24 de Mayo de 2013
The first inhabitants of Nuevo León were tribes in what are now the municipalities of Monterrey, Cadereyta Jiménez and Cerralvo.
There were around 250 tribes in what are now the municipalities of Monterrey, Cadereyta Jiménez and Cerralvo. Most members of these tribes were hunters who depended on bows, arrows and knives.
The names given to them by European settlers were based on the distinctive characteristics and features of each tribe and the area they occupied.
Tribe |
Territory |
Amapoalas |
Doctor González |
Ayancuaras |
Los Ramones |
Bozalos o Negritos |
Aramberri and General Zaragoza |
Cuanaales |
Arround Salinas river |
Catujanes o Catujanos |
Near Lampazos |
Gualagüises |
Hualahuises |
Gualeguas |
Agualeguas |
Gualiches |
Doctor González |
A few municipalities are named after the tribes that inhabited the place. Hualahuises and Agualeguas refer to the Hualagüises and Gualeguas tribes, respectively.
Bows were made with mezquite roots and agave fibers Arrowheads and kniveswere made of sharpened rock tied to wooden handles.
Their clothing was simple, made with readily available materials.
Woven grass and deer skin were used by women. Men would go mostly naked, but occasionaly wore huarache-type sandals.
The staple foods of the first inhabitants and tribes were meat, cactus, cactus fruit (tuna) and mezquite. They barbequed their meals in pits when cleberating speacial occasions.
Muncipality |
Site |
Parás |
Pediment of rock engravings |
General Treviño y Agualeguas |
Piedra Parada |
Doctor González |
Cerro del Fraile |
Sierra de Papagayos |
Altamira |
Los Ramones |
los del Paso del Indio |
Cadereyta Jiménez |
Villa Vieja |
China |
La Ceja , burial places |
General Terán |
Monte Huma, Loma de Barbecho and loma del Muerto |
Linares |
Sabinitos and Trinidad |
Santa Catarina |
Guitarritas |
García |
Nacataz, Icamole, Fierros and Cueva Ahumada |
Mina |
Milagro, Delgado, Caricatos, Campana and Presa de Mula |
Santiago |
Cañón de San Cristóbal |
Aramberri |
Cueva del Cordel |
Mier y Noriega |
San Isidro, the only site where ceramic remains have been found |
Los Ramones |
Puntita Negra, throwing rocks and others |
Linares |
Sabinito caves |
Rayones |
La Calzada, throwing rocks and others |
Mina |
Boca de Potrerillos is the largest archeological site with six Km and 1,000 stones. Considered one of the major archeological sites in Mexico due to its size and age /665-1350 BC.) |
Settlement name: Ciudad Metropolitana de Nuestra Señora de Monterrey (1596)
Three foundations: 1577 (Alberto del Canto), 1582 (Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva), 1596 (Diego de Montemayor)
Original tribes: Amapoalas, Gualeguas, Catujanes, Gualiches, Ayancuaras
Archeological remains: Arrows, spear, cave paintings and stone engravings
Archeological sites: Boca de Potrerillos, La Calzada, Puntita Negra, la Cueva del Cordel, Villa Vieja
Historical figures: Alfonso Reyes, Fray Servando Teresa de Mier, Israel Cavazos, Doctor José Eleuterio González “Gonzalitos”, Pablo Livas