The State of Mexico (Spanish: Estado de México, pronounced [esˈtaðo ðe ˈmexiko] ), officially just Mexico (Spanish: México),[note 1] is one of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Commonly known as Edomex (from Estado de México) to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is the most populous, as well as the most densely populated, state in the country.
Located in south-central Mexico, the state is divided into 125 municipalities. The state capital city is Toluca de Lerdo ("Toluca"), while its largest city is Ecatepec de Morelos ("Ecatepec"). The State of Mexico surrounds Mexico City on three sides and borders the states of Querétaro and Hidalgo to the north, Morelos and Guerrero to the south, Michoacán to the west, and Tlaxcala and Puebla to the east.[8]
The territory that now comprises the State of Mexico once formed the core of the Pre-Hispanic Aztec Empire. During the Spanish colonial period, the region was incorporated into New Spain. After gaining independence in the 19th century, Mexico City was chosen as the capital of the new nation; its territory was separated out of the state. Years later, parts of the state were broken off to form the states of Hidalgo, Guerrero and Morelos. These territorial separations have left the state with the size and shape it has today, with the Toluca Valley to the west of Mexico City and a panhandle that extends around the north and east of this entity.
The demonym used to refer to people and things from the state is mexiquense, distinct from mexicano ('Mexican'), which describes the people or things from the country as a whole.
Mēxihco was originally the Nahuatl name for the Valley of Mexico where the cities of the Mexica (the proper name for the Aztec Triple Alliance) were located. As such, the district that became Mexico City was properly known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan in the years shortly before and after Spanish conquest. After the Spanish Conquest, the term México came to be used for Tenochtitlan/Mexico City and all the pre-conquest lands it controlled, including several other aforementioned Mexican states originally incorporated in the boundaries of the Mexico state.
There are two possible origins for the name "Mexico." The first is that it derives from metztli (moon) and xictla (navel) to mean "from the navel of the moon". This comes from the old Aztec idea that the craters on the moon form a rabbit figure with one crater imitating a navel. The other possible origin is that it is derived from "Mextictli", an alternate name for the god Huitzilopochtli.[9]
Anáhuac was the proper term for all territories dominated by the Aztec Empire, from Cem Anáhuac, "the entire earth" or "surrounded by waters" e.g. the waters of Lake Texcoco which were considered to be the center of the Aztec world,[10][11] and as such was proposed as an early name for the entire nation of Mexico prior to independence, to distinguish it from the (preexisting) administrative division of New Spain that became the State of Mexico.[12]
The earliest evidence of human habitation in current territory of the state is a quartz scraper and obsidian blade found in the Tlapacoya area, which was an island in the former Lake Chalco. They are dated to the Pleistocene era which dates human habitation back to 20,000 years. The first people were hunter-gatherers. Stone age implements have been found all over the territory from mammoth bones, to stone tools to human remains. Most have been found in the areas of Los Reyes Acozac, Tizayuca, Tepexpan, San Francisco Mazapa, El Risco and Tequixquiac. Between 20,000 and 5000 BCE, the people here eventually went from hunting and gathering to sedentary villages with farming and domesticated animals. The main crop was corn, and stone tools for the grinding of this grain become common. Later crops include beans, chili peppers and squash grown near established villages. Evidence of ceramics appears around 2500 BCE with the earliest artifacts of these appearing in Tlapacoya, Atoto, Malinalco, Acatzingo and Tlatilco.[13]
In prehistoric State of Mexico, the Tepexpan Man is an important finding for Mexican and foreign anthropologists; it is an important key to understand what the Valley of Mexico area was like, 5,000 years ago, as well as helping establish the occupation chronology of the region. Currently some scholars attribute an age of 11,000 years, others 8,000, and some have suggested 5,000 years old. This individual was originally identified as a male, but recent research confirms a female identity, although this is still a subject of discussion.[14][unreliable source?]
Sacrum bone found in Tequixquiac is considered a work of prehistoric art. These people were thought to be nomadic, hunting large animals such as mammoths and gathering fruits as evidenced by archaeological evidence found at the site. One of the most salient discoveries of primitive art in America was found in here, called the Tequixquiac Bone,[14][15] which had no known purpose, but reflected the ideological sense of the artist who carved the piece of bone from a camelid around 22,000 years BCE. The first native settlers of Tequixquiac were the Aztecs and Otomi, who decided to settle here permanently for the abundance of rivers and springs. They were engaged mainly in agriculture and the breeding of domestic animals.[16]
The earliest major civilization of the state is Teotihuacan, with the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon being built between 100 BCE and 100 CE. Between 800 and 900 CE, the Matlatzincas established their dominion with Teotenango as capital. This city is walled with plazas, terraces, temples, altars, living quarters and a Mesoamerican ball game court. In the 15th century, the Aztecs conquered the Toluca and Chalco valleys to the west and east of the Valley of Mexico respectively. Part of the Toluca Valley was held by the Purépechas as well. Other dominions during the pre-Hispanic period include that of the Chichimecas in Tenayuca and of the Acolhuas in Huexotla, Texcotizingo and Los Melones. Other important groups were the Mazahuas in the Atlacomulco area. Their center was at Mazahuacán, next to Jocotitlán volcano. The Otomis were centered in Jilotepec.[13]
The origin of the modern state is the reorganization of Aztec lands starting after the Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire. These lands were initially called the "audiencia" of Mexico and included Mexico City, much of modern states of Guerrero, Morelos and Hidalgo. As the Spanish expanded their control west and south, the entirety was called "New Spain" with former Aztec lands being called "Mexico." The organization of New Spain would change over the course of the colonial period, but the territory of the Aztecs would keep the name "Mexico".[9][13]
After the Conquest in 1521, Hernán Cortés' cousin Juan Altamirano was given dominion of the Toluca Valley. Other conquistadors such as Antonio Caicedo, Juan de Jaramillo, Cristobal Hernandez and Juan de Samano received encomiendas in the state. Franciscan missionaries came soon after such as Martin de Valencia, Juan de Tecto, Juan de Ahora, and Pedro de Gante, who established missions and the first school called San Antonio de Padua.[13]
In 1535, the areas around Mexico City were divided into a number of "alcaldías mayors" called Chalco y Ameca, Tlayacapan y Coatepec, Otumba, Ecatepec, Sultepec, Zacualpan, Temascaltepec, Malinalco, Metepec and Ixtlahuaca with Toluca and Texcoco recognized as cities. Other orders followed such as the Dominicans, the Augustinians and the Jesuits.[13]
During the colonial period, most of the area's economy was based on agriculture with some mining in the areas of Temascaltepec, Sultepec, Valle de Bravo, Tlatlaya, Amatepec and Zacualpan and the production of pulque[8] in Otumba and Texcoco. In addition certain areas were known for crafts such as wool processing in Texcoco and Sultepec, soap in Toluca, saddles in Almoloya de Juárez, and rebozos in various areas. However, the vast majority of the area's population was extremely poor due to exploitation.[13]
