Mesoamerica

I

Introduction

Mesoamerica, cultural area encompassing present-day Mexico and most of Central America, where a number of civilizations with shared traits and cultural traditions developed before the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century. Mesoamerica refers both to the cultures that existed before European contact and the region where they flourished, which included present-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. The boundaries of Mesoamerica shifted constantly, and its traditions changed over time as cultural traits spread among the various societies. Among the important civilizations to develop in the region were the Olmec, Zapotec, Maya, and Aztec.

The cultures of Mesoamerica developed complex systems of government, religious beliefs, scientific knowledge, and artistic forms. Within this area, people shared traits ranging from the food they ate and the clothing they wore to the types of temples they built and the gods they worshiped. Typical crops included corn (maize), beans, and chili peppers. Corn tortillas, a staple food item, were made using grinding stones and clay griddles. Nobles typically wore richly embroidered cotton tunics, while common people wore loincloths and simple capes. Architectural features included large, terraced temple platforms and ball courts where teams competed at games of religious significance. The intellectual achievements of Mesoamerica included hieroglyphic writing systems, advanced studies of astronomy, and a highly complex and accurate calendar. Religious beliefs and practices shared throughout the region featured common deities, ancestor worship, and human sacrifice.

Mesoamerican traits and traditions developed in different regions and spread among societies as a result of interregional contacts. By the time of the Spanish conquest, which began in 1519, virtually all Mesoamerican societies shared these traits. The diverse environments of Mesoamerica contributed to its cultural development. The division between highlands and lowlands produced different plants, animals, and resources in different regions. This variety fostered mutually beneficial relationships between societies. For example, lowland crops such as cotton and cacao (used to make chocolate) could be traded for highland products such as obsidian (volcanic glass used to make tools) and basalt (rock used to make grinding stones).

Archaeologists typically divide Mesoamerican cultural history into five major stages: Paleo-Indian (before 8000 bc); Archaic (8000-2000 bc); Preclassic, or Formative (2000 bc-ad 200); Classic (200-900); and Postclassic (900-1521). Each stage embodies a series of major interrelated developments.

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The Paleo-Indian period represents the time when Mesoamerica and the rest of the western hemisphere were first inhabited by nomadic hunter-gatherer groups, whose ancestors had migrated from Asia. During the long Archaic period, Mesoamerican groups began to live in permanent villages and developed agriculture as their principal means of subsistence. The major cultural achievement of the Archaic period was the cultivation of corn, which became a staple of the Mesoamerican diet.

During the Preclassic era, the first complex societies developed, with large populations supported by intense farming. These populations were divided into commoners and an elite class. The development of close ties between the ruling elites of different regions made Mesoamerica into a distinct cultural entity, where people shared common ideas about religion and government, even though they inhabited many different societies and spoke hundreds of different languages.

The Classic period witnessed the maximum development of the first true Mesoamerican states, ruled by kings whose power was bolstered by official religions and large, powerful armies. These states produced great cities with dense populations and extensive market systems. There were sharply defined social classes, including full-time artisans and farmers, and a professional ruling class. After the great civilizations of the Classic period collapsed, the Postclassic period saw the rise of societies that emphasized long-distance trade and military power. During this period, societies became more secular, meaning that religion remained important but was less enmeshed with politics and economics. Armies became important for protecting trade routes and conquering other states to acquire goods and workers. It was these Postclassic societies that Spanish armies made contact with and conquered in the early 1500s.

II

Early Human Settlement

The earliest people to live in Mesoamerica arrived sometime during the Pleistocene Epoch, when glaciers covered much of the earth’s surface. The precise period when they arrived is not known with certainty but the oldest well-documented site dates back 12,500 years ago. However, many people believe that they arrived in the region much earlier. Most anthropologists believe these early inhabitants were descendants of groups who had migrated to the Americas from northeast Asia, crossing a wide land bridge that spanned the Bering Strait and linked present-day Siberia and Alaska. They hunted big-game mammals, such as mammoths and mastodons, using sophisticated and efficient spears. They also collected a wide variety of wild plant foods, such as seeds, nuts, and berries. These people lived in small, nomadic bands of 15 to 20 people. All members were regarded as equal to one another.

The end of the Pleistocene Epoch in about 9000 bc was marked by major environmental changes. As the glaciers melted, sea levels rose, vegetation changed, and the large mammals became extinct. Responding to these changes, Mesoamerican groups of the Archaic period developed a way of life that included hunting and trapping small game (especially deer and rabbits), gathering wild plant foods, and experimenting with the cultivation of certain plants. As a result, they learned to grow many important food crops, including corn, beans, and squash. One of the earliest cultivated plants was the bottle gourd, a type of squash that could be hollowed out and used as a container for water and other liquids. Other important Mesoamerican plants domesticated during the Archaic period include chili peppers, tomatoes, avocados, and cotton.

Between 5000 and 3000 bc full-time agriculture gradually replaced hunting and gathering in Mesoamerica, and people began living in settled villages. In some areas, abundant natural resources allowed people to stay in one place without dependency on farming. For instance, in the lowlands along the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean, village life was based on fishing and shellfish collecting. Some highland regions, such as the Valley of Mexico in central Mexico, contained lakes that provided settlements with fish, birds, and other aquatic life. However, even these well-endowed regions eventually adopted agriculture.

During this early period, villages were small communities containing about a dozen houses made of wattle and daub (interwoven sticks and twigs covered with clay), with outdoor cooking sheds, work areas, and storage pits. Work, including farming, was organized by extended family. Society was not divided according to rank, and power, prestige, and resources were shared among its members. Differences in social status were based strictly on age, gender, and personal achievement.

By 2000 bc, the beginning of the Preclassic period, agriculture was widespread throughout Mesoamerica. Over time, farming came to provide a reliable, abundant food supply, which allowed the population to increase in most regions. As settlements grew, divisions developed according to social rank, and a wide gulf came to separate the elite class from the common people. Some high-ranking individuals, or chiefs, and their close relatives wielded more power and enjoyed better access to food, land, and other resources than did commoners.

The villages of chiefs were greater in size and importance than other settlements, possibly housing more than 1000 residents. These villages became centers of political and economic activity. They were also important religious centers, boasting more elaborate ceremonial sites—such as temple mounds and sacred enclosures—than other villages. From these chiefly villages, Mesoamericans began to form the complex societies that would come to define the region.

Another important hallmark of this period of early settlement is the introduction of pottery. The earliest ceramics known in Mesoamerica appeared in various regions around 2000 bc or shortly after. In some regions, such as the Tehuacán Valley and the Valley of Oaxaca, the wares were rather crude and utilitarian, probably used only for cooking. In other regions, the earliest ceramics are more sophisticated technically and aesthetically. At around 1800 bc in the Pacific coastal region of Soconusco (in what is now southeastern Chiapas State, Mexico), the earliest pottery was very complex both in forms and decoration. It seems to have had a social function and been used primarily for ritual feasting.

III

Major Civilizations

Over a period of 3000 years, beginning in about 1500 bc, a number of important cultures emerged in Mesoamerica, making it one of the world’s major centers of human development. These societies produced distinctive art, architectural forms, and religious belief systems. Most built on the achievements of preceding cultures and adopted practices from other peoples that they contacted through trade or war. Some of these Mesoamerican cultures spanned many centuries, developing through the Preclassic, Classic, and Postclassic eras, while others rose and fell over shorter periods of time. See also Pre-Columbian Art and Architecture; Pre-Columbian Religions.

A

Olmec

The Olmec civilization began about 1500 bc. Scholars traditionally considered the Olmec the “mother culture,” or first major civilization, of Mesoamerica; however, today most believe that the Olmec were one of many societies that were developing and sharing ideas at the time. Olmec art, religion, and other accomplishments had an important influence on other cultures that developed later throughout a wide area of Mesoamerica.

The Olmec lived in the tropical lowlands along the Gulf Coast of Mexico, in what are now the Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. Olmec chiefs controlled some of the richest agricultural lands in Mesoamerica, which had the capacity to provide food for very dense populations. The Olmec people built large centers in the jungle where political and religious ceremonies were held. In these centers, such as San Lorenzo, La Venta, and Tres Zapotes, the Olmec created some of the first pyramids in the Americas as well as massive stone sculptures. Among the most notable monuments are gigantic heads carved from basalt, weighing 25 metric tons or more, that depict Olmec rulers. Other monuments include thrones made of stone that were engraved with information about the rulers’ ancestry.

Olmec elites carried out trade and social contacts with other peoples throughout Mesoamerica, some living as far away as central Mexico, Oaxaca in southern Mexico, and Guatemala. These connections are indicated by the distinctive Olmec motifs found on pottery and stone carvings in many different regions. The Olmec and other societies of the period developed a calendar, an astronomical system, and a primitive writing system. These developments were used by later Mesoamericans, including the Maya and the Zapotec, to produce more sophisticated forms. Many Mesoamerican religious concepts and ideas about rulership can also be traced to the Olmec and their contemporaries.

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