Otopamean

Oto-Pamean is the central Mexican branch of the Oto-Manguean family, a group of tonal languages divided into Otomian, Matlatzincan and Pamean. Its speakers are among the oldest settled peoples of the central plateau: Otomi voices were heard in Teotihuacan and Tula, and around 1100 the Otomi city-state of Xaltocan dominated its neighbors until Mexica expansion made Otomi lands tributary to the Triple Alliance and drove communities eastward.

During the conquest the Otomi of Tlaxcala joined Cortes against the Aztecs. They later led the colonial settling of Queretaro and the Bajio.

The nomadic Pame, who call themselves Xi'oi, and the Jonaz of the Sierra Gorda were swept into the Chichimeca War of 1550 to 1590. The last sierras were reduced by soldiers and Franciscans in 1742, with the missions secularized by 1770.