Acapulco - Precolonial History of Acapulco, Guerrero

Precolumbian History of Acapulco, Guerrero

Precolonial History of Acapulco

Some of the history of Acapulco, Guerrero before the arrival of the dreaded Spanish, who, to their eternal shame burned all the documents they could lay their hands on, may be no more true than the 'Legend of Acapulco' but it is worth a few brief words.

It is reckoned that the area had been inhabited for 5,000 or so years before colonization. That there were inhabitants as early as that is hardly surprising given the lush vegetation, once abundant fauna and the wealth of the sea. Altogether a combination sure to encourage our rapacious species. The material evidence for this consists of the hardly unexpected bones, shells and seeds deposited in such a way as to lead men more eminent than I to conclude that early human presence is a given.

These early settlers were probably few in number (show me a 50000 year old metropolis in the Americas) and could only have survived by hunting and gathering (please forgive me if I am stating the obvious).

It is also reckoned that they didn't have much contact with anyone else and that also makes a lot of sense given the not very hospitable terrain around Acapulco. This gave them plenty of time to carve family portraits in the rocks at Palma Sola (see photo) which is not the most fabulous pre-Columbian archeological site but worth a visit if you are keen on that sort of thing.

These early settlers eventually got the hang of growing useful things by planting at the right time of year, and settled down to eat, drink and make more babies.

About three thousand years ago a tribe (the Náoha) turned up and gave the place a name. It appears that they had a more structured society. From the look of some of their art they were probably related to the Olmecs who were much more predominant on the Gulf coast of Mexico and lived quite happily until along came the Aztecs.

Now the Aztecs were a much more bellicose bunch and had totally taken over by about 1486 AD but the poor buggers had really only just got the whole thing started when in 1502 along came…. You've got it… THE SPANIARDS. It always amazes me just how quickly things happened after old Columbus' arrival in 1492… there were stone convents built by 1520 (and they are still standing).

So there you have it, the precolonical history of Acapulco, Guerrero… a few primitive souls taken over by some not so primitive ones who hung around for two millennia only to be knocked on the head twice in 20 years… a bit traumatic don't you think?