Published July 8, 2025 | Version v1
Journal article Open

The Purépecha

Authors/Creators

  • 1. University of Ottawa

Contributors

  • 1. The University of British Columbia

Description

The Purépecha (also known as P'urhépecha or Tarascan) inhabited the highlands and lake regions of the Mexican state of Michoacán. One of the most prominent civilizations in Mesoamerica, they built a powerful city-state known as the Tarascan state. They were among the few civilizations to successfully resist the Aztec Empire and spoke a distinctive language unrelated to those of neighboring communities. The Purépecha are also known for being one of the few civilizations in Mesoamerica with advanced metalworking. They crafted tools, ornaments and weapons using copper and silver, among other metals. Their territory, centered around Lake Pátzcuaro, was organized into a strong centralized political system with a capital at Tzintzuntzan. The state was ruled by a hereditary leader called the Cazonci, supported by a network of regional administrators. The Purépecha maintained a military structure and a bureaucratic government that allowed them to expand and defend their territory effectively. Religion played a central role in Purépecha life. Their pantheon included deities associated with fire, sun, and war, such as Curicaueri, their main deity. Human sacrifices were common offerings to deities, practiced by religious specialists. Unlike many Mesoamerican cultures, the Purépecha language has no known relation to any other language family in the region. Despite colonization and forced conversion, Purépecha identity remains strong to this date, and has become a symbol for the modern state of Michoacán. Many of their practices, customs, political and social structures were vastly recorded in the 16th century document written by Fray Jerónimo de Alcalá. This document is known as Relación de Michoacán and has long inspired nation-wide interest in studying the Purépecha Empire.

Files

The_Purépecha.pdf

Files (482.3 kB)

Name Size Download all
md5:f156454cd99512b10c12eaf375e9ac5b
482.3 kB Preview Download

Additional details

References

  • Williams, E.. "The Tarascan Empire in the Mesoamerican Ecumene". In Ancient West Mexico: Archaeology and Culture History. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019.
  • Fisher, C.T., A.S. Cohen, and R. Solinis-Casparius . "A Typology of Ancient Purépecha (tarascan) Architecture from Angamuco, Michoacán, Mexico". Latin American Antiquity 30, no. 3 (2019): 510–28.
  • de Alcalá , Jerónimo. Relación De Michoacán. México: El Colegio de Michoacán, 2008.
  • Hassig, R.. Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control. United States: University of Oklahoma Press, 1988.
  • Pollard, H.P.. Tariacuri's Legacy: The Pre Hispanic Tarascan State. United States: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993.
  • Pollard, H.P.. "A Model of the Emergence of the Tarascan State". Ancient Mesoamerica 19, no. 2 (2008): 217–30.
  • Pollard, H.P., and S. Gorenstein. "Agrarian Potential, Population, and the Tarascan State". Science 209, no. 4453 (1980): 274–77.
  • Campos-Hernández, C.M.. "Ritual Human Sacrifice Among the Tarascans of West Mexico". In Ritual Human Sacrifice in Mesoamerica. United States: Springer International Publishing, 2024.
  • Corona Núñez, J.. Mitología Tarasca. Morelia: Instituto Michoacano de Cultura, 1999.
  • González Rivadeneira, T., A. Casas, and A. Argueta Villamar. "Food Sovereignty of the P'urhépecha of Michoacán, Mexico: Historical Review and Critical Perspectives from Nature-culture Relationships". ." Journal of Ethnic Foods 9, no. 1 (2022): 1–15.
  • González, R.M.. "Muerte Y Destinos Post Mortem Entre Los Tarascos Prehispánicos". Anales De Antropología 47, no. 1 (2013): 211–42.
  • Monzón, C.. "Los Principales Dioses Tarascos: Un Ensayo De Análisis Etimológico En La Cosmología Tarasca". Relaciones 26, no. 104 (2005): 136–68.
  • Ramírez, F.C.. Ireti Khatape. Ensayo De Una Interpretación De La Relación De Michoacán. Personajes Y Dioses Michoacanos. México: Casa Ramírez Editores, 1956.
  • Corona Núñez, J.. "La Religión De Los Tarascos". Anales Del Museo Michoacano 4, no. 2 (1946): 13–38.
  • Hurtado Mendoza, F.. La Religión De Los Purépechas: Un Testimonio Del Pueblo Tarasco. Morelia: Linotipografía Omega, 1986.
  • González Torres, Y.. Diccionario De Mitología Y Religión De Mesoamérica. Madrid: Larousse, 2005.
  • Pollard, H.P., S. Kurnick, and J. Baron. "Ruling "purépecha Chichimeca" in a Tarascan World". In Political Strategies in Pre-columbian Mesoamerica. United States: University Press of Colorado, 2016.
  • Pollard, H.P., and L. Cahue. "Mortuary Patterns of Regional Elites in the Lake Patzcuaro Basin of Western Mexico". Latin American Antiquity 10, no. 3 (1999): 259–80.
  • García Mora, C.. Diccionario De Lengua Phorhepecha. México: Tsimarhu/ Estudio de Etnólogos, 2013.
  • Márquez Joaquín, P.. "Dichos Y Creencias P'urhépecha". Relaciones 15, no. 59 (1994): 273–95.
  • Martínez González, R.. "Los Tarascos Ante El Sacrificio Humano". Itinerarios: Revista De Estudios Lingüísticos, Literarios, Históricos Y Antropológicos, no. 36 (2022): 143–63.
  • Gorenstein, S., and H.P. Pollard. The Tarascan Civilization: A Late Prehispanic Cultural System. Nashville: Vanderbilt University, 1983.
  • Paredes, C.. "La Estratificación Social De Los Tarascos". Arqueología Mexicana 4, no. 19 (1996): 34–39.
  • Paredes, C.. "El Sistema Tributario Prehispánico Entre Los Tarascos". In El Modo De Producción Tributario En Mesoamérica. Yucatán: Escuela de Ciencias Antropológicas, Universidad de Yucatán, 1984.
  • Reyes García, C.. "Manuscritos Purhépechas De La Época Colonial". Relaciones (COLMICH, Zamora) 12, no. 48 (1991): 177–85.
  • Kuákari, H.. Miukúa (the Purépecha Calendar). United States: Barnes & Noble Press, 2022.
  • Acosta, J.R.. "Exploraciones Arqueológicas Realizadas En El Estado De Michoacán Durante Los Años 1937 Y 1938". Revista Mexicana De Estudios Antropológicos 3, no. 2 (1939): 85–98.
  • Hirshman, A.J.. "Tarascan Ceramic Production and Implications for Ceramic Distribution". Ancient Mesoamerica 19, no. 2 (2008): 299–310.
  • Cohen, A.S.. "Potting Communities and Conservatism in the Purépecha Empire at Angamuco, Michoacán, Mexico". Ancient Mesoamerica 35, no. 2 (2024): 588–97.
  • Begun, E.. "The Many Faces of Figurines: Figurines as Markers of Ethnicity in Michoacan". Ancient Mesoamerica 19, no. 2 (2008): 311–18.
  • LaCerva, D.. Purépecha Y Pescado: Food, Status, and Conquest in 16th Century Michoacán. Master of Arts Thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center: University of Toledo, 2017.
  • Solinis-Casparius, R,. "Mesoamerican Urban Road Network: An Analysis of Pedestrian Pathways of Angamuco, Michoacán". Latin American Antiquity 33, no. 3 (2022): 464–84.
  • Garcia, D.E.. Materials of the Sacred: 16th to 18th Century Religious Materiality in Michoacán. Master of Arts Thesis. Riverside: University of California , 2012.
  • Carvajal Medina, Ricardo. The Tarascan-mexica Wars, 1476-1521. Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, 2023.
  • Cabrera Castro, R.. "Cerámica Suntuaria De Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán". In Tiempo Y Territorio En Arqueología: El Centro Norte De México. Mexico City: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 1996.
  • Williams, E.. "The Tarascan Empire in the Mesoamerican Ecumene". In Ancient West Mexico: Archaeology and Culture History. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019.
  • Foste, M.S., and S. Gorenstein, eds.. Greater Mesoamerica : The Archaeology of West and Northwest Mexico. Edited by M.S. Foste and S. Gorenstein. United States: University of Utah Press, 2000.
  • Fisher, C.T., A.S. Cohen, and R. Solinis-Casparius . "A Typology of Ancient Purépecha (tarascan) Architecture from Angamuco, Michoacán, Mexico". Latin American Antiquity 30, no. 3 (2019): 510–28.
  • Anonymous. "Tarascan". In Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021.
  • Foster, M.L.. The Tarascan Language. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969.
  • Boyd, M.. Eight Tarascan Legends. Gainesville: Texas Christian Univ Pr, 1958.
  • Haskell, D.L.. "The Cultural Logic of Hierarchy in the Tarascan State: History as Ideology in the 'relación De Michoacán'". Ancient Mesoamerica 19, no. 2 (2008): 231–41.
  • de Alcalá , Jerónimo. Relación De Michoacán. México: El Colegio de Michoacán, 2008.
  • El Colegio de Michoacán. "Proyecto Relación De Michoacán", 2008. http://etzakutarakua.colmich.edu.mx/proyectos/relaciondemichoacan/default.asp.
  • Hassig, R.. Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control. United States: University of Oklahoma Press, 1988.
  • Pollard, H.P.. Tariacuri's Legacy: The Pre Hispanic Tarascan State. United States: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993.
  • Pollard, H.P.. "A Model of the Emergence of the Tarascan State". Ancient Mesoamerica 19, no. 2 (2008): 217–30.
  • Pollard, H.P., and S. Gorenstein. "Agrarian Potential, Population, and the Tarascan State". Science 209, no. 4453 (1980): 274–77.
  • Beltrán, U.. Tarascan State and Society in Prehispanic Times, an Ethnohistorical Inquiry. Phd Thesis.. United States: University of Chicago. Department of History, 1982.
  • Campos-Hernández, C.M.. "Ritual Human Sacrifice Among the Tarascans of West Mexico". In Ritual Human Sacrifice in Mesoamerica. United States: Springer International Publishing, 2024.
  • Corona Núñez, J.. Mitología Tarasca. Morelia: Instituto Michoacano de Cultura, 1999.
  • Lopez Austin, Alfredo. "El Fundamento Mágico-religioso Del Poder". Estudios De Cultura Nahuatl, no. 12 (1976): 197–240.
  • González Rivadeneira, T., A. Casas, and A. Argueta Villamar. "Food Sovereignty of the P'urhépecha of Michoacán, Mexico: Historical Review and Critical Perspectives from Nature-culture Relationships". ." Journal of Ethnic Foods 9, no. 1 (2022): 1–15.
  • González, R.M.. "Muerte Y Destinos Post Mortem Entre Los Tarascos Prehispánicos". Anales De Antropología 47, no. 1 (2013): 211–42.
  • Haskell, D.L., and C.J. Stawski. "Re-envisioning Tarascan Temporalities and Landscapes: Historical Being, Archaeological Representation, and Futurity in Past Social Processes". Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 24, no. 2 (2017): 611–39.
  • Chamorro, A., D.A. Olsen, and D.E. Sheehy. "Purépecha (tarascan)". In South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. New York and London: Routledge, 1998.
  • Monzón, C.. "Los Principales Dioses Tarascos: Un Ensayo De Análisis Etimológico En La Cosmología Tarasca". Relaciones 26, no. 104 (2005): 136–68.
  • Ramírez, F.C.. Ireti Khatape. Ensayo De Una Interpretación De La Relación De Michoacán. Personajes Y Dioses Michoacanos. México: Casa Ramírez Editores, 1956.
  • Corona Núñez, J.. "La Religión De Los Tarascos". Anales Del Museo Michoacano 4, no. 2 (1946): 13–38.
  • Hurtado Mendoza, F.. La Religión De Los Purépechas: Un Testimonio Del Pueblo Tarasco. Morelia: Linotipografía Omega, 1986.
  • Sepúlveda, M.T.. Los Cargos Políticos Y Religiosos En La Región Del Lago De Pátzcuaro. México: INAH (Colección Científica, serie Etnología), 1974.
  • González Torres, Y.. Diccionario De Mitología Y Religión De Mesoamérica. Madrid: Larousse, 2005.
  • Pollard, H.P., S. Kurnick, and J. Baron. "Ruling "purépecha Chichimeca" in a Tarascan World". In Political Strategies in Pre-columbian Mesoamerica. United States: University Press of Colorado, 2016.
  • Zavala, A.J.. Mitología Y Modernización. Morelia: El Colegio de Michoacán, Gobierno del Estado de Michoacán, 1988.
  • Pollard, H.P., and L. Cahue. "Mortuary Patterns of Regional Elites in the Lake Patzcuaro Basin of Western Mexico". Latin American Antiquity 10, no. 3 (1999): 259–80.
  • Peña Delgado, E.. Los Tarascos a Través De Las Fuentes Y La Arqueología. Tesis.. México: Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 1980.
  • García Mora, C.. Diccionario De Lengua Phorhepecha. México: Tsimarhu/ Estudio de Etnólogos, 2013.
  • Márquez Joaquín, P.. "Dichos Y Creencias P'urhépecha". Relaciones 15, no. 59 (1994): 273–95.
  • Martínez González, R.. "Los Tarascos Ante El Sacrificio Humano". Itinerarios: Revista De Estudios Lingüísticos, Literarios, Históricos Y Antropológicos, no. 36 (2022): 143–63.
  • Hernández Rivero, J.I.. Arqueología De La Frontera Tarasco-mexica: Conformación, Estrategia Y Tácticas De Control Estatal. México: ENAH, 1994.
  • García Alcaráz, A.. "Estratificación Social Entre Los Tarascos Prehispánicos". In Estratificación Social En La Mesoamérica Prehispánica. México: SEP-INAH, 1982.
  • Gorenstein, S., and H.P. Pollard. The Tarascan Civilization: A Late Prehispanic Cultural System. Nashville: Vanderbilt University, 1983.
  • Paredes, C.. "La Estratificación Social De Los Tarascos". Arqueología Mexicana 4, no. 19 (1996): 34–39.
  • Paredes, C.. "El Sistema Tributario Prehispánico Entre Los Tarascos". In El Modo De Producción Tributario En Mesoamérica. Yucatán: Escuela de Ciencias Antropológicas, Universidad de Yucatán, 1984.
  • Reyes García, C.. "Manuscritos Purhépechas De La Época Colonial". Relaciones (COLMICH, Zamora) 12, no. 48 (1991): 177–85.
  • Kuákari, H.. Miukúa (the Purépecha Calendar). United States: Barnes & Noble Press, 2022.
  • Acosta, J.R.. "Exploraciones Arqueológicas Realizadas En El Estado De Michoacán Durante Los Años 1937 Y 1938". Revista Mexicana De Estudios Antropológicos 3, no. 2 (1939): 85–98.
  • Hirshman, A.J.. "Tarascan Ceramic Production and Implications for Ceramic Distribution". Ancient Mesoamerica 19, no. 2 (2008): 299–310.
  • Cohen, A.S.. "Potting Communities and Conservatism in the Purépecha Empire at Angamuco, Michoacán, Mexico". Ancient Mesoamerica 35, no. 2 (2024): 588–97.
  • Begun, E.. "The Many Faces of Figurines: Figurines as Markers of Ethnicity in Michoacan". Ancient Mesoamerica 19, no. 2 (2008): 311–18.
  • LaCerva, D.. Purépecha Y Pescado: Food, Status, and Conquest in 16th Century Michoacán. Master of Arts Thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center: University of Toledo, 2017.
  • Solinis-Casparius, R,. "Mesoamerican Urban Road Network: An Analysis of Pedestrian Pathways of Angamuco, Michoacán". Latin American Antiquity 33, no. 3 (2022): 464–84.
  • Garcia, D.E.. Materials of the Sacred: 16th to 18th Century Religious Materiality in Michoacán. Master of Arts Thesis. Riverside: University of California , 2012.
  • Carvajal Medina, Ricardo. The Tarascan-mexica Wars, 1476-1521. Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, 2023.
  • Cabrera Castro, R.. "Cerámica Suntuaria De Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán". In Tiempo Y Territorio En Arqueología: El Centro Norte De México. Mexico City: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 1996.