Everything about Mesoamerica totally explained
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. 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 This culture area included some of the most complex and advanced
cultures of the Americas, including the
Olmec,
Teotihuacan, the
Maya, and the
Aztec.
Etymology and definition
The term
Mesoamerica – literally, "
America" in Greek – was first used by the
German ethnologist Paul Kirchhoff, 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 (for example,
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.
Unrelated to the archaeological and ethnohistorical usage, the term may also be used to refer to a modern economic territory designated the
Mesoamerican region (MAR), which combines the countries of Central America with nine southeastern
States of Mexico.
Geography
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
(External Link
), 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 ft) above mean sea level. This area also represents the shortest distance between the
Gulf of Mexico and the
happy 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 well known are the Caribbean Coral Reef, the second largest in the world, and the
Bosawas Biosphere Reserve, second in size to the
Amazonas. 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
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 isn't 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
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 (for example, 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
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 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
Izapa and 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.
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 were eventually superseded by
Teotihuacán, an important Classic era site which would eventually dominate economic and interaction spheres throughout Mesoamerica. The settlement of Teotihuacan 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.
The Preclassic in western Mexico, in the states of
Nayarit,
Jalisco,
Colima, and
Michoacán also known as the Occidente, is poorly understood. This period is best represented by the thousands of figurines recovered by looters and ascribed to the "
shaft tomb tradition".
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 floreced 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 (for example, Pachuca) and highland Guatemala (for example,
El Chayal, which was predominantly used by the Maya during the Early Classic), and
jade from 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're 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's 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 didn't 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 the 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). The
Huastec resided north of the Totonac, mainly in the modern-day states of
Tamaulipas and northern Veracruz. The
Mixtec and Zapotec cultures, centered at
Mitla and
Zaachila respectively, 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 didn't 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, |
| Archaic |
3500-1800 BC |
Agricultural settlements, Tehuacán |
| Preclassic (Formative) |
BC 2000-250 AD |
Unknown culture in La Blanca and Ujuxte, Monte Alto culture |
| Early Preclassic |
BC 2000-1000 |
Olmec area: San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan; Central Mexico: Chalcatzingo; Valley of Oaxaca: San José Mogote. The Maya area: Nakbe, Cerros |
| Middle Preclassic |
BC 1000-400 |
Olmec area: La Venta, Tres Zapotes; Maya area: El Mirador, Izapa, Lamanai, Xunantunich, Naj Tunich, Takalik Abaj, Kaminaljuyú, Uaxactun; Valley of Oaxaca: Monte Albán |
| Late Preclassic |
BC 400-200 AD |
Maya area: Uaxactun, Tikal, Edzná, Cival, San Bartolo, Altar de Sacrificios, Piedras Negras, Ceibal, Rio Azul; Central Mexico: Teotihuacan; Gulf Coast: Epi-Olmec culture; Western Mexico: Shaft Tomb Tradition |
| Classic |
200-900 AD |
Classic Maya Centers, Teotihuacan, Zapotec |
| Early Classic |
200-600 AD |
Maya area: Calakmul, Caracol, Chunchucmil, Copán, Naranjo, Palenque, Quiriguá, Tikal, Uaxactun, Yaxha; Teotihuacan apogee; Zapotec apogee. |
| Late Classic |
600-900 AD |
Maya area: Uxmal, Toniná, Cobá, Waka', Pusilhá, Xultún, Dos Pilas, Cancuen, Aguateca; Central Mexico: Xochicalco, Cacaxtla; Gulf Coast: El Tajín and Classic Veracruz culture |
| 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 AD |
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
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. 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. 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.
Mesoamerica lacked animals suitable for domestication, most notably domesticated large
ungulates -- the lack of pack animals to assist in transportation is one notable difference between Mesoamerica and the cultures of the South American Andes. Other animals, including the
duck,
deer,
dogs, and
turkey were
domesticated. Turkey was the first, occurring around 3500 BC. Dogs, however, were the primary source of animal protein in ancient Mesoamericans, and dog bones are common in midden deposits throughout the region.
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.
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. Fishing also was a major provider of food to lowland and coastal Mesoamericans creating a further disincentive to settle down in permanent communities.
Recent reports suggest that Mesoamericans in central America used cocoa beans to help produce beer: the chocolate was a by-product of the beans used to brew the beer. The practise may date to at least 3,100 to 3,200 years before present . It also is apparent that the masticated cocoa beans were ground up after fermentation and added to the beer, giving it a chocolate taste.
Architecture
Political organization
Ceremonial centers were the nuclei of Mesoamerican settlements. 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 wasn't 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
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
logosyllabic combining the use of
logograms with a
syllabary, and they're 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's 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 (for example,
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
The Mesoamerican ballgame was a sport with ritual associations played for over 3000 years by nearly all pre-Columbian peoples of Mesoamerica. The sport had different versions in different places during the millennia, and a modern version of the game,
ulama, continues to be played in a few places.
Over 1300
ballcourts have been found throughout Mesoamerica. They vary considerably in size, but they all feature long narrow alleys, with side-walls against which the balls could bounce.
The rules of the ballgame are not known, but it was probably similar to volleyball, where the object is to keep the ball in play. In the most well-known version of the game, the players would strike the ball with their hips, although some versions allowed the use of forearms or employed rackets, bats, or handstones. The ball was made of solid rubber, and weighed up to 4 kg or more, with sizes that differed greatly over time or according to the version played.
While the game was played casually for simple recreation, including by children and perhaps even women, the game also had important ritual aspects, and major formal ballgames would be held as ritual events, often featuring human sacrifice.
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, hasn't 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 breast feeding and pregnancy.
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 (for example, 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 instability; '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 characterized by their common basis as a religion that although in many Mesoamerican groups developed into complex polytheistic religious systems, retained some shamanistic elements.
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 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're 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. .
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 wouldn't only revitalize the gods, but also the earth, plants (especially the maize harvest), and animals (for example, 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's easily practiced among mundane sociocultural contexts (for example, 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 wasn't 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 isn't the end; it's 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's 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's 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.
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 (for example, 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.
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