Derived from Nahuatl chicome (“seven”), oztotl (“cave”), and -c (“place”), this is the mythic place of origin of the seven tribes and their deities who populated Central Mexico. In symbolic terms these caves within a hill have been compared to the wombs from which the various peoples were born; another possible association is with the seven orifices of the human body. In either case, this term is associated with the origin, birth, or beginning of a group of people, both mythic and historical. The best-known of them are the Mexica (Aztec) who started their migration from Aztlan and a nearby place called Chicomóztoc, along with the Matlatzinca, Chalca, Colhua, Tecpaneca, Acolhua, and Tlahuica peoples. Some chronicles add the Toltec, Michuaca, Huexotzinca, and Tlaxcallan. In all accounts, the Mexica were the last to leave the place of origin. Other incidents in Chicomóztoc involved Ilancueytl, who gave birth to a flint knife, which fell to earth from the sky; from its pieces, sixteen hundred humans were created. Another story says that Chicomóztoc was the birthplace of men who initiated long generations: Xelhua, Tenoch, Ulmecatl, Xicalancatl, Mixtecatl, and Otomitl, all born of the divine couple Iztac Mixcoatl and Ilancueytl.
Attempts have been made to equate Chicomóztoc with geographical places since the eighteenth century. Some historians proposed Florida as its site; others suggested a small Central Mexican town near Tula called Chapa de Mota; and still others asserted that Chicomóztoc was to be identified with the archaeological ruins of La Quemada in the Central Mexican state of Zacatecas. Not one of these ideas has been substantiated by historical or archaeological facts. Most likely, the use of this term in chronicles refers to a legendary account, usually employed to validate political rule.
The caves, as places of origin and entrances to a lost paradise, are frequently depicted in codices, reliefs, and mural paintings of various periods and incorporate geo-graphical and mythic glyphs. In Mesoamerica, caves are usually symbols of creation and life. Chicomóztoc is one name for these places, but there are also Colhuacán (“place of grandparents”), Teocolhuacan (“place of divine ancestors”), Tamoanchan (“house of birth”), and Cincalco (“house of maize”), among others. All these names refer to caves as places of respect and veneration. Formally, the caves are represented as a flower with four petals; this is exemplified in archaeological monuments beginning in the Olmec period, and in pictorial manuscripts, such as the Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca, in which Chicomóztoc is figured as seven caves within an arched hill, with people inside. These caves, too, resemble a petaloid flower.
Archaeologically, the caves found in hills were associated with the gods of rain and agriculture. Some caves have also been located below pyramidal structures in several sites. A good example of this pattern is the cave found below the Pyramid of Sun at Teotihuacan, a large tunnel more than 100 meters (330 feet) long, which ends in four natural concavities that were enlarged by human work. These caves may be seen as the shape of a flower, which suggests that the concept of Chicomóztoc as a holy place of origin had a long tradition in Mesoamerica that predated the Mexica.0195108159.chicomoztoc.1.tifChicomóztoc from the Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca. Photograph courtesy of Blas Roman Castellon Huerta.
