A detail from a page of the Codex Mendoza, an Aztec codex created soon after the Conquest. This page lists some of the triumphs of King Axayacatl, including several shown as trilobed altepetls. Clockwise from the top: Tlatelolco, Atlapulco, Xalatlauhco, Capuluac, Metepec, Tlacotepec. Axayacatl is seated on the left, with his name glyph “Watermask” floating above him.

Brian Tomaszewski