Original Settlements of Central Mexico City

Since ancient times, the Center of Mexico City was dominated by the Mexica people of Tenochtitlan. Contemporary visitors won't find the long lists of satellite towns that's so apparent in the modern city's alcaldías, as in the other 13 administrative divisions.

Here we present the few original settlements recognized today as important to the City's cultural legacy but which are easily within the dominion of the ancient imperial city. They shouldn't be missed simply because they're close.

Ancient Tenochtitlan is readily explored through it's four core neighborhoods, Atzacoalco (northeast), Cuepopan (northwest), Moyotlan (southwest), and Zoquiapan (southeast). But it's important to note that Tenochtitlan is not one of the recognized pueblos originarios, that is, the original settlements.

Surrounding that central city were several islands. One of these became the modern Iztacalco (southeast in the map), which is itself divided into several core ancient neighborhoods. To the northwest, Tlatelolco was inhabited by ancient rivals of the Mexica. And across the water in the east were several places important to the origins of the Mexica people. These constitute today's Alcaldía Venustiano Carranza. Administratively separated from the center city only in 1970, it appears to the center east in the map.