State of Mexico

Geography and history

The earliest evidence of human habitation in the state is a quartz scraper and obsidian blade from the Tlapacoya area, dated to the Pleistocene era.^[3] The first major civilization in the state was Teotihuacan, with the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon built between 100 BCE and 100 CE.^[3] Mexico City was initially the state capital but was separated as federal land in 1824, forcing the state government to move to Texcoco.^[4] In 1869, areas to the northeast and south of Mexico City became the states of Hidalgo and Morelos.^[3]

The state promulgated a new constitution in 1869, establishing its current territory.^[3] Following the Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire, the territory that had belonged to the Aztecs was reorganized, and this process marks the beginning of the modern state.^[5] The 1824 Constitution established the State of Mexico, and its first state congress gathered in Mexico City during March of that same year.^[3] The year 1940 saw the start of the Mexico City Metropolitan Area's expansion into the state, triggered by the establishment of Naucalpan's industrial zone.^[3]

What the cited sources add

According to the Club Planeta source, one theory for the name "Mexico" combines the words metztli (moon) and xictla (navel).^[6][7] That same source indicates that "Mextictli," a different name for the deity Huitzilopochtli, provides another possible origin for the name.^[6][7]