an altepetl in what is now the state of Puebla; the patron saint that was chosen for this altepetl is San Juan Bautista
This community was prolific in its production of indigenous-language and pictorial manuscripts, or cartographic histories. Such documents convey a strong Tolteca and Chichimeca heritage.
"...After the Chichimecs leave Cholula and come near to Cuauhtinchan, they decapitate and offer up a quail and a grasshopper when they enshrine their cult bundle...."
In the year 8 Reed, Cuauhtinchan was "founded alonside another altepetl, Totomihuacan," according to the Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca. One founding was led by Icxicoatl and the other by Quetzaltehueyac, both notable Chichimeca warriors. But soon, other leaders become prominent: Moquihuix and Teuhctlecozauhqui.
In a fifteenth-century battle, Tlatelolcans led by Quauhtlatoa conquered Cuauhtinchan, which was already ruled by Nahuas, by a dynasty that had been in power for more than two centuries. It was during the era of the Spanish invasion that the Mixteca Popoloca arrived in Cuauhtinchan and assumed "a position of dominance," ending Nahua political control.
Christianity was brought to Cuauhtinchan by a friar from Tepeaca, according to the Historia.
…niman oquimolhuili yn couatzin yn chichimeca yn quauhtinchantlaca…. = Couatzin luego le responde a los chichimeca, los quauhtinchantlaca….” (Quauhtinchan, s. XVI)