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!
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
@@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.
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?
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!
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 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
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.
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!!!
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.
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.
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
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.
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 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.
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 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 😀)
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.
@@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 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.
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.
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
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!)
@@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.
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!
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 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!
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!!
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
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.
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.
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.
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!!!
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 RUclips much. Now I feel like y’all need to meet someday. They’re in Sevierville, up in the mountains 🏔️(small world)
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.
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.
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
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.
@@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 RUclips, but you always do such detailed research and coverage. ({: ^)}
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
@@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?
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 😅
excellent overview on the Purépecha, i heard of the Tarascans as they are most commonly rereferred to but the fact they were a rival of the Aztecs during the latter's height is incredible,.
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!
It was so wonderful coming across your video. I’m P’urepecha from a small town called cheran in Michoacán. Unfortunately my family had to move to the states when i was young, so there isn’t much I got to learn about my culture. I’ve been slowly trying to find information and lean as much as possible.
I have Purepecha ancestry from my paternal grandmother. From my mom's side mostly Spanish. My paternal grandpa he was mix between Indigenous and Spanish. I'm mestizo. European and Amerindian.
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.
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!
Growing up did not pay much attention to this but now that I'm older I can appreciate my history.. It was awesome to listen to my dad speak in purépecha dialect..Tarascan... wish I would of payed attention sooner .None the less I feel proud to be Purépeche descendant.
This has been eye-opening. It's great to know (a little) about these people. Thank you. Suggestion: find out if accent marks mean the same as in Spanish. If so, put the stress on those syllables. The Wiki page, Purépecha Language, has this: "As in Spanish orthography, a stressed syllable is indicated by the acute accent."
Holy shit, I was just thinking last night, "Man, I wish I could find one of this ancient history channels that spell out exactly how they arrive at the information presented in the video. Nice work!
My family is from Huetamo Michoacán and I literally hear no one talk about it or anything interesting or the indigenous people from their idk but it breaks my heart because I don’t know nothing about my home land
Thanks for uploading this video! Like many other commentors, my family is also from Michoacán. It's refreshing to see videos made about the Purepecha empire, since it's hardly ever talked about outside of my family. This video inspired me to do another playthrough as the Purepecha in EU4.
Still hoping to see you do some videos on Inuit related topics, a real fascinating history and culture they have. Plus I would really love to hear if there was a lot building they did than I was ever told about, which having watched your stuff for a good long time now I have a feeling i was never told the full amount of cool stuff the Inuit have done cause i sadly never really am on any pre-colombian groups unless you're making a video on them at this rate
My parents are from Michoacán, and I’m a Mestizo, I like this video and the fact that more than likely my Pre-Colombian ancestors were this civilization.
When we lived in Stephenville, TX, a good friend of mine discovered an obvious Aztec burial site (marvelous artifacts). I can't tell from the map on this video if the author included this region in the area of Aztec influence.
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.
Outstanding presentation! Thank you for researching, making, and sharing this very important information. I have been a huge fan of history as a hobby for over 55 years... and, sadly, I had never known anything about these fascinating people.
I'm so very proud to say that I have Purépecha blood in my veins 💜 My grandfather was Purépecha indian and his mother, my great grandmother was some kind of a healer or shaman. They spoke in dialect, unfortunately none of us ever learned it. I'm glad to have found your post. I will save it for my family to watch.
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 RUclips
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.
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?
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.
@@GarfieldEnjoyer1878 whatever, Klansman.
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
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...
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 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?
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
A los purépechas nunca les gustó que los llamaran tarascos, los españoles fueron los que les pusieron ese nombre y para ellos era humillante.
@@zimriel Delicious
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
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
My people, my culture, my life! Thanks for presenting this 👏✨
You're welcome!
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!
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
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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!
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 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!
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!!
PurÉpechas ... my people!!! My ancestors are purépechas!!!
I love your channel! It help so much with my son’s homework!!! THANKYOU!!!!
Thank you!
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
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!
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.
Blown away. I had no idea this incredible culture even existed. Bravo. Keep up the great work!
Thank you!
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 RUclips much.
Now I feel like y’all need to meet someday. They’re in Sevierville, up in the mountains 🏔️(small world)
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.
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!
Finally I can learn about my heritage. This means a lot to me as even my pre columbian history class glosses over us.
Stellar as always. Especially "I've locked all the doors. There is no escape."
These are the folks I most remember from my Aztec History Class - the ones who the Aztecs feared.
I've gone to the purepecha museum of Tzintzuntzan, it's pretty cool and those round pyramids are also quite cool.
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
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.
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 RUclips, but you always do such detailed research and coverage. ({: ^)}
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.
YEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS I've been needing a good video on them, the rivals of the Aztecs
The respect you use when covering other cultures has earned you a sub, a like and comment from me. Thank you. ❤️
Thank you!
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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!
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!
This channel is criminally underrated
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!
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.
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.
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!
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.
excellent overview on the Purépecha, i heard of the Tarascans as they are most commonly rereferred to but the fact they were a rival of the Aztecs during the latter's height is incredible,.
Thank you!
The Purépecha dislike being called "Tarascans", as it means "brother-in-law"...
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!
At least at first glance this guy has hearted and commented on every comment.
Keep up the good work!
Thank you!
In Colima there is a huge statue of COLIMAN the conqueror, who did resist the Spanish armies.
My family is from Huandacareo! I love how all are cities and towns still have native names!
It was so wonderful coming across your video. I’m P’urepecha from a small town called cheran in Michoacán. Unfortunately my family had to move to the states when i was young, so there isn’t much I got to learn about my culture. I’ve been slowly trying to find information and lean as much as possible.
Thank you! I hope you are able to learn more!
In Jalisco Mexico by Lake Cajititlan, there is an archeological site dated back to 800-1000ce which may be remnants of this ancient civilization.
I have Purepecha ancestry from my paternal grandmother. From my mom's side mostly Spanish. My paternal grandpa he was mix between Indigenous and Spanish. I'm mestizo. European and Amerindian.
Undistinguished my ass. Michoacan has the best tacos in all of Mexico.
Imma be real, i hate tamales...but tamales in michoacan were fucking amazing! I gained 10 pounds in 2 weeks. Lol
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.
Wow!!! This was incredible! I never understood how the Aztec’s neighboring powers just let the Spanish through. This made the puzzle fit.
Thank you! Before I started researching this I had wondered the same thing. I was just as glad to learn what I did.
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.
Been wanting this one. Thanks.
You're welcome!
YES!! I've been wanting to learn more about the fascinating and honorable Tarascan!!
Awesome to learn about our ancestors. My grandmother's last name was Tzintzuntzan and it's awesome to see where the name came from.
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!
As the grandchild of a Purepecha born in Cheran, I'm so proud of my history.
Have lived in Patzcuaro since 2011. Wonderful smaller Spanish Colonial city. Very inexpensive and I have seen no violence since I moved here!
Growing up did not pay much attention to this but now that I'm older I can appreciate my history..
It was awesome to listen to my dad speak in purépecha dialect..Tarascan... wish I would of payed attention sooner .None the less I feel proud to be Purépeche descendant.
This has been eye-opening. It's great to know (a little) about these people. Thank you. Suggestion: find out if accent marks mean the same as in Spanish. If so, put the stress on those syllables. The Wiki page, Purépecha Language, has this: "As in Spanish orthography, a stressed syllable is indicated by the acute accent."
Thank you. My pronunciation isn't the best and for that I apologize. I'm still learning.
Thanks for pointing that out.
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!
I was born in Sahuayo Michoacán. I had never known this. This is amazing 👏
Sahuayo michoacan 💯
Holy shit, I was just thinking last night, "Man, I wish I could find one of this ancient history channels that spell out exactly how they arrive at the information presented in the video. Nice work!
Thank you!
Great video as always! My dads family comes from otomies In Guanajuato. Love channels and videos not exclusively talking about Maya and Aztecs!
Thank you!
What a lovely recommendation of the algorithm for this amazing video on the Tarascan people. Being of Tarascan descent myself, this was amazing.
This video was really cool. It's about time that you can see a video that's not all the bad stuff about the place.
My family is from Huetamo Michoacán and I literally hear no one talk about it or anything interesting or the indigenous people from their idk but it breaks my heart because I don’t know nothing about my home land
Thanks for uploading this video! Like many other commentors, my family is also from Michoacán.
It's refreshing to see videos made about the Purepecha empire, since it's hardly ever talked about outside of my family. This video inspired me to do another playthrough as the Purepecha in EU4.
Thank you! Good luck with the Purepecha playthrough!
This is my 4th time watching this. It’s a great video, as a 12 back then learning to now being 15 I have never left your channel❤
Thank you! I'm glad you like it so much!
Still hoping to see you do some videos on Inuit related topics, a real fascinating history and culture they have. Plus I would really love to hear if there was a lot building they did than I was ever told about, which having watched your stuff for a good long time now I have a feeling i was never told the full amount of cool stuff the Inuit have done cause i sadly never really am on any pre-colombian groups unless you're making a video on them at this rate
The Inuit are on my topic list. We'll get to them someday.
My parents are from Michoacán, and I’m a Mestizo, I like this video and the fact that more than likely my Pre-Colombian ancestors were this civilization.
Please keep making videos. I love learning about Mesoamerica 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
FYI 1:19 title card says Moche.
Great job though, enjoy these less covered cultures. Very educational.
Ahh! How did no one notice this until now??
ugh, another knock out of the park. I cannot thank you enough for your channel, I love it.
Thank you!
When we lived in Stephenville, TX, a good friend of mine discovered an obvious Aztec burial site (marvelous artifacts). I can't tell from the map on this video if the author included this region in the area of Aztec influence.
I have been waiting for this for so long thank you!!!!! Great video.
Thank you!
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.
Outstanding presentation! Thank you for researching, making, and sharing this very important information. I have been a huge fan of history as a hobby for over 55 years... and, sadly, I had never known anything about these fascinating people.
Thank you!
I'm so very proud to say that I have Purépecha blood in my veins 💜 My grandfather was Purépecha indian and his mother, my great grandmother was some kind of a healer or shaman. They spoke in dialect, unfortunately none of us ever learned it. I'm glad to have found your post. I will save it for my family to watch.
My family is from a town called Purepero de Echaiz it was great to hear of our heritage in Michoacán I had no idea our people were so great. Thank you
The algorithm brought me you. There's that. I'm subscribing. Your work is abfab😎
Thank you!
Wow, this chapter was pretty impressive. I would also enjoy learning more about the muiscas, in addision to the valdivias.
Thank you! I really want to cover the Muisca at some point.
That's explains why I'm so good with hand to hand combat, and various ancient to modern weapons, It's in my DNA