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 (2000 BC-AD BC); Archaic (8000-2000 BC); Preclassic, or Formative 200); Classic (200-900); and Postclassic (900-1521). Each stage embodies a series of major interrelated developments. 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. B Monte Albán By the late Preclassic period, local chiefdoms had been replaced by the first Mesoamerican states, which had more centralized political systems and societies divided into classes. The first such state was created by the Zapotec people and based at Monte Albán, founded about 500 BC and considered the first city built in the Americas. Monte Albán flourished for about 1000 years and became the dominant power in southern Mexico, conquering and controlling other settlements in surrounding regions. The Zapotec had lived since the Archaic period in the Valley of Oaxaca, the largest expanse of relatively flat land in southern Mexico and an important region for agriculture. About 500 BC they built Monte Albán on the flattened top of a mountain in the center of the valley, and it became their capital. The Zapotec state was ruled by a powerful class of nobles supported by a strong military. Unlike the Olmec, whose society, although divided between chiefly and commoner families, was still based on kinship, the Zapotec had strong social class divisions between nobles and commoners and many economic groups, including rulers, administrators, warriors, merchants, artisans, and laborers. In terms of both area and population, Monte Albán was the first urban center in Mesoamerica. Between the time of its founding and about AD 500, when the city reached its height, the population grew from about 5000 to about 25,000 inhabitants. By that time, it covered an area of 6.5 sq km (2.5 sq mi). Its central plaza, measuring 100 by 300 m (300 by 1000 ft), was lined with massive pyramids, temples, and palaces. The elite class lived in or near the main plaza, while commoners lived on residential terraces that surrounded the plaza on the slopes of the mountain. The economy of Monte Albán was based on the collection of agricultural goods as tribute from conquered settlements. Although Monte Albán had a very strong, centralized government, the economic functions of this powerful state were apparently more dispersed. Trade and manufacturing were not concentrated in the ruling city. Crafts were produced throughout the valley, and secondary cities served as regional centers of commerce. War was an important element of the Zapotec economy and political system and was commemorated in Monte Albán's art and architecture. A gallery of more than 300 carved stone figures, representing slain or sacrificed war captives, was built around the time of the city's founding. Also, an arrowhead-shaped building located in the city's main plaza contained more than 40 carved inscriptions that commemorated the conquest of other societies. The Zapotec elite worshiped their ancestors, as well as a number of gods. They believed that a dead ruler continued to influence the affairs of his descendants and their subjects through his influence with the gods. Many royal tombs have been excavated at Monte Albán. Some are elaborately decorated with murals and have temples and other memorials built over them. The Zapotec made astronomical observations and developed a calendar and system of hieroglyphic writing that were more sophisticated than those of the Olmec. Monte Albán began to lose its power in the 7th century AD, declining gradually until it was no longer the dominant center in the valley. A number of causes probably played a role in its decline, including competition from other states in the valley and population growth that may have strained the government's ability to redistribute food. An external factor that probably contributed to Monte Albán's decline was the collapse of Teotihuacán, a powerful city-state in central Mexico with which the Zapotec had close ties. C Teotihuacán In the highlands of central Mexico, two important cities were founded about 200 north. When Cuicuilco was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in the 1st century BC: AD, Cuicuilco, in the southern part of the Valley of Mexico, and Teotihuacán, in the Teotihuacán became the most powerful civilization in central Mexico. Its influence extended to other cultures throughout Mesoamerica and to later civilizations, such as the Aztec. Teotihuacán was located in the Teotihuacán Valley, a part of the Valley of Mexico, 40 km (25 mi) northeast of present-day Mexico City. The valley had been occupied by a small farming population for about 1000 years before Teotihuacán became a major city. A strategic region, it provided access to the basin's lake system and to other valuable resources, including obsidian, limestone, volcanic stone, salt, and clay for pottery. Land could be irrigated for farming using water from permanent springs. In the early 1st century Teotihuacán had a population of about 20,000. During the next 150 years the city grew dramatically, becoming a powerful center of political, economic, and religious activity. Its population grew to between 60,000 and 80,000, and its area expanded from 8 sq km (3 sq mi) to about 21 sq km (about 8 sq mi). This growth occurred so rapidly that it can only be explained by massive immigration. It appears that the entire population of the Valley of Mexico was relocated to Teotihuacán, presumably through the use of force, religious influence, or economic incentives by Teotihuacán's rulers. In later centuries, the city's population grew more gradually. At the height of Teotihuacán civilization in about AD 500, the city was one of the largest in the world, with an estimated population of at least 125,000. Teotihuacán had a powerful, centrally organized government and a strong market economy. Its complex society was divided into classes of artisans, farmers, laborers, and merchants, ruled by a powerful nobility. In the city's workshops, artists and craftspeople produced pottery, figurines, obsidian knives, and other goods, which spread by trade through a large part of Mesoamerica. In order to control the exchange of valuable jade, cacao, tropical bird feathers, animal skins, and other luxury goods, Teotihuacán maintained colonies as far away as Kaminaljuyú (present-day Guatemala City) and Matacapan (in the Veracruz highlands of eastern Mexico). Teotihuacán was also a sacred site, the center of an elaborate state religion with a specialized class of priests. The city was filled with religious murals and sculptures, and even the layout of its streets had religious significance. In the center of Teotihuacán was a vast collection of religious monuments designed to overwhelm the viewer. Built during the 1st and 2nd centuries, this area centered around the Avenue of the Dead, a broad avenue that formed the city's main north-south axis. Along the Avenue of the Dead were the temples known as the Pyramid of the Sun--one of the largest structures ever built in pre-Columbian America--and the Pyramid of the Moon, along with about 75 other temples. The administrative center for Teotihuacán's government was a nearby complex of buildings known as the Citadel. This large enclosure measured about 400 m (1300 ft) on each side and included a temple pyramid decorated with sculptures of mythical creatures. Indicating the state's absolute power, the remains of about 200 men were found by archaeologists at the base of this pyramid, apparently warriors who were killed as ritual sacrifices. Teotihuacán's elite class lived in luxurious walled compounds near the Avenue of the Dead. These palace compounds featured plaster walls painted with colorful murals that depicted gods, animals, and mythical figures. For the lower classes, a new type of residence--one-story apartment buildings occupied by 60 to 100 people--became the standard housing unit after about AD 200. More than 2000 of these buildings were constructed in Teotihuacán, enclosing a courtyard and one or more temple platforms. These compounds were probably occupied by extended families, larger related groups, and people of similar occupations. Late in the 6th century Teotihuacán began to decline. Its population fell to about 70,000, and it appears that the central government was plagued by an internal crisis for several decades. About 650 the city suffered a catastrophic collapse. The center of the city, especially the temples and monuments along the Avenue of the Dead, was burned and looted in a massive act of destruction. The reasons for Teotihuacán's collapse are not known, but possible causes include invasion, soil depletion and other environmental degradation that damaged food production, health and sanitation problems, and poor administration. The collapse of Teotihuacán as a major economic and political power was felt all over the Mesoamerican world. In central Mexico, the power vacuum was filled by a group related to the Maya, known as the Olmeca-Xicallanca, who founded fortified centers of long-distance trade including Xochicalco, in the Valley of Morelos, and Cacaxtla, near Tlaxcala. The fall of Teotihuacán probably contributed to the decline of Monte Albán and the collapse of another major Mesoamerican civilization: the lowland Maya. D Maya The civilization of the lowland Maya began between about 600 and 400 BC in the low-lying jungles of present-day Guatemala, Belize, and southeastern Mexico. Although it lasted until the Spanish conquest in the early 1500s, it reached its height during the Classic period (AD 300-900). Unlike Teotihuacán, the Maya did not develop a unified political structure but rather formed a number of city-states with a common culture. Their artistic forms, scientific knowledge, and monumental architecture made the Maya in many respects the most highly developed indigenous people of the western hemisphere. About 600 BC the Maya lowlands experienced a large and rapid population increase. The area, which was dotted with hundreds of small farming communities, saw powerful chiefdoms emerge beginning about 400 BC. These chiefdoms were based at various sites, including El Mirador, Tikal, Cerros, Becan, and Dzibilchaltun, which developed into ceremonial and population centers with tens of thousands of residents. Enormous temple platforms and spacious plazas were built to reflect the power and authority of the Maya rulers. Pottery and other crafts were created by specialized artisans and were uniform throughout the area. The Maya chiefdoms had strong economic ties to one another and to chiefdoms in the Guatemalan highlands and Pacific coast region, including Izapa and Kaminaljuyú. From these highland cultures, the lowland Maya adopted the practice of carving stelae (stone slabs) to record historical events. Later Maya rulers sponsored the carving of stelae with inscriptions that proclaimed their authority, glorified their royal ancestry or descent, and extolled their conquests. Because Maya dates can be correlated to the European calendar, these stelae give scholars a very precise chronology of Maya history. Beginning about AD 300, the Maya entered their highest stage of civilization. At that time, a number of competing Maya city-states governed the southern lowlands, dominating regional territories. These cities included Palenque, Piedras Negras, Yaxchilán, Altar de Sacrificios, Seibal, Dos Pilas, Tikal, Uaxactún, Altun Ha, Caracol, Quiriguá, and Copán. Like other Mesoamerican societies, the Maya were ruled by nobles who wielded both political and religious power. Smaller cities paid tribute to the rulers, who resided in the major urban centers. Many specialized workers were employed in these Maya cities, including architects, weavers, potters, manuscript painters, feather workers, stone masons, and monument carvers. The Maya produced brilliant art and architecture and made significant scientific contributions, especially in astronomy and mathematics. They built large ceremonial complexes, which were dominated by giant stone pyramids topped with temples dedicated to various gods, and also constructed palaces, large plazas, astronomical observatories, and ball courts for the sacred ball games played throughout Mesoamerica. The Maya also devised an elaborate and highly accurate calendar and a complex hieroglyphic writing system. The first major Classic Maya center to develop was Tikal, in the Petén jungle region of Guatemala. Tikal erected its first stela in 292, and during the next 200 years it came to dominate much of the lowland region. Many factors account for Tikal's rise to power. Its location provided rich agricultural resources, a strategic military position, and control of regional trade, especially in cacao. Tikal was also an important religious center and maintained close connections with the highland center of Kaminaljuyú and the great civilization of Teotihuacán. Tikal probably spread its influence by establishing ruling dynasties at minor centers, either by conquest or by intermarriage. Beginning in the 6th century several cities challenged Tikal's dominance of the lowlands. In 562 the ruler of Caracol, in present-day Belize, apparently waged a successful military campaign against Tikal. Tikal's ruler was captured and killed in a ritual sacrifice, and many monuments in the city's great plaza were destroyed. Caracol grew dramatically until the 8th century. Meanwhile, refugees from the royal lineage of Tikal established a new state based at Dos Pilas and Aguateca and eventually conquered an area in the southern Petén region. By the late Classic period (AD 600-900), the population of the southern lowlands probably exceeded 10 million. At the end of this period the lowland Maya civilization suffered a sudden and mysterious collapse. Between about 800 and 900, monument carving, temple and palace building, and other elite activities ceased. Most cities were abandoned, and the population of the entire lowland region declined sharply. Scholars have suggested many possible causes of this collapse, including overpopulation, disease, warfare, and environmental deterioration that damaged food production. The causes probably varied in each city. After the collapse of the lowland cities, the center of Maya civilization shifted to northern areas of the Yucatán Peninsula, in particular the cities of Chichén Itzá, Uxmal, and Cobá. In the 10th century Toltec people from northern Mexico either invaded or migrated to the region, and Maya culture became influenced by Toltec customs, art, and religion. The Toltec were a militaristic and commercially oriented people, and under their influence Maya military leaders and merchants became more powerful. Between about 1000 and 1250 Chichén Itzá was the dominant state in the region, receiving tribute from surrounding areas. About 1250 Chichén Itzá was overthrown by the city-state of Mayapán. In this small, fortified center a confederation of three elite lineages established a unified Yucatán state. This unity eventually gave way in the mid-15th century to about 12 small, highly competitive city-states. It was this political landscape that the Spaniards observed when they arrived in Yucatán in 1517. E Toltec The Toltec rose to power in central Mexico in the 10th century and dominated the region for more than two centuries. They formed a vast trade network that extended from what is now the southwestern United States to lower Central America, and their influence in art and architecture was evident throughout Mesoamerica. The Toltec were a particularly strong influence on the later Aztec people, who claimed the Toltec as their ancestors. The Toltec established their capital, Tollán, at what is now Tula, north of the Valley of Mexico, near the northern boundary of Mesoamerica. At its peak, Tollán had an estimated population of about 60,000. The Toltec people, who spoke a language known as Nahuatl, established a state that was smaller and more secular than Teotihuacán and other Classic-period civilizations. The Toltec also created a more militaristic culture, because their economy depended on conquering or trading with other areas, rather than producing goods in their home region. Warriors were needed to subdue other states and protect long-distance trade routes. The Toltec became a major influence on Chichén Itzá, the Maya city-state in Yucatán, and Toltec-related peoples also took over parts of Central America. In the late 12th century Tollán began to experience a long decline caused by drought, famine, rebellion, and invasions by warlike Chichimec groups from the north. Toltec dominance of the region ended, and many other Nahuatl-speaking ethnic groups entered the Valley of Mexico. Among them was a small group of people who called themselves Mexica but came to be known as Aztec. The Aztec became the next major power in Mesoamerica. F Aztec The Aztec built the most powerful empire in Mesoamerica, famous for its wealth and rituals. Within less than one century, they gained control of a region extending from the Gulf of Mexico in the east to the Pacific coast in the west and from central Mexico to Guatemala. On the site of present-day Mexico City, they built an elaborate capital, Tenochtitlán, which was one of the largest cities in the world at the time. Their language, legends, and art forms continue to influence present-day Mexican culture. The founders of the Aztec Empire entered the Valley of Mexico in the early 13th century. After serving as mercenaries (hired warriors) for other groups in the valley, they founded Tenochtitlán on an island in Lake Texcoco in 1325. As their power grew, the Aztec took over older city-states in the valley, including Texcoco, Atzcapotzalco, and Tlatelolco. They conquered other states throughout much of central and southern Mexico and demanded that these subject peoples pay tribute. By the early 16th century the Aztec controlled an enormous empire with 5 million to 6 million inhabitants. Tenochtitlán, the center of the empire, was a huge city of temples, palaces, and markets. At its peak in the early 16th century, Tenochtitlán's population was an estimated 200,000. The first Aztec ruler was descended from the royal rulers of the Toltec, and the Aztec civilization developed many of its traits from Toltec tradition. Aztec society was extremely militaristic, with a highly centralized political system that was deeply entwined with religion. Although human sacrifice had been practiced throughout Mesoamerican history, the Aztec elevated it to much greater prominence within their religious and political rituals. The Aztec also produced elaborate artwork, including paintings and stone sculpture. IV SPANISH CONQUEST The Spanish conquest of Mexico began in 1519 and concluded with the siege and capture of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán in 1521. Spanish conquerors then moved into Central America, subjugating the native peoples there. Huge numbers of Mesoamerican people died in battle and from diseases that the conquerors had introduced into the region. Many of the survivors of the conquest suffered enslavement, forced labor, and cultural disorientation. European conquest brought about the end of the indigenous Mesoamerican civilizations. Spanish overlords replaced the ruling native elites, Christianity largely replaced native religions, and new foods and animals were introduced. However, many elements of Mesoamerican culture survived and blended with European traditions, giving rise to a new civilization. Contributed By: William R. Fowler Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
