Malinalco

Malinalco was a Matlatzinca ceremonial town in the hills south of the Toluca Valley. Its Nahuatl name came from malinalli grass and was associated with the goddess Malinalxochitl.

In 1476 the Aztec ruler Axayacatl conquered the Matlatzinca lands. Around 1486 to 1490, Ahuitzotl brought stonemasons from Tenochtitlan to carve a warrior sanctuary into the Hill of the Idols. After Malinalco rebelled in 1520, Andrés de Tapia was sent to subdue the town. The Augustinians later used stones from the unfinished sanctuary to build the town's convent.