The last Aztec emperor's supposed grave may be an elaborate hoax
Cuauhtémoc, whose name means descending eagle, took the Aztec throne at about 25 while Spanish forces and smallpox ravaged Tenochtitlan. He held out for months, was captured in 1521 and hanged by Cortés four years later. In 1949 an archaeologist announced she had found his bones. The evidence says otherwise.
Little is known of his early life beyond what his rank implies. He was the eldest legitimate son of Emperor Ahuitzotl, probably by a Tlatelolcan princess, trained at the elite calmecac school and proved himself as a warrior. In 1515 he became eagle ruler of Tlatelolco. He married a daughter of Moctezuma II, later known as Isabel Moctezuma, and was the late emperor's cousin.
He came to power in 1520 after Moctezuma died and his successor Cuitláhuac quickly succumbed to smallpox, chosen by vote of the highest nobles. Cuauhtémoc believed in armed resistance where Moctezuma had preferred negotiation, and he pointedly gave Moctezuma a funeral without the customary grandeur. As former subject cities defected to the Spanish, Tenochtitlan fought largely alone; only Tlatelolco stayed loyal, and even women joined the fighting. On August 13, 1521 he was caught crossing Lake Texcoco with his family.
Spanish accounts say he asked Cortés to kill him on the spot, and that Cortés praised his bravery and let the surviving Mexica leave the city. When the gold haul disappointed, however, the Spaniards tortured him to reveal hidden treasure, without success. Baptised Fernando, he kept the title tlatoani but lived under guard. In 1525 Cortés, fearing a revolt in his absence, took him on an expedition to Honduras and at the Maya town of Itzamkanac had him hanged for an alleged plot. Accounts clash: Cortés claimed confessions, the conquistador Bernal Díaz called the killing unjust and baseless, and a later Texcocan historian said Cortés invented the conspiracy.
In 1949 Eulalia Guzmán dug up an ossuary at Ixcateopan in Guerrero and declared it his. Experts at Mexico's national anthropology institute found bones from several people, some apparently women, sparking a public furore and rival panels. A 2011 study concluded the grave was probably a local publicity hoax embraced by nationalists for political ends.
Source: Cuauhtémoc
