Tamuín
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (June 2008) |
Tamuín, San Luis Potosi, Mexico | |
---|---|
UTC-5 (Central) | |
Postal code | 79200 |
Area code | 489 |
Website | tamuin.gob.mx/wb2 |
Tamuín is a municipio (second-level administrative division) in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí. Tamuín is internationally renowned for three archaeological sites representative of the precolonial Huastec culture.
Toponymy
The name Tamuín has been spelled in many ways over time: Tamui, Tamuche, Tamuchi, Tam-Ohin, Tamo-Oxxi, Tam-Huinic, Tamuyn, Tamohi, Tamnoc. Its meaning is undetermined, and there have been many proposals about it, two of which being “
Location
The municipality is situated in the eastern part of the State of
Hydrography
The Tampaón River runs through the middle of Tamuín. It joins the Moctezuma River to form the Pánuco River, which empties into the Gulf of Mexico. This region contains the following lagoons: Los Patitos, Tansey, Brasil, San José del Limón, Palmas Cortadas and Mirador.
Climate
The climate is hot for most of the year, turning to between cool and cold between November and February.
Climate data for Tamuín (1951–2010) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 38.5 (101.3) |
39.5 (103.1) |
46.7 (116.1) |
47.5 (117.5) |
48.9 (120.0) |
45.5 (113.9) |
41.1 (106.0) |
40.5 (104.9) |
41.2 (106.2) |
39.5 (103.1) |
39.8 (103.6) |
37.5 (99.5) |
48.9 (120.0) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 25.1 (77.2) |
27.3 (81.1) |
31.0 (87.8) |
34.2 (93.6) |
36.0 (96.8) |
35.7 (96.3) |
34.2 (93.6) |
34.7 (94.5) |
33.1 (91.6) |
31.1 (88.0) |
28.4 (83.1) |
25.6 (78.1) |
31.4 (88.5) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 19.1 (66.4) |
20.8 (69.4) |
24.1 (75.4) |
27.2 (81.0) |
29.5 (85.1) |
29.8 (85.6) |
28.8 (83.8) |
29.1 (84.4) |
28.0 (82.4) |
25.7 (78.3) |
22.5 (72.5) |
19.8 (67.6) |
25.4 (77.7) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 13.2 (55.8) |
14.4 (57.9) |
17.2 (63.0) |
20.3 (68.5) |
23.0 (73.4) |
23.8 (74.8) |
23.4 (74.1) |
23.4 (74.1) |
22.8 (73.0) |
20.2 (68.4) |
16.7 (62.1) |
14.1 (57.4) |
19.4 (66.9) |
Record low °C (°F) | 0.0 (32.0) |
1.5 (34.7) |
3.0 (37.4) |
9.5 (49.1) |
11.0 (51.8) |
18.0 (64.4) |
18.5 (65.3) |
19.0 (66.2) |
12.0 (53.6) |
10.0 (50.0) |
4.5 (40.1) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 22.5 (0.89) |
19.7 (0.78) |
18.7 (0.74) |
35.2 (1.39) |
77.8 (3.06) |
138.6 (5.46) |
208.2 (8.20) |
128.3 (5.05) |
213.6 (8.41) |
103.2 (4.06) |
26.7 (1.05) |
27.2 (1.07) |
1,019.7 (40.15) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 5.2 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 5.5 | 8.8 | 10.7 | 9.3 | 11.7 | 7.4 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 80.4 |
Average relative humidity (%)
|
69 | 69 | 67 | 65 | 65 | 67 | 70 | 70 | 74 | 70 | 71 | 71 | 69 |
Source: Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (humidity 1981–2000)[1][2][3] |
History
Tamuín was the site of the first royal land lease (merced de tierra) in the portion of Huasteca which within the modern day state of San Luis Potosí. In 1555, the
In 1787, the
Under the constitution of the newly independent Mexican Republic, promulgated in 1824, the provinces of the former colony were transformed into "free and sovereign states".[5] The first constitution of the State of San Luis Potosí was enacted by its constituent congress on 16 October 1826, and almost one year later, by decree No. 61 promulgated on 8 October 1827, several municipios of the state were designated, among them Tamuín. Soon thereafter a law regulating municipios (the Ley de Arreglo de Municipios) was enacted, wherein the Villa of Tamuín is mentioned as belonging to the division (partido) of Ciudad Valles.
In March 1831, the lieutenant colonel of engineers, Francisco Pocelli, sailed up the Pánuco River from Tampico in a steamboat and arrived at Tamuín. This event was quite memorable for the region, since it was the first time a steamboat had traversed there.[citation needed]
By a decree of 30 June 1845 issued by the Assembly of the Department of San Luis Potosí, the ayuntamiento (municipio government) of Tamuín was transferred to the district of Valles.
In this period, the village (pueblo) of Tamuín was located further south than presently, at a site whose original name was El Choyal.
In 1892, for the transfer of Tamuín to the place called La Cofradía, the hacienda of El Limón was taken over. Its 19,000 hectares were distributed among 17 ejidos, giving each farmer (ejidatario) approximately 20 hectares on average.
In 1955, the Villa of Tamuín was inundated for nearly three weeks due to torrential rains caused by
Economy
Agriculture: The most common crops are
.Animal Ranching: principally cattle, but also hogs, horses, sheep, and goats.
Manufacturing: there is a cement plant of Grupo Cemex, two 260 MW electric generating stations operated by the AES Corporation, and a meat packing plant.
Fishing: fisheries include gar, river carp, mojarra, shrimp, and acamaya (local variety of freshwater crayfish).
There is a large, modern airport. Commercial flights are on a limited scale for security reasons.[citation needed]
Archaeological sites
The municipality of Tamuín encompasses three of the most important sites of the Huastec culture: Tamtok, El Consuelo, and Tzintzin-Lujub.
Tamtok
Tamtok or Tamtoc is a site of the highest importance in the archaeological history of the Huasteca region. Situated in a plain within a large bend of the Tampaón River and dominated by two great natural hills which are often at first glance mistaken for pyramids,[citation needed] the site comprises 50 small and medium sized mounds. There is a ceremonial plaza bordered by 23 buildings, with five platforms for conducting rituals occupying the center, which are surrounded by 13 round habitations and two rectangular, terraced large buildings which were probably for community use. The complex allows one to imagine what the religious life of the noble families of Tamtok must have been like. They may have believed in gods and practiced a fertility cult.
Tamtok means place of the water clouds [sic] in the
Between 1962 and 1965 the French archaeologist Stresser-Péan surveyed the area and conducted partial excavations. The work of restoration began 6 August 2001. Up to that point, the site had been virtually unknown.
With an investment of 18 million pesos, in these four years of work 70 structures have been stabilized out of 255 discovered.
Tamtok enjoyed its period of maximum splendor between 200 y 1300 A.D., during which period its population rose to 4,000. To judge by the artefacts discovered, it was a well-organized society based on agriculture. In the complex, an urbanism unique in Mesoamerica has been identified.[citation needed]
One characteristic that distinguishes Tamtok is the large presence of women. For example, 90 percent of the human remains discovered in the zone are women, and the great majority of the clay and ceramic figurines that have been found represent women.
El Consuelo
Situated southeast of the city of Tamuín, El Consuelo is accessed by federal highway 70 in the direction of the Gulf port of Tampico. At kilometer 284 it connects with state highway 170. The site entrance is six kilometers down on state highway 170.
The archaeological zone is known by the names Tamuín, for the municipio, and El Consuelo, for the ranch which occupies the vicinity. The village of Tamuín or Tamohí, a word which means "place of effervescence" in Wastek, was built between the 8th and 16th centuries and was depopulated at the time of the Spanish conquest.
Among the major archaeological zones of Huasteca – which runs from the south of Tamaulipas State east to the northern part of Veracruz State and south to the eastern parts of the States of San Luis Potosí and Hidalgo – are Tancol, Las Flores,
The first mention of the site is due to Walter Staub, who in 1919 published an article with photographs of various sculptures. By 1946, the investigator Wilfrido Du Solier conducted excavations in El Consuelo ranch and in several buildings and discovered the so called Polychrome Altar. Work was discontinued until 1981 when numerous architectural elements were stabilized. In 1990 the work of exploring and reconstructing the Great Platform commenced.
Among the most important objects encountered at the site are the sculpture, found in 1917, known as the Huastec Adolescent, probably a representation of the god Quetzalcóatl in his youth and considered one of the masterpieces of pre-Hispanic art in Huastec culture. Also important is the mural which covers one of the altars, in which is seen, in a series of images, personages with rich vestments. The figures are conspicuous for their originality and quality and the ceramic art of the Preclassic period.
Tzintzin-Lujub
Archaeological site today known as Agua Nueva, located within the “El Huracán” ranch, property of Celestino Rivera and Claudio Sánchez, 18.7 kilometers from the highway between Tamuín and San Vicente Tancuayalab.
See also
Notes
- ^ "Estado de San Luis Potosi–Estacion: Tamuin (DGE)". NORMALES CLIMATOLÓGICAS 1951–2010 (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- ^ "Extreme Temperatures and Precipitation for Tamuin (DGE) 1975-2009" (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Retrieved February 13, 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "NORMALES CLIMATOLÓGICAS 1981–2000" (PDF) (in Spanish). Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 13, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- ^ Law and Government in New Mexico History, Lesson 4
- ^ that is still the wording of the Mexican constitution
References
- Center for Democracy and Civic Education (CDCE). No date. Law and Government in New Mexico History
- INAFED Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México. 2005. Tamuín.
- Ethnologue, Mexico page.
- Tamuín pages of the Web site of the Secretariat of Social and Regional Development (SEDESORE) of the state of San Luis Potosí In Spanish.
, which was an uncredited use of the Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México.