The Tembleque Aqueduct is one of the most impressive feats of hydraulic engineering in human history. Located in the Otumba of Mexico, it has provided clean water to surrounding communities for many generations. The aqueduct stretches an impressive 45 kilometers (27.96 miles) and consists of 156 aboveground arches of variable heights. The aqueduct was said to be built by its name sake, a Franciscan friar of the name Tembleque. Its' construction took 17 years, starting in 1553 and ending in 1571. The construction project is said to have included over 400 indian laborers.
The project included laborers from the communities of "Zacuala, Tlaquilpa, Zempoala and Otumba [who worked] solely on the basis of their ancestral tradition of social work organization known as tequio“ (UNESCO). Tequio is a social tradition that commends work on behalf of the public's well-being.
Before the aqueduct, residents (primary indigenous) relied of jagüeyes, or naturally forming pools of water. The surrounding landscape does not receive large amounts of rain and is considered dry and arid. "More fortunate citizens had their own cisterns at home, but even when care was taken to protect the water from the elements, it was still impure and dangerous to the health. The poor people were in worse circumstances. They were forced to drink putrid, stagnant water which lay in open wells, called jagüeyes, some of which are still extant” (Valdez 224). Fran Tembleque was determined to provide a better source of water and is both known for his endorsement of the aqueducts construction to Spanish authorities as well as his oversight throughout the 17 years.
The construction is often mistaken as solely European, Roman, or Arabic in nature. However, this presentation would like to contend that the indigenous building methods enabled this aqueduct to grow to the enormous height and length. Moreover, the native construction techniques, when combined with hydraulic understanding of the West, allowed for this feature to stand for centuries.
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| Object #1: Overview of the Tembleque Aquaduct UNESCO World Heritage Centre. "Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Hydraulic System." UNESCO World Heritage Centre. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016. |
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| UNESCO World Heritage Centre. "Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Hydraulic System." UNESCO World Heritage Centre. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016. |
For reference, this is the Pont du Gard in France. It is considerably high, however it has three levels of arches. The levels of arches allowed the laborers ease in handling the heights. The laborers, in this instance, employed scaffolding. Tembleque did not use scaffolding in its construction. The Tembleque was uniquely influenced by Native building techniques. "The conjunction of the Roman heritage of masonry aqueducts, hydraulic management techniques inspired by Arab-Andalusian know-how and pre-Hispanic indigenous traditions for adobe construction is indeed exceptional" (UNESCO 334).
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| Object #2: Pont du Gard, France |
“Construction of arcades was also based on local knowledge and techniques of the so-called Mestizo System, first building supporting structures of adobe and gradually raising the stone constructions, which allowed workers horizontal movement, rather than working with scaffolds or formworks. The local workers also left their signature on the structure by decorating keystones and spandrels with symbols corresponding to Mesoamerican cosmogony“ (UNESCO).
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| Tribute to Mary centrally located on Tembleque. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. "Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Hydraulic System." UNESCO World Heritage Centre. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016. |
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| Object #3: Mary centered on Tembleque UNESCO World Heritage Centre. "Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Hydraulic System." UNESCO World Heritage Centre. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016. |
This is one of many Catholic features that is present along the track of the aqueduct. This feature is especially prominent and is most famous.
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| Object #4: Tembleque Glyph at Tecajete Domain UNESCO World Heritage Centre. "Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Hydraulic System." UNESCO World Heritage Centre. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016. |
This is one of the many original indigenous glyphs engraved into the Tembleque aqueduct. One of the best historical indicators that Tembleque was a function of indigenous engineering is that Padre Tembleque himself has no recorded engineering knowledge. As Valdez says, many of Tembleque's contemporaries questioned him, asking why he would "build an aqueduct terrain without any knowledge of engineering?" (Valdez 226).
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| Object #5: glyph found on Tembleque. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. "Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Hydraulic System." UNESCO World Heritage Centre. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016. |
"This applies in particular where arches of
the system exist and where one can see the hundreds of
visible glyphs that were incorporated in the aqueduct’s
construction by the indigenous populations, underscoring
that the spectacular engineering work was a collaborative
effort between the indigenous population and the Spanish
clergy" (UNESCO 334).
"The hydraulic system exhibits an important
interchange of European tradition in terms of the
knowledge of Roman hydraulics evidenced in the canals’
gradual slope through the irregular topography, and
Mesoamerican culture represented by the use of the
traditional social organization of collective working, the
utilization and adaptation of local methods of adobe
construction as well as the presence of glyphs illustrating
preHispanic symbols and cosmology in several arcade
structures." (UNESCO 334)
Bibliography
Kubler, George. “Architects and Builders in Mexico: 1521-1550.” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, vol. 7, 1944, pp. 7–19. www.jstor.org/stable/750376.
Mendoza, Amado Sanchez. “Potable Water in Mexico: History and Problems.” Journal (American Water Works Association), vol. 71, no. 10, 1979, pp. 540–541. www.jstor.org/stable/41270189.
UNESCO. Evaluations of Nominations of Cultural and Mixed Properties of the World Heritage List. Vol. 39. N.p.: World Heritage Committee, n.d. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. WHC, 1 June 2015. Web. 27 Nov. 2016. <http://whc.unesco.org/archive/2015/whc15-39com-inf8B1-en.pdf>.
Valdés, Octaviano. “Fray Francisco De Tembleque.” The Americas, vol. 3, no. 2, 1946, pp. 223–233. www.jstor.org/stable/978708.
