 In the Pre Classic and Classic periods, the Sierra Gorda had a number of small cities as the climate at that time was wetter than it is now.Most of the larger cities were south of the current municipalities due to mining activities and major trade routes, but there were cities and trade routes through here as well, connecting the area mostly with Huasteca areas to the east and other areas to the north.While most of the pre-Hispanic history of the area is dominated by peoples culturally related to the Huastecas, the site of the town of Landa de Matamoros is thought to have been first occupied by a group of Purépecha who migrated north from what is now Michoacán.