Native Americans of Middle and South America

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Civilizations in Middle America

Middle America is made up of a long, tapering isthmus that forms a bridge between North America and South America. It includes the present-day countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Large mountain chains of volcanic origin dominate much of Middle America. In Mexico the mountains divide the vast temperate highlands of the central plateau into a number of valleys and basins, each with a distinct environmental setting. The Valley of Mexico, on the southern edge of this plateau, was the focal point of several prominent civilizations. Southeast of this valley is the huge northward-projecting Yucatán Peninsula, the center of the great Maya civilization.

During the 1st millennium bc several cultures in the region began to establish complex urban and ritual centers. These elaborately constructed centers were the locus of power, high culture, and immense wealth. Through trade, conquest, and alliances, several civilizations extended their spheres of cultural influence and political rule. The development of civilizations in Middle America culminated in the great Aztec Empire, which was at its height when the Spanish conquest destroyed it in 1521.

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Olmec Civilization

In about 1500 bc the Olmec people emerged as the first major civilization in Middle America. They built their settlements and ritual centers in fertile coastal lowlands southeast of the Valley of Mexico along the Gulf of Mexico. The favorable climate permitted crops to be harvested twice a year, and the fine stones of the region, particularly jades, were marketed over a vast area. The Olmec culture thrived until about 600 bc and influenced other cultures in central Mexico and the Yucatán Peninsula. The Olmec developed calendar and counting systems that were the precursors to systems used by later cultures in Middle America.

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Monte Albán

The Zapotec people inhabited the Valley of Oaxaca, south of the Valley of Mexico, beginning in at least 1500 bc. They established one of the first city-states in Middle America. In about 500 bc they built their capital, Monte Albán, on top of a flattened mountain in the valley. When the city reached its height of influence, power, and wealth in about ad 500, it had between 25,000 and 30,000 inhabitants. The political domain of Monte Albán spread beyond the confines of the Valley of Oaxaca, and the Zapotec established ties with other civilizations in Middle America, including Teotihuacán. After about 750, however, the city declined for unknown reasons. The Zapotec developed a more centralized and hierarchical society than the Olmec. They also developed one of the earliest writing systems in Mesoamerica, and the edifices they built at Monte Albán have many hieroglyphic stone inscriptions.

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Teotihuacán

In central Mexico, meanwhile, important ritual and market centers began to appear about 400 bc. Teotihuacán was the urban center of the first of several far-reaching civilizations in this region. It was located in the Valley of Mexico about 40 km (25 mi) northeast of present-day Mexico City. In the 1st century ad Teotihuacán began to grow rapidly as a city and to assert its influence and control more widely. By 600 it was one of the largest cities in the world. It extended over an area of 21 sq km (8 sq mi) and included probably 125,000—but possibly as many as 200,000—inhabitants. Its center consisted of a vast ceremonial complex, including two great pyramids, along a sunken road that extended more than a mile.

Teotihuacán established its influence throughout much of central Mexico. The city grew in wealth and power through its extensive trading zone, which reached into Central America. Cacao, tropical bird feathers, honey, and herbs were brought to the city from the Yucatán Peninsula and beyond. Teotihuacán’s many craftspeople, some of whom had their own neighborhoods, produced cut precious stones and pottery that were marketed widely in Mexico and Central America. Massive projects of agricultural engineering, including the construction of raised fields, canals, and terraces, were undertaken throughout central Mexico to increase agricultural production as the region’s population continued to grow into the millions. Maize, beans, and specialized crops were routinely transported over considerable distances to supply the network of provincial cities that grew ever larger and more elaborate.

Teotihuacán flourished until about ad 650. The reasons for its collapse, although unknown for certain, were seemingly a combination of population pressure on limited resources and recurrent attacks by nomadic tribal peoples who lived in the desert region north of the city.

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Maya States

Also during this time, the Yucatán Peninsula and present-day Guatemala were inhabited by Mayan-speaking peoples. Between 1000 and 600 bc they developed autonomous agricultural communities with substantial populations. Over the next several centuries a number of Maya cities, beginning with Tikal, emerged as marketing and regional centers, developed more complex political structures, and extended their cultural influence and political control over their hinterlands. By about ad 250 the Maya were organized into city-states, each ruled by a hereditary king and a social elite, or aristocracy. The Maya conducted extensive trade throughout the region. The city-states were in competition with one another, and warfare was frequent among them. No great empire developed, but regional ones were common. The Maya also developed a hieroglyphic writing system, complex mathematics, and a sophisticated knowledge of astronomy that yielded a highly accurate calendar.

In about 900 the great Maya civilization collapsed and fragmented. It had depended on the food production from agricultural engineering projects that required continual upkeep. Some sort of subsistence crisis seems to have erupted, causing famine and considerable loss of life. This led to mass rejection of the social and political elites, and perhaps even of the gods, and brought about an extended period of warfare. The calendar and writing systems were abandoned, and most forms of state organization failed, as the reduced population concentrated on local food production and village affairs.