremely into archaeology.
Living and having grown up in Europe means that most of my knowledge on history and pre history is confined to this area. So most of the subjects within your videos are completely new to me, which is wonderful!
And besides having looked for anything on ancient meso america, out of pure interest, these videos are also extremely inspiring.
The narration is is well put together, as is the editing style of the video.
This is some top quality entertainment! Thank you for your work
Thank you so much! I'm very happy you're enjoying my work!
Great video! I'm not from mexico nor anywhere near there but i love learning of the cultures of the different tribes and empire's The Aztecs are most likely my favourite but the Purepecha are just as great!
Thank you!
This is AWESOME... I have always been interested in Mexico's history, along with having many friends from Michoacan. Never heard of the Tarascan/Purépecha Empire, so I very much appreciate all of this.
Thank you!
I just NOW learned of the Tarascan/Purépecha Empire. As taught in a US school, grade school and high school - in university I was not a history student, there were the Aztecs and Maya, and there were "numerous tribes" of other Native Americans - similar to the tribes of Canada and the US, but without any significant empire or of any significant number.
Not to sound corny or cliche but man ancient American history is something I didn't know I needed until ur videos. I wish I had a teacher like you in school. I absolutely hated history class never in a million years would I have guessed that I'd be sitting here excited to spend time learning about it lol. So I just wanted to say thanks man keep up the good work! Ur a natural ur channel is gonna blow up to millions of subscribers before it's over with.
Thank you. I felt the same way when I started reading up on the subject. I wish my teachers had taken time to cover this stuff too.
humans came to earth about 65 million years ago, they landed in the Yucatan.
@@wetguavass that's normally one of those comments that I would do my very best to steer away from. But in this case I think it helps his channel when people talk, so I feel like it's my duty to engage and help him how I can. The sacrifices we make for binge-worthy content! So why is it that we have bones showing direct ancestors of humans that are from more like 150k-1 million years old? We have older bones than that, that are also ancestors of humans, but no human bones? Weird no? (My history is rusty, dates are approximated to the best of my recollection, but the sentiment is precise)
This channel is among one of the best I have come across on the ancient cultures of the America's. Keep up the good work!!
Thank you!
Its channels like this that make it crazy that this website is free. What a well made video, joined your patreon to show my appreciation!
Extra big thank you to you, good sir!
Thanks for the great video. I remember reading about how the purepecha didnt have a "transition fase" from copper to bronze use, implying that it was introduced by an external culture that already have metalworking well developed. Worth also noting that by the time that metallurgy popped up in West Mexico in 9th century the Andes have already maritime trade capabilities.
Why thank you, great speaker! Good point. The timing of metal working in Mexico is very noteworthy. I've never read about the lack of a transitional phase but if true, that's really interesting.
YEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS I've been needing a good video on them, the rivals of the Aztecs
This is the kind of content i subscribed for. Thanks to bringing this (previously unknown to me) culture to light
You're welcome!
This channel is amazing. I always considered myself a history nerd but this has opened up whole new avenues. Answering questions I didn't even know to ask about peoples I never knew existed.
Thank you!
@@AncientAmericas Thank you, sir 😁 I noticed the Diego Duran account mentioned an Otomi Aztec military order and then later you talked about a tribe by that name. Are they synonymous?
@@kilpatrickkirksimmons5016 I believe so but I've never confirmed it.
Nice video as always! I have a suggestion, you should do a video on Polynesian contact with Pre-Columbian South America. However since it's heavily based on DNA analyses rather than "pure" archeology, it might be a good idea to explain the history of the Zenu people in the same video, whom researchers said matched Polynesian DNA the most. And hey, a potato video (like the maize video) would fit really well in this topic too, since Polynesian sweet potato DNA also helped establish the contact between these two peoples.
I do plan on doing an episode on pre-Columbian contact. Also, the potato is getting its own episode as well.
@@AncientAmericas bracing myself for the puns
Olmecs even look poly /afro Pacific island Mixteca...all coming to the surface
Very interested in this. I met a Chamorro old man that talked about his grandfather’s grandfather’s stories about boats sailing to Mexico that’d stop in Guam from the Philippines. I would say mid-1800’s. The only reason he spoke to me was because he thought I was Chamorro. Looking at whatever pictures old family pictures I can get my hands on, I can see more of a Polynesian/Chamorro distinction that I saw of the locals while I lived in Guam. Pictures from my mom are definitely more on the Purepecha side…. How I would to travel back in time.
It’s very heartbreaking looking back at all the history lessons I had in school. All they taught was about the Aztecs and the Mayans. No wonder the majority of Mexicans and the generalization of Mexicans as a whole is that they are from Aztec decent.
Thank you for this video and teaching me so much! I wanted to actually partake and celebrate on this indigenous day so I tried searching for whatever I could find on the Purepecha. My parents just returned from their visit last night and sent me videos of Patzcuaro so it brought to me a lot of curiosity.
@Luis thank you for your comment. It gave me that “aha!” moment when I read it. Starts to possibly connect some dots on my family’s history.
The Polynesians are our cousins. I've heard stories of trade, they would wait for the perfect conditions to leave. Sometimes it took days, weeks,.months, but they knew the exact time to start their trek home.
Duuuuudeeee you’re killing it as usual. So great seeing a video about my neighbors the Tarascan people! Greetings from Colima MX.
Thank you!
I have been waiting for this for so long thank you!!!!! Great video.
Thank you!
This is my first time watching one of your videos and I appreciate and respect your care and delivery of education about indigenous cultures. Thank you!
Thank you!
Michoacan is beautiful state from it's agriculture from the aguacates, strawberries, it's foods carnitas, it's ice creams, and if you want a good guitar you find one in Michoacan, it's beautiful lakes, and all of its beautiful sceneries, that's why the monarch butterfly decided to make Michoacan it's resting place, unfortunately organized crime has affected some of these beautiful traditions of Michoacan, but if you guys ever get a chance visit Michoacan and you will love it 👍
Really excited for this one. It's a shame how little these fascinating people are talked about
Well hopefully this will spark some more interest.
YES!! I've been wanting to learn more about the fascinating and honorable Tarascan!!
As the grandchild of a Purepecha born in Cheran, I'm so proud of my history.
In Michuacan* there are several close knit towns that are famous for their metal work in gold, silver, brass and copper...they are popular with American tourist as well as with other international and Mexican tourists.
Awesome to see this topic getting the attention it deserves! Also, for anyone who wants to hear more about Tariacuri, reddit's r/AskHistorians Podcast did a great two-part series on him and the Purepecha a few years back which I highly recommend.
Thank you! And yes, that podcast episode is fantastic!
Absolutely love your content and whenever I see a new post I just melt ❤️
Aw thanks!
This is so awesome!!! I've been craving knowledge about these people for a long time.
Great video, great job teaching us about other pre- European empires. Well explained Thank you.
Thank you!
Just the other day I was lamenting about how hard it is to find good stuff on Tzintzuntzan, lmao. Great video as always!
Thank you!
Amazing work! I just found your channel this month and I'm already caught up with your videos. The production value continues to increase with each video, and I especially enjoy the longer videos you've been doing lately, keep up the great work!!
Thank you!
Another fantastic video! I'm glad you covered this, it's a very interesting topic. And thank you Kyle!
Thank you!
First I'd like to say thank you for another great video on history of the Americas. Your work and research is brilliant and unmatched!
Secondly. Mass migrations have been a common occurrence for longer than anyone knows.
As a Cherokee. Our earliest origin stories tell how we come up out of south America and Mexico. That's one version of the story. The other story is that we came off an island off the coast of south America.
Thank you! Appreciate the information!
There is also a Purepecha myth that states that they came from South America on Turtles up the coast.
Thanks, first cousin, for the info. Yaqui and Huachelo here.
I’ve been waiting for this video!!!! My family is from Michoacán, love the representation and detailed video, wish there was more informative content about these people!
Thank you!
Thank you Ancient Americas, great video and channel, I really loved the narrative tone. I've seen it twice to fully grasp on the information.
PS. Thank you Kyle!
Thank you!
I've been binging your videos this morning, and I'm very impressed with how much your pronunciation improved over time 😍
Thank you! I've tried to make more of an effort to get pronunciation right but I've still got a long way to go.
The Azteca were ver wary and somewhat afraid of the Purépecha warriors as they may have been the few tribes that was not conquered by Azteca expansion.
awesome episode!
I've been thinking: a VR experience of what these places would have been like at their apogee would be sooo awesome.. I'll have to learn to code to make that a reality lol
also, thank you Kyle!
Thank you! Let me know when you get that VR up and running!
ugh, another knock out of the park. I cannot thank you enough for your channel, I love it.
Thank you!
Thanks, Kyle! And thank you for this wonderful episode!
You're welcome!