Olmeca-Xicallanca

The Olmeca-Xicallanca, also known as the Historic Olmecs, were a people that dominated parts of central Mexico during the epiclassic period (after the seventh century), originating from the south of Veracruz and the west of Tabasco. They should not be confused with the preclassic Olmec culture, although it is possible that they originate from the same geographic area.

They are one of the most poorly understood cultures of Mesoamerica, despite having founded one of the first empires. They are considered to have dominated areas of central Mexico around the 5th century from their capital in Cacaxtla, near Cholula. They are known from the Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca of Fernando de Alva Ixtlixóchitl; the Historia de Tlaxcala by Diego Muñoz Camargo, and from the work of Chimalpahin.

There is more information about their resurgence at the end of the classic period, between the fall of Teotihuacán and the rise of the Toltecs, in the late eight and early ninth centuries. There is little concrete information on their origins or original language. The British Mayanist John Eric Thompson associated them with the putun itzaer, Maya traders from the Usumacinta basin and especially the Candelaria basin in Campeche. The putun might have taken advantage of the instability following the decline of Teotihuacan to make inroads into central Mexico and settle in the Puebla-Tlaxcala valley where they dominated Cacaxtla and Cholula. The twelfth century, when Cholula was their capital, was the height of their culture. In this period, Toltec groups settled in the region and accepted their government. In the thirteenth century they were finally conquered by Chichimecs. The last Olmeca-Xicallancas then migrated to Zacatlan and the gulf coast.