chiefdom · Mesoamerica and the Caribbean

Yopitzinco

1300 CE – 1531 CE (approx.)

A fiercely independent lordship of the Yopes (Tlapanecs) in the mountains of Guerrero, never subdued by the Aztec Empire.

Origins

The Yopes lived in the rugged mountains and coast of eastern Guerrero, near modern Acapulco and Ayutla. Their lordship, Yopitzinco, emerged in the Postclassic period, and is known mainly from Aztec and Spanish sources.

Rule and society

Yopitzinco remained independent and was an enemy of the Aztec Empire, which surrounded it with garrisons but never conquered it. The Aztecs associated the Yopes with the god Xipe Totec, known as the Yopi god, whose priests wore the flayed skins of sacrificial victims. Its people spoke Tlapanec (Me'phaa).

Decline and legacy

The Yopes fought the Spanish into the 1530s, revolting against colonial demands in 1531, before being subdued. The Me'phaa people and language survive in Guerrero.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Lineage

YopitzincoNew Spain 1521 CE – 1821 CE

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Yopitzinco. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/yopitzinco
MLA
“Yopitzinco.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/yopitzinco. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Yopitzinco.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/yopitzinco.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Yopitzinco’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/yopitzinco (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻