The site was uncovered during the construction of a Mexico City-Puebla freeway and has since been almost completely obliterated by freeway construction. In 1955, Beatriz Barba, "the first Mexican woman to obtain the title of archaeologist", earned her master's degree with a study of the site. Her thesis, "Tlapacoya: un sitio preclásico de transición" (Tlapacoya: a pre-classic transitional site) evaluated the social development and religious practices of the Tlatilco culture. Barba's evaluation of the site was one of the first to evaluate the socio-economic and political life of the inhabitants of Tlapacoya within the context of the history of the region, as well as their trade relationships and the influence of other groups upon the development of the Tlatilco people.