Acolman

Acolman
Town & Municipality
Acolman de Nezahuacóyotl
Facade of the former monastery
Seal
Acolman Location in Mexico
Coordinates: 19°38′18″N 98°54′35″W / 19.63833°N 98.90972°W / 19.63833; -98.90972Coordinates: 19°38′18″N 98°54′35″W / 19.63833°N 98.90972°W / 19.63833; -98.90972
Country	Mexico
State	State of Mexico
Founded	8th century
Municipal Status	1820s
Government
• Municipal President	Roberto Sanchéz Campos
Area
• Municipality	86.88 km2 (33.54 sq mi)
Elevation (of seat)	2,254 m (7,395 ft)
Population (2010) Municipality
• Municipality	136,558
• Seat	5,571
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
Postal code (of seat)	55870
Area code(s)	594
Website	(Spanish) /Official site

Acolman de Nezahualcóyotl is a town and municipality located in the northern part of Mexico State, part of the Greater Mexico City area, just north of the city proper. According to myth, the first man was placed here after being taken out of Lake Texcoco. In the community of Tepexpan, the fossilized bones more than 12,000 years old of a man were found in the 20th century. The settlement was founded in the 8th century and was an important commerce center at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. After the Conquest, Acolman became the site of an important Augustinian monastery in the 16th century which still contains important art and architecture from that time period.

According to an ancient myth, when the gods created the first man, they took him from the waters of Lake Texcoco and placed him alone in Acolman. The arm of this man, ringed by drops of water from the lake is the Aztec glyph for the site. The glyph can also be seen on the monastery which dominates the landscape here. Acolman is derived from a Nahuatl phrase which has been interpreted in various ways. It may mean "man with hand or arm" or "where man is made." Acolman is the modern name but the settlement has been referred to as Oculma, Axuruman and Aculma in colonial era documents.

The municipality is home of the "Tepexpan Man," named after the community in which he was found. The Tepexpan Man is a human fossilized skeleton between 12,000 and 14,000 years old, which was found in the mid-20th century.

The founding of the settlement of Acolman is attributed to the Acolhuas, a Chichimeca tribe, around the 8th century. The settlement started out independent but was first conquered by the Huexotzincas and remained subject to one dominion or another since. By the time of King Nezahualcoyotl, Acolman was an important town in the Texcoco dominion, after it was conquered by the Aztecs in 1396. The town was important because it was the only place in Mesoamerica that specialized in the breeding and raising of dogs (today known as the breed called xoloitzcuintli).