A. Early Civilizations
Ancient Mexico and Central
America were home to some of the earliest and most advanced
civilizations in the Western Hemisphere. This region is
known historically as Mesoamerica,
a term that refers to the geographic area and cultural traditions
of the pre-Columbian civilizations (see also Pre
Columbian Religions & Pre
Columbian Art & Architecture) of Mexico, Belize, Costa
Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Evidence
indicates that hunting and gathering peoples populated Mesoamerica
more than 15,000 years ago and that crop cultivation began
around 8000 BC. The bottle gourd, useful for holding water
and other liquids, is believed to have been one of the earliest
domesticated crops; corn, beans, and squashes became the
basis of the Mesoamerican diet during the period between
8000 and 2000 BC.
Mesoamerican civilization
began to emerge around 2500 BC, as agriculture increasingly
provided a reliable food source that could support larger
and larger populations. Freed from having to constantly
search for food, the formerly nomadic peoples were able
to establish permanent settlements. The shift from a hunting-gathering
existence to one that revolved around agriculture and village
life also gave people more time to devote to architectural
and cultural pursuits. This made possible large public projects
such as irrigation canals and temples, as well as the creation
of fired clay objects such as dishes and containers.
One of the first major Mesoamerican
civilizations was established by the Olmec,
a people who flourished between about 1500 and 600 BC in
the swampy lowlands of what are now the Mexican states of
Tabasco and Veracruz. Many scholars consider Olmec civilization
to be one of the primary cultures from which subsequent
Mesoamerican civilizations drew many of their beliefs, traditions,
and architectural styles. The Olmec appear to have been
the source of the widespread worship of several Mesoamerican
deities. They began developing mathematics, used a calendar
based on observation of the planets, and produced a variety
of intricate jade figurines. Between 900 and 400 BC the
major sites of the Olmec were destroyed.
The city-state of Teotihuacán,
located in the Valley of Mexico about 40 km (25 mi) northeast
of modern-day Mexico City, in turn became a powerful cultural
center. Teotihuacán flourished as an important commercial
and religious center between about AD 100 to 650. It had
a population of about 125,000 at its height, making it one
of the largest cities in the world. Teotihuacán's wealth
and productivity enabled its inhabitants to construct great
monumental structures, including the Pyramid of the Sun,
more than 60 m (more than 200 feet) high, and the slightly
smaller Pyramid of the Moon. Teotihuacán's influence declined
around AD 650, and the city was destroyed by a natural disaster
or invasion. The fall of the “city of the gods” dispersed
its people and culture across Mesoamerica.
The Zapotec people began building
their religious center and capital at Monte Albán around
500 BC. Located on a mountaintop in what is now the state
of Oaxaca, Monte Albán was one of the first cities in the
Americas and rivaled Teotihuacán as a center of Mesoamerican
culture. At its height, about AD 500, the city was home
to approximately 25,000 people. The Zapotecs developed one
of the earliest writing systems in the Americas, using pictorial
characters known as hieroglyphics to convey simple ideas.
They left numerous hieroglyphic inscriptions on the buildings
and temples of Monte Albán.
Maya
civilization flourished in southern Mexico and Central
America between AD 250 and 900, a time known as the Classic
period. The Maya built large religious centers that
included ball courts, homes, and temples. They developed
a method of hieroglyphic notation and recorded mythology,
history, and rituals in inscriptions carved and painted
on stone slabs or pillars known as stelae. Maya
religion centered around the worship of a large number
of nature gods and chronology among the Maya was determined
by an elaborate calendar system. Although highly complex,
this calendar was the most accurate known to humans until
the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in the 16th century.
About AD 900, the Maya centers
were mysteriously abandoned, and some Maya migrated to the
Yucatán Peninsula. During the Postclassic
period, from 900 to the arrival of the Spanish in the
16th century, Maya civilization was centered in the Yucatán.
A migration or invasion from central Mexico strongly influenced
Maya culture and art styles during this period. Chichén
Itzá and Mayapán were prominent cities.
The Toltecs
rose to power in the 10th century AD and are the first people
in Mesoamerica to leave a relatively complete history. Their
capital of Tula, whose ruins are
located near the town of Tula de Allende 75 km (47 mi) north
of Mexico City, extended its political influence over much
of central Mexico. Other groups paid them tribute. The Nahuatl-speaking
Toltecs established colonies along their northern frontier,
protecting the region against hostile groups and greatly
expanding the amount of land given over to agriculture.
In the 12th century droughts in the north central region
weakened the Toltec hold on the region. Desperate and starving
people from the north surged southward, eventually overwhelming
the Toltecs and forcing them to abandon Tula. Toltec survivors
migrated south to the Valley of Mexico, where they joined
with other peoples.
Not all Native American groups
reached the complex levels of culture achieved by those
of southern and central Mexico. In general, as one moved
northward the indigenous peoples tended to be more tribal
and nomadic, with exceptions such as the Pueblo
in what is now the southwestern United States. Native Americans
in northern Mesoamerica, typically warlike and nomadic,
could not be easily conquered and resisted intruders until
well into the 19th century in some areas.
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