Location of Mesoamerica in the Americas.
'Mesoamerica' or 'Meso-America' () is a
region in the mid-latitudes of the
Americas, namely the
culture area within which a number of
pre-Columbian societies flourished before the
Spanish colonization of the Americas in the
15th and
16th centuries.
[1][2][3] The culture area extends from central
Honduras and northwestern
Costa Rica on the south to, in
Mexico, the Soto la Marina River in
Tamaulipas and the
Rio Fuerte in
Sinaloa on the north. Prehistoric groups in this area are characterized by
agricultural villages and large ceremonial and politico-religious capitals
[4] This culture area included some of the most complex and advanced
cultures of the Americas, including the
Olmec,
Teotihuacan, the
Maya, and the
Aztec. These cultures developed complex sociopolitical systems, reached advanced technological, scientific, and mathematical levels, and participated in long-distance interaction networks that resulted in the transmission of interrelated ideas and
ideology.
Mesoamerica may also refer to the contemporary region (largely coincident with the ancient region) comprising the
countries of Central America and
nine southeastern states of Mexico:
Campeche,
Chiapas,
Guerrero,
Oaxaca,
Puebla,
Quintana Roo,
Tabasco,
Veracruz, and
Yucatán. In addition to historical linguistic and cultural similarities, the territories within this region exhibit increasing socioeconomic integration.
[5]
Etymology and definition
The term ''Mesoamerica'' – literally, "
America" – was first used by the
German ethnologist Paul Kirchhoff,
[6] who noted that similarities existed among the various
pre-Columbian cultures within the region that included southern
Mexico,
Guatemala,
Belize,
El Salvador, western
Honduras, and the
Pacific lowlands of
Nicaragua and northwestern
Costa Rica. In the tradition of
cultural-history, the prevalent
archaeological theory of the early to middle
20th century, Kirchhoff defined this zone as a
culture area based on a suite of interrelated cultural similarities brought about by millennia of inter- and intra-regional interaction (i.e.,
diffusion). These included
sedentism,
agriculture (specifically a reliance on the cultivation of
maize), the use of two different
calendars (a 260 day ritual calendar and a 365 day calendar based on the
solar year), a base 20 (
vigesimal) number system,
pictographic and
hieroglyphic writing systems, the practice of various forms of
sacrifice, and a complex of shared ideological concepts. Mesoamerica has also been shown to be a
linguistic area defined by a
number of grammatical traits that have spread through the area by diffusion.
Mesoamerica is recognized as a near prototypical cultural area and the term is now fully integrated in the standard terminology of pre-Columbian
anthropological studies. Conversely, the sister terms
Aridoamerica and
Oasisamerica, which refer to northern Mexico and the western
United States, respectively, have not entered into widespread usage.
Geography
Main articles: Geography of Mesoamerica
Landscape of the Mesoamerican highlands
Located on the
isthmus joining North and
South America between ''ca.'' 10° and 22° northern
latitude, Mesoamerica possesses a complex combination of ecological systems, topographic zones, and environmental contexts.
Archaeologist and
anthropologist Michael D. Coe groups these different
niches into two broad categories : the lowlands (those areas between
sea level and 1000 meters) and the ''altiplanos'', or highlands (situated between 1000 and 2000
meters above sea level). In the low-lying regions,
sub-tropical and
tropical climates are most common, as is true for most of the coastline along the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico and the
Caribbean Sea. The highlands show much more climatic diversity, ranging from dry tropical to cold
mountainous climates, the dominant climate is
temperate with warm temperatures and moderate rainfall. The rain fall varies, between the dry
Oaxaca, and north
Yucatan to the Humid southern Pacific and Caribbean lowlands.
Topography
There is extensive topographic variation in Mesoamerica, ranging from the high peaks circumscribing the
Valley of Mexico and within the central
Sierra Madre mountains to the low flatlands of the northern Yucatán Peninsula. The tallest mountain in Mesoamerica is
Pico de Orizaba, a
dormant volcano located one the border of
Puebla and
Veracruz. Its peak elevation is 5,636 m (18,490 ft).
The
Sierra Madre mountains, which consist of a number of smaller ranges, run from northern Mesoamerican south through Costa Rica. The chain is historically
volcanic. In central and southern Mexico, a portion of the Sierra Madre chain is known as the
Eje Volcánico Transversal, or the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt. There are 83 inactive and active volcanoes within the Sierra Madre range, including 11 in Mexico, 37 in Guatemala, 7 in El Salvador, 25 in Nicaragua, and 3 in northwestern Costa Rica. According to the Michigan Technological University
[1], 16 of these are still active. The tallest active volcano is
Popocatépetl at 5,452 m (17,883 ft). This volcano, which retains its
Nahuatl name, is located 70 km southeast of
Mexico City. Other volcanoes of note include
Tacana on the Mexico-Guatemala border,
Tajumulco and
Santamaría in Guatemala,
Izalco in El Salvador,
Momotombo in Nicaragua, and
Arenal in Costa Rica.
One important
topographic feature is the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a low plateau that breaks up the Sierra Madre chain between the
Sierra Madre del Sur to the north and the
Sierra Madre de Chiapas to the south. At its highest point, the
Isthmus is 224 meters (735 feet) above mean sea level. This area also represents the shortest distance between the
Gulf of Mexico and the
Pacific Ocean in Mexico. The distance between the two coasts is roughly 200 kilometers (120 miles). Although the northern side of the Isthmus is swampy and covered with dense jungle, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, as the lowest and most level point within the Sierra Madre mountain chain, was nonetheless a main transportation, communication, and economic route within Mesoamerica.
Bodies of water
Outside of the northern Maya lowlands,
rivers are common throughout Mesoamerica. A number of the more important ones served as loci of human occupation in the area. The longest river in Mesoamerica is the
Usumacinta, which forms in Guatemala at the convergence of the
Salinas or Chixoy, and La
Pasion River and runs north for 970 km (480 km of which are navigable), eventually draining into the
Gulf of Mexico. Other rivers of note include the
Rio Grande de Santiago, the
Grijalva River, the
Motagua River, the
Ulúa River, and the
Hondo River. The northern Maya lowlands, especially the north portion of the Yucatán peninsula, are notable for its nearly complete lack of rivers (largely due to its absolute lack of topographic variation). Additionally, no lakes exist in the northern peninsula. The main source of water in this area, therefore, is sub-surface, and consists of water from
aquifers that which is retained within
cenotes.
With an area of
8264 km²,
Lake Nicaragua is the largest lake in Mesoamerica.
Lake Chapala is Mexico’s largest freshwater lake, but
Lake Texcoco is perhaps the most well-known as the location upon which
Tenochtitlan, capital of the
Aztec Empire, was founded.
Lake Petén Itzá, in northern Guatemala, is notable as the location at which the last independent Maya city,
Tayasal (or Noh Petén), held out until 1697. Other large lakes include
Lake Atitlán,
Lake Izabal,
Lake Güija,
Lemoa, and
Lake Managua.
Biodiversity
There are almost all
ecosystems in Mesoamerica, the more notorious are the Caribbean Coral Reef, the second largest in the world, and the
Bosawas Biosphere Reserve, second in size to the
Amazonas.
[7] The Highlands present mix and conifer forest. The biodiversity is among the richest in the world, although the number of species in the red list of the
IUCN is growing every year.
Cultural sub-areas
Mesoamerica and its cultural areas.
There are a number of distinct sub-regions within Mesoamerica that are defined by a convergence of geographic and cultural attributes. These sub-regions are more conceptual than culturally meaningful, and the demarcation of their limits is not rigid. The Maya area, for example, can be divided into two general groups: the lowlands and highlands. The lowlands are further divided into the southern and northern Maya lowlands. The southern Maya lowlands are generally conceptualized as encompassing northern Guatemala, southern
Campeche and
Quintana Roo in Mexico, and Belize. The northern lowlands cover the remainder of the northern portion of the
Yucatán Peninsula. Other areas include Central Mexico, West Mexico, the Gulf Coast Lowlands,
Oaxaca, the Southern Pacific Lowlands, and Southeast Mesoamerica (including northern Honduras).
Chronology and culture
Main articles: Mesoamerican chronology
The history of human occupation in Mesoamerica is divided among a number of stages or periods. These are known, with slight variation depending on region, as the
Paleo-Indian, the
Archaic, the
Preclassic (or Formative), the
Classic, and the
Postclassic. The last three periods, representing the core of Mesoamerican cultural fluorescence, are further divided into two or three sub-phases. Most of the time following the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century is lumped into the Colonial period.
The differentiation of early periods (i.e., up through the end of the
Late Preclassic) generally reflects
different configurations of socio-cultural organization that are characterized by
increasing socio-political complexity, the adoption of new and different
subsistence strategies, and changes in economic organization (including increased interregional interaction). The
Classic period through the
Postclassic are differentiated by the cyclical crystallization and fragmentation of the various political entities throughout Mesoamerica.
Paleo-Indian
Obsidian projectile point from Puerta Parada,
Guatemala The Mesoamerican Paleo-Indian period precedes the advent of agriculture and is characterized by a nomadic
hunting and gathering subsistence strategy. Big-game hunting, similar to that seen in contemporaneous
North America, was a large component of the subsistence strategy of the Mesoamerican Paleo-Indian. Evidence for this time period in Mesoamerica is sparse and the documented sites scattered Ca 10,500 DC. These include
Chivacabé,
Los Tapiales, and
Puerta Parada in the highlands of Guatemala,
Orange Walk in Belize, and the
El Gigante cave in Honduras. This latter sites had a number of
obsidian blades and
Clovis style fluted
projectile points. Fishtail points, the most common style in
South America, were recovered from Puerta Parada, dated to ca. 10,000 BC, as well as other sites including
Los Grifos cave in
Chiapas (ca. 8500 BC) and
Iztapan (ca. 7700 – 7300 BC), a
mammoth kill site located in the Valley of Mexico near
Texcoco.
Archaic
The Archaic period (
8000-
2000 BC) is characterized by the rise of
incipient agriculture in Mesoamerica. The initial phases of the Archaic involved the cultivation of wild plants, transitioning into informal domestication and culminating with
sedentism and agricultural production by the close of the period. Archaic sites include ''Sipacate'' in
Escuintla, Guatemala, where
maize pollen samples date to ca. 3500 BC. The well known
Coxcatlan cave site in the Valley of
Tehuacán,
Puebla, which contains over 10,000
teosinte cobs (an antecedent to
maize), and
Guila Naquitz in Oaxaca represent some of the earliest examples of agriculture in Mesoamerica. The early development of pottery, often seen as a sign of sedentism, has been documented as a number of sites, including the West Mexican sites of
Matanchén in
Nayarit and Puerto Marqués in
Guerrero.
La Blanca,
Ocós, and
Ujuxte in the
Pacific Lowlands of
Guatemala yielded pottery dated to ca. 2500 BC.
Preclassic/Formative
The first complex civilization to develop in Mesoamerica were the
Olmec, who inhabited the gulf coast region of
Veracruz throughout the Preclassic period. The main sites of the Olmec include
San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán,
La Venta, and
Tres Zapotes. Although specific dates vary, these sites were occupied from roughly 1200 to 400 BC. Remains of other early cultures, possibly related to, or interacting with, the Olmec, have been found at
Takalik Abaj,
Izapa, and
Teopantecuanitlan, and as far south as in
Honduras. Research in the Pacific Lowlands of Chiapas and Guatemala suggest that the
Monte Alto Culture may have preceded the Olmec.
Radiocarbon samples associated with various sculptures found at the Late Preclassic site of
Izapa suggest a date of between 1800 and 1500 BC. . It is, however, unclear to what extent the Monte Alto culture had developed at this point, as the majority of archaeological information from the area pertains to the Middle and Late Preclassic (i.e., contemporaneous with the Olmec).
The Middle and Late Preclassic witnessed the rise of the
Maya in the southern Maya highlands and lowlands and at a few sites in the northern Maya lowlands. The earliest Maya sites coalesced after 1000 BC, and include
Nakbe,
El Mirador, and
Cerros. Middle to Late Preclassic Maya sites include
Kaminaljuyú,
Cival,
Edzná,
Cobá,
Lamanai,
Komchen,
Dzibilchaltun, and
San Bartolo, among others.
The Preclassic in the central Mexican highlands is represented by such sites as
Tlapacoya,
Tlatilco, and
Cuicuilco. These sites eventually gave rise to
Teotihuacán, an important site which would eventually dominate economic and interaction spheres throughout Mesoamerica. The settlement of Teoithuacan is dated to later portion of the Late Preclassic, or roughly A.D. 50.
In the Valley of Oaxaca,
San José Mogote represents one of the oldest permanent agricultural villages in the area, and one of the first to use pottery. During the Early and Middle Preclassic, the site developed some of the earliest examples of defensive
palisades, ceremonial structures, the use of
adobe, and
hieroglyphic writing. Also importantly, the site was one of the first to demonstrate
inherited status, signifying a radical shift in socio-cultural and political structure. San José Mogote would eventual be overtaken by
Monte Albán, the subsequent capital of the
Zapotec empire, during the Late Preclassic.
Classic
Early Classic
The Classic period is marked by the rise and dominance of several polities. The traditional distinction between the Early and Late Classic are marked by their changing fortune and their ability to maintain regional primacy. Of paramount importance are Teotihuacán in central Mexico and
Tikal in Guatemala – indeed, the Early Classic’s temporal limits generally correlate to the main periods of these sites. Monte Alban in Oaxaca is another Classic period polity that expanded and floresced during this period, but the Zapotec capital exerted less interregional influence than the other two sites.
During the Early Classic, Teotihuacan participated in and perhaps dominated a far-reaching macro-regional interaction network. Architectural and artifact styles (talud-tablero, tripod slab-footed ceramic vessels) epitomized at Teotihuacan were mimicked and adopted at many distant settlements.
Pachuca obsidian, whose trade and distribution is argued to have been economically controlled by Teotihuacan, is found throughout Mesoamerica.
Tikal came to politically, economically, and militarily dominate much of the southern Maya lowlands during the Early Classic. An exchange network centered at Tikal distributed a variety of goods and commodities throughout southeast Mesoamerica, such as obsidian imported from central Mexico (e.g., Pachuca) and highland Guatemala (e.g.,
El Chayal, which was predominantly used by the Maya during the Early Classic), and
Jadefrom the Motagua valley in Guatemala. Carved inscriptions at the site attest to direct interaction with individuals adorned in Teotihuacan-styled dress ca 400 AD. However, Tikal was often in conflict with other polities in the
Petén Basin, as well as with others outside of it, including
Uaxactun,
Caracol,
Dos Pilas,
Naranjo, and
Calakmul. Towards the end of the Early Classic, this conflict would lead to Tikal’s military defeat at the hands of Caracol in
562 and a period commonly known as the
Tikal Hiatus.
Late Classic
The Late Classic period (beginning ca. AD 600 until AD 800/850 [varies]) is characterized as a period of interregional competition and factionalization among the numerous regional polities in the Maya area. This largely resulted from the decrease in Tikal’s socio-political and economic power at the beginning. It was during this time that a number of other sites, therefore, rose to regional prominence and were able to exert greater interregional influence, including Caracol,
Copán,
Palenque, and Calakmul (who was allied with Caracol and may have assisted in the defeat of Tikal), and
Dos Pilas Aguateca and
Cancuén in the
Petexbatún region of Guatemala. Around 710 DC, Tikal arouses again and started to build strong alliances and defeating its worst enemies. In the Maya area, the Late Classic ended with the so-called
Maya "collapse," a transitional period coupling the general depopulation of the southern lowlands and development and fluorescence of centers in the northern lowlands.
Terminal Classic
Generally applied to the Maya area, the Terminal Classic roughly spans the time between AD 800/850 and ca. AD 1000. Overall, it generally correlates the rise to prominence of
Puuc settlements in the northern Maya lowlands, so named after the hills in which they are mainly found. Puuc settlements are specifically associated with a unique architectural style (the "Puuc architectural style") that represents a technological departure from previous construction techniques. Major Puuc sites include
Uxmal,
Sayil,
Labna,
Kabah, and
Oxkintok. While generally concentrating within the area in and around the Puuc hills, the style has been documented as far away as at
Chichen Itza to the east and
Edzna to the south.
Chichén Itzá was originally thought to have been a Postclassic site in the northern Maya lowlands. Research over the past few decades has established that it was first settled during the Early/Late Classic transition but rose to prominence during the Terminal Classic and Early Postclassic. During its apogee, this widely known site economically and politically dominated the northern lowlands. Its participation in the circum-peninsular exchange route, possible through its port site of
Isla Cerritos, allowed Chichén Itzá to remain highly connected to areas such as central Mexico and Central America. The apparent “Mexicanization” of architecture at Chichén Itzá led past researchers to believe that Chichén Itzá existed under the control of a Toltec empire. Chronological data refutes this early interpretation, and it is now known that Chichén Itzá predated the Toltec; Mexican architectural styles are now used as an indicator of strong economic and ideological ties between the two regions.
Postclassic
The Postclassic (beginning AD 900-1000, depending on area) is, like the Late Classic, characterized by the cyclical crystallization and fragmentation of various polities. The main Maya centers were located in the northern lowlands. Following Chichén Itzá, whose political structure collapsed during the Early Postclassic,
Mayapán rose to prominence during the Middle Postclassic and dominated the north for ca. 200 years. After Mayapán’s fragmentation, political structure in the northern lowlands revolved around a number of large towns or city-states, such as
Oxkutzcab and
Ti’ho (
Mérida, Yucatán), that competed with one another.
Toniná, in the Chiapas highlands, and
Kaminaljuyú in the central Guatemala highlands, were important southern highland Maya centers. The latter site, Kaminaljuyú, is one of the longest occupied sites in Mesoamerica and was continuously inhabited from ca. 800 BC to around AD 1200. Other important highland Maya groups include the
K'iche' of
Utatlán, the
Mam in
Zaculeu, the
Poqomam in
Mixco Viejo, and the
Kaqchikel at
Iximche in the Guatemalan highlands. The
Pipil resided in
El Salvador, while the
Ch'orti' were in eastern Guatemala and northwestern
Honduras.
In central Mexico, the early portion of the Postclassic correlates with the rise of the
Toltec and an empire based at their capital,
Tula (also known as
Tollan).
Cholula, initially an important Early Classic center contemporaneous with Teotihuacan, maintained its political structure (it did not collapse) and continued to function as a regionally important center during the Postclassic. The latter portion of the Postclassic is generally associated with the rise of the
Mexica and the
Aztec empire. One of the more commonly known cultural groups in Mesoamerica, the Aztec politically dominated nearly all of central Mexico, the Gulf Coast, Mexico’s southern Pacific Coast (Chiapas and into Guatemala), Oaxaca, and
Guerrero.
The
Tarascans (also known as the
P'urhépecha) were located in
Michoacan and Guerrero. With their capital at
Tzintzuntzan, the Tarascan state was one of only ones to actively and continuously resist Aztec domination during the Late Postclassic. Other important Postclassic cultures in Mesoamerica include the
Totonac along the eastern coast (in the modern-day states of
Veracruz,
Puebla, and
Hidalgo).
El Tajín, initially built during the end of the Late Preclassic, was an important Totonac city. The
Huastec resided north of the Totonac, mainly in the modern-day states of
Tamaulipas and northern Veracruz. The
Mixtec culture, centered at
Mitla, inhabited Oaxaca.
The Postclassic ends with the
arrival of the Spanish and their subsequent conquest of the Aztec between 1519 and 1521. It should be noted that many other cultural groups did not acquiesce until later. For example, Maya groups in the Petén area, including the
Itza at
Tayasal and the
Ko'woj at
Zacpeten, remained independent until 1697.
Some Mesoamerican cultures never achieved dominant status or left impressive archeological remains but should be mentioned as noteworthy. These include the
Otomi,
Mixe-Zoque groups (which may or may not have been related to the Olmecs), the northern
Uto-aztecan groups, often referred to as the
Chichimeca, that include the
Cora and
Huichol, the Chontales, the Huaves, and the Pipil, Xincan and Lencan peoples of Central America.
| Period | Timespan | Important cultures, cities |
|---|
'Summary of the Chronology and Cultures of Mesoamerica'| Paleo-Indian | 10,000-3500 BC | Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, obsidian and Pyrite points, Iztapan, Mexico circa 7,500 BC |
| Archaic | 3500-2000 BC | Agricultural settlements, Tehuacán |
| Preclassic (Formative) | B.C. 2000-250 AD | Unknown culture in La Blanca and Ujuxte, Monte Alto Culture |
| Early Preclassic | B.C. 2000-1000 | Olmec area: San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan, La Venta,Chalcatzingo. Valley of Oaxaca: San José Mogote. The Maya area: Nakbe, Cerros |
| Middle Preclassic | B.C. 1000-300 | Olmec area: Tres Zapotes; Maya area: El Mirador, Izapa, Lamanai, Xunantunich, Naj Tunich, Takalik Abaj, Kaminaljuyú, Uaxactun; Valley of Oaxaca: Monte Albán |
| Late Preclassic | B.C.E.300-250 AD | Maya area: Uaxactun, Tikal, Edzná, Cival, San Bartolo, Altar de Sacrificios, Piedras Negras, Ceibal, Rio Azul. Central Mexico: Teotihuacan |
| Classic | 250-900 AD | Classic Maya Centers, Teotihuacan, Zapotec |
| Early Classic | 250-600 AD | Maya area: Calakmul, Caracol, Chunchucmil, Copán, Naranjo, Palenque, Quiriguá, Tikal, Uaxactun, Yaxha; Teotihuacan apogee; Zapotec apogee; Gulf Coast: El Tajín |
| Late Classic | 600-900 AD | Maya area: Uxmal, Toniná, Cobá, Waka', Pusilhá, Xultún, Dos Pilas, Cancuen, Aguateca. Central Mexico: Xochicalco, Cacaxtla, |
| Terminal Classic | 800-900/1000 AD | Maya area: Puuc sites - Uxmal, Labna, Sayil, Kabah |
| Postclassic | 900-1519 AD | Aztec, Tarascans, Mixtec, Totonac, Pipil, Itzá, Ko'woj, K'iche', Kaqchikel, Poqomam, Mam |
| Early Postclassic | 900-1200 | Cholula, Tula, Mitla, El Tajín, Tulum, Topoxte, Kaminaljuyú, Joya de Cerén |
| Late Postclassic | 1200- 1519 AD | Tenochtitlan, Cempoala, Tzintzuntzan, Mayapán, Ti'ho, Utatlán, Iximche, Mixco Viejo, Zaculeu |
| Post Conquest | Until 1697 AD | Central Peten: Tayasal , Zacpeten |
General Characteristics
Subsistence
Main articles: Agriculture in Mesoamerica
Examples of the diversity of maize.
By roughly 6000 BC,
hunter-gatherers living in the
highlands and lowlands of Mesoamerica began to develop agricultural practices with early cultivation of squash and chiles. The earliest example of
maize comes from Guila Naquitz, a cave in Oaxaca, that dates to ca. 4000 BC. It should be noted, however, that earlier maize samples have been documented at the Los Ladrones cave site in
Panama, ca. 5500 BC. Slightly thereafter, other crops begin to be cultivated by the semi-
agrarian communities throughout Mesoamerica.
[8] Although maize is the most common domesticate, the common bean, tepary bean, scarlet runner bean,
jicama,
tomato and squash all become common cultivates by 3500 BC. At the same time,
cotton,
yucca and
agave were exploited for fibers and
textile materials.
[9] By 2000 BC corn is the staple crop in the region and would remain so up through modern times. The Ramón or
Breadnut tree (''
Brosimum alicastrum'') was an occasional substitute for maize in producing flour. Fruit was also important in the daily diet of Mesoamerican cultures. Some of the main ones consumed include
Avocado,
Papaya,
Guava,
Mamey,
Zapote, and
Anona, among others.
Mesoamerica lacked animals suitable for domestication, most notably domesticated large
ungulates and
poultry, and as a result, the inhabitants of the region had to rely on hunting up until the Spanish arrived. There was, however, some domestication of other animals, including
duck,
deer,
dogs, and
turkey that were raised for meat. Turkey was the first of the four animals to be
domesticated, occurring around 3500 BC.
[10] Dog was clearly an important supplement to the diet of ancient Mesoamericans, as dog bones are common in midden deposits throughout the region. These animals were typically eaten around the age of one. The lack of larger animals for domestication was likely the result of climate change, as certain species of horse and cattle previously living in the region had gone extinct. Additionally, and related to this fact, Mesoamerican cultures lacked pack animals to assist in transportation; this is one notable difference between Mesoamerica and the cultures of the South American Andes.
Mesoamerican cultures that lived in the lowlands and coastal plains settled down in agrarian communities somewhat later than did highland cultures due to the fact that there was a greater abundance of fruits and animals in these areas which made a hunter-gatherer lifestyle more attractive.
[11] Fishing also was a major provider of food to lowland and coastal Mesoamericans creating a further disincentive to settle down in permanent communities.
Societies of this region did hunt certain wild species to complement their diet. These animals included
deer,
rabbit,
birds and various types of insects. They also hunted in order to gain luxury items such as cat fur and bird plumage.
[12]
Architecture
Political organization
Ceremonial centers were the nuclei of Mesoamerican settlements. They gave rise to urban development, in that towns were literally planned around the temple, being nothing more than an extension of the holy center, which for its part constituted the heart of the sacred space. The temples provided spatial orientation, which was imparted to the surrounding town. The cities with their commercial and religious centers were always political entities, somewhat similar to the European
city-state, and each person could identify themself with the city in which they lived.
The ceremonial centers were always built to be visible. The pyramids were meant to stand out from the rest of the city, to represent its gods and their powers. Another characteristic feature of the ceremonial centers is historic layers. All of the ceremonial edifices were built in various phases, one on top of the other, to the point that what we now see is usually the last stage of construction. Ultimately, the ceremonial centers were the architectural translation of the identity of each city, as represented by the veneration of their gods and masters.
Stelae were common public monuments throughout Mesoamerica, and served to commemorate notable successes, events and dates associated with the rulers and nobility of the various sites.
Economy
Given that Mesoamerica was broken into numerous and diverse ecological niches, none of the societies that inhabited the area in were self-sufficient . For this reason, from the last centuries of the
Archaic period onward, regions compensated for the environmental inadequacies by specializing in the extraction of certain abundant natural resources and then trading them for necessary unavailable resources through established commercial trade networks.
The following is a list of some of the specialized resources traded from the various Mesoamerican sub-regions and environmental contexts:
★ Pacific lowlands -
cotton and
cochineal.
★ Maya lowlands and the Gulf Coast –
cacao,
vanilla,
jaguar skins, birds and bird feathers (especially
quetzal and
macaw).
★ Central Mexico – Obsidian (
Pachuca).
★ Guatemalan highlands – Obsidian (
San Martin Jilotepeque,
El Chayal, and
Ixtepeque),
pyrite, and
jade from the
Motagua River valley.
★ Coastal areas –
salt, dry
fish,
shell, and
dyes.
Currency
Sea shells from both coastal areas were used as
currency during the Preclassic . Later, cacao was used as a standard currency used in diverse commercial transactions. At the time of conquest, a well made cotton tunic or shirt in the main markets would sell for about 30-50 cacao beans.
Gold was not used as valuable object until the Postclassic, but even then, 1 load of
Jade was worth 4 loads of Gold.
Common characteristics of Mesoamerican culture
Calendrical systems
Main articles: Mesoamerican calendars
"Head Variant" or "Patron Gods" glyphs for Maya days
For agriculturally-based people, historically the year has been divided into four seasons. These included the two
solstices and the two
equinoxes which could be thought of as the four "directional pillars" that support the year. These four times of the year were, and still are, considered important as they indicate seasonal changes which obviously had a direct impact on the lives of an agricultural society. In the case of the agricultural Maya, the seasonal markers were avidly watched and duly recorded. They prepared almanacs recording past and recent solar and
lunar eclipses, the phases of the
moon, the periods of
Venus and
Mars, the movements of various other planets, and conjunctions of celestial bodies. These almanacs also made future predictions concerning celestial events. These tables are highly accurate and indicate a significant level of knowledge among Mesoamerica
astronomers.
Among the many types of Maya calendars which were maintained, the most important included a 260-day cycle, a 365-day cycle which approximated the solar year, a cycle which recorded lunation periods of the Moon, and a cycle which tracked the
synodic period of Venus. Philosophically, the Maya believed that knowing the past meant knowing the cyclical influences that create the present, and by knowing the influences of the present one can see the cyclical influences of the future. The 260 cycle was used as a tool to govern agriculture, observe religious holidays, and mark the position of the stars, but was mainly used for divinatory purposes, and to give names to newborns .
The names given to the days, months, and years in the Mesoamerican calendar came, for the most part, from animals, flowers, heavenly bodies and cultural concepts that held symbolic significance in Mesoamerican culture. This calendar was used throughout the history of Mesoamerican by nearly every culture. Even today, several Maya groups in Guatemala, including the
K'iche',
Q'eqchi' and
Kaqchikel, and the
Mixe people of Oaxaca, continue using modernized forms of the Mesoamerican calendar.
Writing systems
The Mesoamerican scripts deciphered to date are
logosyllabic combining the use of
logograms with a
syllabary, and they are often called
hieroglyphic scripts. Five or six different scripts have been documented in Mesoamerica but archaeological dating methods make it difficult to establish which was earliest and hence the forebear from which the others developed. The best documented and deciphered Mesoamerican writing system, and hence the most widely known, is the classic
Maya script. Others include the Olmec, Zapotec, and Epi-Olmec systems. An extensive
Mesoamerican literature has been conserved partly in indigenous scripts and partly in the postconquest transcriptions in the
Latin script.
The other
glyphic writing systems of Mesoamerica, and their usage, have been the subject of much debate. The ongoing discussion is whether or not non-Maya Mesoamerican writing systems can be considered examples of true written language or whether it is best understood as a
pictographic convention used to express ideas, specifically religious ones, but not representing the phonetic reality of the language in which they might be read.
Mesoamerican writing was practiced on a number of different mediums, including large stone monuments such as
stelae, carverd directly onto architecture, carved or painted over stucco (e.g.,
murals), and on
pottery. The
Maya codices were produced on
amate paper produced from bark. No Mesoamerican society has had widespread literacy, and literacy and use of writing systems have been restricted to the classes of scribes and painters, and the nobility.
The ballgame
Main articles: Mesoamerican ballgame
The ballgame is one of the more important cultural characteristics of Mesoamérica . Although its name may lead some to believe it was a sport, it was actually more of a
ritual, and the field where it was played was always located between
ceremonial centers. This game had a cosmic essence, related to the movement of the sun and the
universe ; this movement was imagined with the aid of the ball, which was made of hardened
rubber that was removed from the sap of a fig tree; they used mainly this material because of its capacity to bounce. The oldest accurately dated Ball Court is that of
Nakbe in
Peten's
Mirador Basin, at circa 500 BC.
The game had many rules, which changed from region to region. There was one version that could be played only with the hands, another one which used the hips and the elbows, and a version in which only a bat was used. For each type different
playing fields were used: one with
sidewalks so that the ball bounced to the height of the hip, and another with the ground dug up. In general all the fields had the form of a letter "I" and on the ends one could find heads of birds, as in
Copán, or in the Post Classic a large ring which the ball had to pass through, as in
Xochicalco. Occasionally the ceremonial ballgame may have concluded with a human sacrifice; it is not known if the one sacrificed was the captain of the winning team or of the losers; in most of the cases the players were prisoners of war .
Medicine and science
Medicine
Mesoamerican science and learning can be thought of as existing along two principal axes: those of the magical mind and the logical mind, which, despite being distinct, managed to coexist . In the field of medicine there were two schools: one was the
shamanist tradition, where ''shaman'' is understood as being a priestly healer who dealt with certain ailments, the most common of which was the loss of the soul. In order to cure his patients, the shaman turned to psychotropic drugs (
peyote,
tobacco, red beans mixed with
mescaline) and magical manipulations (incantations, offerings).
The other school of medicine consisted of pragmatic knowledge . In Mesoemerica there were healers who knew how to deal with fractures, treat and dress wounds, and were even able to perform certain
obstetric procedures. They also knew how to treat using plants, and successfully used the active ingredient in
aspirin, which at that time was already known, and extracted from willow bark. Medicine was practiced by priests who inherited their position and received extensive education. The
Mayas sutured wounds with human hair, reduced fractures, and used casts. They were skillful dental surgeons and made prostheses from jade and turquoise and filled teeth with iron pyrite. Three clinical diseases,
pinta,
leishmaniasis, and
yellow fever, and several
psychiatric syndromes were described.
Tuberculosis, although wide spread both in North and South America, has not been documented in Mesoamerica, with the exception of 3 skeletons near today's Mexico City, it can be due to a wide spread of Iron deficiency common among the Mesoamericans, according to a recent (2006) study by AK Wilbur, JE Buikstra, from Arizona State University. The ceramic figurines depicting dwarfs, and other diseased people are common, as well as maternal brest feeding and pregnancy.
The Maya arithmetic system was, like most Mesoamerican systems, based on the number 20.
Arithmetic
Mesoamerican
arithmetic treated
numbers as having both literal and symbolic value, the result of the
dualistic nature that characterized Mesoamerican ideology. . As mentioned, the Mesoamerican numbering system was vigesimal (i.e., based on the number 20).
In representing numbers, a series of bars and dots were employed. Dots had a value of one, and bars had a value of five. This type of arithmetic was combined with a symbolic numerology: '2' was related to origins, as all origins can be thought of as doubling; '3' was related to household fire; '4' was linked to the four corners of the universe; '5' expressed instablity; '9' pertained to the underworld and the night; '13' was the number for light, '20' for abundance, and '400' for infinity. The
concept of zero was also used, and its representation at the Late Preclassic occupation of
Tres Zapotes is one of the earliest uses of zero in human history.
One of the great contributions to arithmetic, above all that of the Mexica, was the invention of the ''nepohualtzitzin'', an
abacus used to quickly carry out mathematical operations. The device, made of wood, string, and grains of maize, is also known as the "Aztec computer".
Mythology and worldview
The shared traits in Mesoamerican mythology are found characterized by their common basis as a
shamanistic religion that although in many Mesoamerican groups developed into complex polytheistic religious systems, maintained a basic reliance on shamanistic principles.
The great breadth of the Mesoamerican
pantheon of
deities is due to the incorporation of ideological and religious elements from the first primitive religion of Fire, Earth, Water and Nature. Astral divinities (the sun, stars, constellations, and Venus) were adopted, and represented in anthropomorphic,
zoomorphic, and anthropozoomorphic sculptures, and in day-to-day objects.
The qualities of these gods and their attributes changed with the passage of time and with cultural influences from other Mesoamerican groups. The gods are at once three different cosmic entities, and at the same time just one. An important characteristic of Mesoamerican religion was the dualism among the divine entities. The gods represented the confrontation between opposite poles: the positive, exemplified by light, the masculine, force, war, the sun, etc.; and the negative, exemplified by darkness, the feminine, repose, peace, the moon, etc.
The
xoloitzcuintle is one of the
naguales of the god
Quetzalcóatl. In this form, it helps the dead cross the Chicnahuapan, a river that separates the world of the living from the dead.
The typical Mesoamerican cosmology sees the world as separated into a day world governed by the sun and an underworld to which the dying sun goes at night to be reborn again the following morning, and united by a
Ceiba tree (Yaxche' in Mayan). The geographic vision is also tied to these concepts and the cardinal points as well as certain geographical features in nature are linked to different parts of this cosmovision. For example caves are extremely important geographical features as are mountains and
cenotes (natural wells), because they are seen as connecting the upper and the nether worlds. The influence of this cosmovision on most mesoamerican societies was so strong as to be crucial in cityplanning and
architecture. The
Popol Vuh believed to be a Postclassic Quiché Mythology book, based in the
Bible, but later proven to be the Maya
Myth of the Creation, as seen in the Pre Classic murals in
San Bartolo, describes very well how they see the world.
Sacrifice
Among the Mesoamerican cultures,
sacrifice was a deeply symbolic and highly ritualized activity with strong religious and political significance. The various kinds of sacrifice were performed within a range of cultural contexts, from mundane everyday activities to those activities performed by elites and ruling lineages, the aim of which were the maintenance of sociocultural and political structure.
Sacrifice symbolized the renewal of the divine cosmic energy and the continuation of life. Its ability to do so is based on two intertwined concepts that are common to most Mesoamerican belief systems (in one form or another). The first is the notion that the gods had given life to mankind by sacrificing parts of their own bodies. The second is that
blood, which often signified life among Mesoamerican belief systems, was partially made up of the blood of the gods (who sacrificed it and gave it to humans while creating life). Thus, in order to maintain the order of their universe, most Mesoamerican groups believed that blood and life had to be given back to the gods.
As mentioned, blood signified life, and was the liquid that satisfied the thirst of the gods (which varied depending on the culture) and revitalized them. Blood would not only revitalize the gods, but also the earth, plants (especially the maize harvest), and animals (e.g., the
jaguar and the
eagle, both highly symbolic animals). Blood was viewed as necessary for life as
water, both in the terrestrial world and the world of the gods, and to replenish it to the gods was an obligation.
Generally, sacrifice can be divided into two types:
autosacrifice and
human sacrifice. The different forms of sacrifice are reflected in the imagery used to evoke ideological structure and sociocultural organization in Mesoamerica. In the Maya area, for example, stele depict bloodletting rituals performed by ruling elites, eagles and jaguars devouring human hearts, jade circles or necklaces that represented hearts, and plants and flowers that symbolized both nature and the blood that provided life. Imagery also showed pleas for rain or pleas for blood, with the same intention – to replenish the divine energy.
Autosacrifice
Autosacrifice, also called
bloodletting, is the ritualized practice of drawing blood from oneself. It is commonly seen or represented through iconography as performed by ruling elites in highly ritualized ceremonies, but it is easily practiced among mundane sociocultural contexts (i.e., non-elites could perform autosacrifice). The act was typically performed with
obsidian prismatic blades or
stingray spines, and blood was drawn from piercing or cutting the
tongue,
earlobes, and/or
genitals (among other locations). Another form of autosacrifice was conducted by pulling a rope with attached thorns through the tongue or earlobes. The blood produced was then collected on paper held in a bowl.
Autosacrifice was not limited to male rulers, as their female counterparts often performed these ritualized activities. They are typically shown in performing the rope and thorns technique. A recently discovered queen's tomb in the Classic Maya site of
Waka (also known as El Perú) had a ceremonial stingray spine placed in her genital area, suggesting that women also performed bloodletting in their genitalia.
Human Sacrifice
What importance did the sacrifice have in the social and religious aspects of Mesoamerican Culture? First, it showed death transformed into the divine. Death is the consequence of a human sacrifice, but it is not the end; it is but the continuation of the cosmic cycle. Death creates life – divine energy is liberated through death and returns to the gods, who are then able to create more life. Secondly, it justifies war, since the most valuable sacrifices are obtained through conflict. The death of the warrior is the greatest sacrifice, and gives the gods the energy to go about their daily activities, such as the bringing of rain. Warfare and the capturing of prisoners became a method of social advancement, and a religious cause. Finally, it justifies the control of power by the two ruling classes, the priests and the warriors. The priests control the religious ideology, and the warriors supply the sacrifice.
Astronomy
Mesoamerican
astronomy included a broad understanding of the cycles of planets and other celestial bodies. Special importance was given to the
sun,
moon, and
Venus as the
morning and
evening star.
Observatories were built at a number of sites, including the round observatory at
Ceibal and the “Observatorio” at
Xochicalco. Often, the architectural organization of Mesoamerican sites was based on precise calculations derived from astronomical observations. Well-known examples of these include the
El Castillo pyramid at Chichen Itza and the Observatorio at
Xochicalco. A unique and common architectural complex found among many Mesoamerican sites are
E-Groups, which are aligned so as to serve as astronomical observatories. The name of this complex is based on
Uaxactun’s “Group E,” the first known observatory in the Maya area. Perhaps the earliest observatory documented in Mesoamerica is that of the
Monte Alto culture. This complex consisted of 3 plain stelae and a temple oriented with respect to the
Pleiades.
The symbolism of space and time
It has been argued that among Mesoamerican societies the concepts of
space and
time are associated with the four
cardinal compass points and linked together by the
calendar (Duverger 1999). Dates or events were always tied to a compass direction, and the calendar specified the symbolic geographical characteristic peculiar to that period. Resulting from the significance held by the cardinal directions, many Mesoamerican architectural features, if not entire settlements, were planned and oriented with respect to directionality.
In Maya mythology, each cardinal point was assigned a specific color and a specific jaguar deity (
Bacab). They are as follows:
★ '
Hobnil' - Bacab of the
East, associated with the color red and the ''Kan'' years.
★ '
Can Tzicnal' - Bacab of the
North, assigned the color white and the ''Muluc'' years,
★ '
Zac Cimi' - Bacab of the
West, associated with the color black and the ''Ix'' years.
★ '
Hozanek' - Bacab of the
South, associated with the color yellow and the ''Cauac'' years.
Later cultures such as the
Kaqchikel and
Quiché maintain the association of cardinal directions with each color, but utilized different names.
Among the Aztec, the name of each day was associated with a cardinal point (thus conferring symbolic significance), and each cardinal direction was associated with a group of symbols. Below are the symbols and concepts associated with each direction:
★ 'East' –
crocodile, the
serpent,
water, cane, and movement. The East was lnked to the world priests and associated with vegetative fertility, or, in other words, tropical exuberance.
★ 'North' –
wind,
death, the dog, the jaguar, and
flint (or
chert). The north contrasts the east in that it is conceptualized as dry, cold, and oppressive. It is considered to be the nocturnal part of the universe, and includes the dwellings of the dead. The dog (
xoloitzcuintle) has a very specific meaning, as it is the one who accompanies the deceased during the trip to the lands of the dead and helps them cross the river of death that leads into nothingness.
★ 'West' - the
house, the
deer, the
monkey, the
eagle, and
rain. The west was associated with the cycles of vegetation, specifically the temperate high plains that experience light rains, and the change of seasons.
★ South –
rabbit, the
lizard, dried
herbs, the
buzzard, and
flowers. It is related on the one hand to the luminous Sun and the noon heat, and on the other with rain filled with alcoholic drink. The rabbit, the principal symbol of the west, was associated with farmers and with
pulque.
★ 'South' –
rabbit, the
lizard, dried
herbs, the
buzzard, and
flowers. It is related on the one hand to the luminous Sun and the noon heat, and on the other with rain filled with alcoholic drink. The rabbit, the principal symbol of the west, was associated with farmers and with
pulque.
Political and religious art
Mesoamerican
artistic expression was conditioned by
ideology and generally related to focusing on themes of
religion and/or sociopolitical
power. This is largely based on the fact that most works that survived the Spanish conquest were public monuments. These monuments were typically erected by rulers who sought to visually legitimize their sociocultural and political position; by doing so, they intertwined their lineage, personal attributes and achievements, and legacy with religious concepts. As such, these monuments were specifically designed for public display and took many forms, including
stele,
sculpture, architectural
reliefs, and other types of architectural elements (e.g., roofcombs). Other themes expressed include tracking time, glorifying the city, and veneration of the gods – all of which were tied into explicitly aggrandizing the abilities and the reign of the ruler who commissioned the artwork.
Another type of pre-Hispanic art that was produced for its inner, rather than outward, meaning. It is differentiated from the first type in that its value is related not so much in what is visually depicts, but rather in what it represents. Earthenware (
ceramic vessels) are an example of this type of artistic expression, and were symbolic due to the origin of their source material; they were often in burial rituals and as the invisible faces of statues.
See also
★
Middle America (Americas)
Footnotes
1. "Meso-America." ''Oxford English Reference Dictionary'', 2nd ed. (rev.) 2002. (ISBN 0-19-860652-4) Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press; p. 906.
2. http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/007299634x/student_view0/glossary.html
3. (2000): Atlas del México Prehispánico. Revista Arqueología mexicana. Número especial 5. Julio de 2000. Raíces/ Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. México.
4. http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/onlinebks/hohokam/Glossary.htm The University of Arizona
5. OECD. 2006. ''[http//www.oecd.org/document/48/0,2340,en_33873108_33873610_36222192_1_1_1_1,00.html OECD Territorial Reviews: The Mesoamerican Region: Southeastern Mexico and Central America]'' (ISBN 92-64-02191-4). Retrieved 24 February 2007.
6. Mesoamerica: Our Region
7. http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2006/1718459.htm
8. O'Brien (2005), p.25.
9. Diamond (1999), pp.126-127.
10. Diamond (1999) p.100.
11. O'Brien (2005), p.25
12. Diamond (1999).
References
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Historia General de Guatemala, Several Authors, , , , 1999, ISBN 84-88522-07-4
External links
★
Mesoweb.com - an comprehensive site for Mesoamerican civilizations
★
Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc.
★
Mesoamerican Peace Project
★
Mesoamericas Ancient Mesoamerica Explored
★
Selected bibliography concerning war in Mesoamerica
★
WAYEB - European Association of Mayanists
★
National Museum of Anthropology and History (Mexico)
★
Museum of the Templo Mayor (Mexico)
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Maya Culture
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