Location of Mesoamerica throughout the Americas.

Mesoamerica (also commonly spelled Mesoamerica and rarely replaced by the term middle America) is defined in history pre-Columbian , like a super-cultural area, that is to say a set of areas of shared cultural many common features before the Spanish colonization of the Americas. This corresponds to the territory inhabited in particular, the arrival of the Spaniards in the ^sixteenth century , the Aztecs and Mayans and other indigenous peoples in contact with them.

From a geographic standpoint, Mesoamerica extends from northern Mexico to Costa Rica , including the Belize , the Guatemala , western Honduras , the Salvador and the Pacific side of Nicaragua. Mesoamerica is differentiated from the Central America , which in its geographical sense, ranging from Guatemala to Panama.

The term Mesoamerica has been defined by the anthropologist German Paul Kirchhoff in 1943 .

Characteristics of the Mesoamerican civilization

Unit

All pre-Columbian civilizations of this area have common cultural characteristics that distinguish them from other pre-Columbian civilizations, like the Andean civilizations. We find in particular systematically:

• architecture ritual: ceremonial centers including stepped pyramids and plazas;
• of religion polytheistic deities incorporating archetypal found under various names and forms throughout Mesoamerica, as the " old god of fire , "the god of rain or the feathered serpent ;
• the human sacrifice , whose ubiquity has been gradually recognized by archaeologists;
• offerings to the earth;
• the nahualism ;
• belief in a journey after death in an underworld;
• an artistic production with a religious and political;
• a ball game ritual, whose rules are unclear and have varied over time, but is also prevalent in one form or another;
• computation time combining a calendar Solar to 365 days and a sacred ritual calendar of 260 days in connection with space-time symbolic and dualistic;
• a system of writing very iconic combining glyphs and representations figurative ;
• a numbering system vicsimal part;
• an agriculture based on corn and especially its nixtamalization whereby he was boiled in water mixed with lime to increase its nutritional value;
• the absence of draft animals.

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  Pyramid Mesoamerican ( Castillo of Chichen Itza ).

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  Representation of the old Aztec god of fire Huehueteotl.

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  Representations of a feathered serpent ( Quetzalcoatl at Teotihuacan ).

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  Aztec human sacrifice ( Magliabechiano codex ).

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  Example of glyphs used in Mayan writing (Museum of Palenque ).

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  Vigesimal system : representation of Mayan numbers from 0 to 19.

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  Different varieties of ears of corn.

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  Turkey.

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Diversity

Mesoamerica, however, also shows great diversity.

From a linguistic point of view, even if you group them in different languages Mesoamerican Mesoamerican common language with some convergence, there are four categories:

• group oto-Mango , who is mainly central Mexico. Within it, there are the Otomi , a people without history, as well as the Zapotec and Mixtec. This group is probably the oldest in Mesoamerica.
• macromaya group, which includes the mixed-Zoque , the Totonac , the Huaxtec and Maya (which is subdivided into several groups).
• group Uto-Aztecan , which includes the Nahuatl , whose speakers are widespread in virtually all of Mesoamerica (which included the Toltecs and Aztecs ). The Chichimecs , north of Mesoamerica, were also part of the Uto-Aztecan.
• of isolates language, including the Tarascan form the largest group.

Geographically, the different environments, from tropical (south of the Yucatan peninsula ) to the high plateaus of the Cordillera neovolcanic (central Mexico) through the peaks of the Sierra Madre del Sur (in the present states of Michoacn and Oaxaca ), does not form a geographical unit.

Ecological context

Mesoamerican landscape land of high altitude (field corn in the foreground of the volcano Popocatepetl ).

Mesoamerican territory lies between 10 and 22 north latitude. It includes the central region of Mexico, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec , the Yucatan peninsula , the Guatemala , the Belize , the Salvador and the Pacific coast of Honduras , Nicaragua and Costa Rica to the Gulf of Nicoya. It forms a complex combination of different ecosystems. Michael D. Coe distinguishes the highlands (which include the various areas where the elevation ranges between 1000 to 2000 m) which are also known as the Mexican Altiplano and the lowlands with altitudes closer to sea level and does not exceed 1 000 m. The first group is diverse climate, ranging from the cold mountain climate in arid tropical climate. However subtropical or tropical climates predominate, as on the coast of Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.

Some of the highland valleys of Mesoamerica have a fertile soil for agriculture. This is where the valleys of Oaxaca, the Puebla-Tlaxcala and Mexico. However, their situation is not conducive collected precipitation. This situation is particularly critical in the hot lands of the valleys Mixtec who are probably the most arid highlands. Besides the lack of rain, there are few rivers and have reduced flow. Early research archaeological presupposed that the climate was more favorable in the past. Yet over the years and the wealth of knowledge about the area, we know that the climate should not be so different from today, although ecosystems exhibit a degree of degradation caused by human activity. Much of the highlands show evidence of deforestation old, and various species have disappeared from their original habitat.

Therefore, although conditions in the highlands of Mesoamerica have been extraordinarily positive, they have not been sufficiently adverse to prevent the development of high agricultural civilizations of Mesoamerica. In fact, their situation is similar to other areas of the world occurred early civilizing process, as in the north of Peru , or in the valley of the Indus in Asia. At these sites in Mesoamerica as the humans had to learn to make the most of his resources in his community. The Mesoamerican highlands as agricultural peoples, have learned to store water and deliver it from their sources to their field. Among the agricultural techniques of Mesoamerica's most characteristic was perhaps the culture chinampas , developed in the lakes of Tarascan Plateau , especially in the Valley of Mexico , where there are still a number of areas chinampera to Xochimilco.

Moreover, the Mesoamerican farmers had to learn to count the time since the period during which they could sow remained between two seasons that threatened the outcome of the main crop harvest, the corn : the hot dry season from early spring and winter frosts.

It was quite different in the lowlands, particularly in the south-eastern coast of the Gulf of Mexico where rainfall is relatively abundant. Tropical forests with dense vegetation covering much of the coastal plains and this represented an obstacle for the development of agriculture. At these sites, much vegetation as excess water was a problem, the Mesoamerican conceived drainage systems, which can now observe the remains in the sub-region Chontalpa in the state of Tabasco , where there remains what we call camellones Chontales.

The jaguar was a highly respected animal in Mesoamerica, where he lived mainly in tropical forests located between the lowlands of Oaxaca and the southern boundary of the cultural area.

Moreover, wildlife available to the Mesoamerican peoples was not easily tamed. Several millennia before the beginning of the civilization of Mesoamerica, the major species of mammals have been domesticated had disappeared because of overhunting. Such was the case of horses and various species of cattle. This explains why the peoples of the region lacked draft animals and why Mesoamerican civilization was exclusively agricultural. The only domesticated species were the Xoloitzcuintle and turkey , but they never formed an important part of the plan or the economy of most of Mesoamerica.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the societies of the region hunted other species, in addition to their diet (deer, rabbits, birds and many insects), or as extravagant items (cat skin, feathers).

Because Mesoamerica appears fragmented into niches very small and varied, none of the companies who inhabited during the pre-Hispanic times was self-sufficient. For this reason, from the last centuries of the Archaic period, prior to the Preclassic, the peoples of the region became specialized in the exploitation of certain natural resources abundant. Then they have established networks of commercial exchange to correct deficiencies caused by the environment. The peoples of West Africa, for example, have specialized in agricultural production and ceramics; the people of Oaxaca produced cotton and cochineal; Coast arrived salt, dried fish, shellfish and marine like purple pigment; Lowland Maya area and the Gulf were from the cocoa, vanilla, jaguar skins, birds like the precious quetzal and the macaw ; of central Mexico came from most of the obsidian used the manufacture of weapons and tools.

Geography

Map of cultural areas of Mesoamerica.

The geographic boundaries of Mesoamerica have varied over time.

Their definition is not always accurate because it is sometimes difficult to assess whether the data collected on some archeological sites are enough to attach to the Mesoamerican culture, especially in the case of those at the border of Aridoamrique and Oasisamrique.

North bound

The northern boundary of Mesoamerica is located, in all publications, in the northern part of Mexico today.

It is determined on the basis of distinctions between Paul Khirchoff Mesoamerica, Aridoamrique and Oasisamrique.

It is usually located (from east to west, relative to current Mexican states):

• in southern Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon;
• in northern San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas and Durango;
• in the southwest of Chihuahua;
• in southern Sonora.

Cultural Areas

Even if all Mesoamerican peoples shared a lot in common, because many political interactions, cultural and commercial, they were not all identical. They were of different ethnic groups do not all speak the same language and had developed specific traditions that distinguish them and group them in various cultural areas smaller: North, West, Guerrero, Central, Gulf, Oaxaca, Maya and America Central.

History

Periodization

A general chronological framework has been defined for all Mesoamerican civilizations, from the ^nineteenth century , based on a comparison between ancient Greece and the Mayan civilization that had just been rediscovered through the work of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood . The period of the height of Mayan civilization has been defined as the classical period, and therefore, the prior period has been described as the Preclassic and Postclassic posterior .

These three periods have subsequently been subdivided more finely each of first three periods: Early, Middle and Late. Subsequently emerged additional names as protoclassique (early second century BC. at the end of the second century AD. ) and Epiclassic (about 650 to 900 AD. BC) . For the prehistory of Mesoamerica, there are also sometimes pre-classical and archaic period (from about 8000 to 2500 BC. ).

The start and end of each period have been the subject of much research and discussion, but the following dates traditionally assigned to each period :

• Preclassic (also called formative, especially in publications in English): from 2500 BC. BC to 200 AD. AD ;
  • Preclassic Old: from 2500 BC. BC to 1200 BC. AD ;
  • Preclassic way: from 1200 BC. BC to 400 BC. AD ;
  • Preclassic recent (or late): from 400 BC. BC to 200 AD. AD ;
• Classic: from 200 to 900 AD. AD ;
  • old classic: from 200 to 600 AD. AD ;
  • Classic recent (or late): from 600 to 900 AD. AD ;
• Postclassic: from 900 AD. AD to the Spanish conquest;
  • Postclassic old: from 900 to 1200 AD. AD ;
  • Postclassic recent (or late): from 1200 to the Spanish conquest.

The early classic is particularly problematic. Linda Schele date the beginning of the classic with the first stele dated 199 , while Nikolai Grube , who sets the beginning of the "classic" 250 , considers that it is only convention that "aims to provide a chronological framework.

Many proposals for alternative chronologies have been published by leading researchers, but the framework of almost all Mesoamerican remains the diagram above.

Preclassic Period

Colossal Head Olmec No. 1 of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan.

The Preclassic Period follows the Archaic period ( -8000 to -2500 ). It truly marks the beginnings of Mesoamerica as a cultural area. Traditional date of -2500 to 300 , the Preclassic is marked by the beginnings of Mesoamerican agriculture (based on corn ) and settling. We know the names of the peoples of that era: the current names were given to them later. Waves of newcomers continue after settlement. Speaking peoples Nahuatl would be the last to arrive.

In ancient Preclassic, the size of villages increases gradually with differentiation activities, such as San Jose Mogote in Oaxaca , and the beginning of interregional trade, especially of luxury goods. Among the oldest sites are the funerary complexes of culture El Openo and culture Capacha in western Mexico.

Middle Preclassic appear in larger communities, like Tlatilco in central Mexico and Monte Alban in Oaxaca I. In the lowlands of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico appears to -1200 culture, that of the Olmecs , which by its sophistication, is distinct from all others monumental ceremonial centers, the emergence of a social elite ... Several successive Olmec centers: San Lorenzo , La Venta , Tres Zapotes. Cultural traits spread through the rest of Mesoamerica, from Guerrero in Honduras , to the point where it says "mother culture", a concept that is still the subject of fierce debate among experts . Some prefer the term "sister cultures", whose appearance is explained by the simultaneous existence of agricultural surpluses, which allow across the emergence of local elites. The diffusion of cultural traits is explained by the trade of luxury goods sought by these elites, such as jade, turquoise , the hematite , the cocoa , bird feathers, etc.. Sites Chalcatzingo Mexico or Central Takalik Abaj in Guatemala are representative of these complex interactions.

Site Cuicuilco , now in the suburbs of Mexico City.

In Late Formative, Olmec sites are extinct, except Tres Zapotes. Local cultures emerge. In Oaxaca, Monte Alban II, the center of the Zapotec civilization , and in central Mexico, the site of Cuicuilco. The loss, following a volcanic eruption, the latter site coincides with the emergence of Teotihuacan , which will dominate the next era in all of Mesoamerica.

Significant developments are taking place at that time in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec , which appear a kind of writing original called epi-Olmec inscriptions and the first Long Count. A little further south in the foothills and the Pacific Highlands Mayan sites such as Kaminaljuyu , El Baul, Takalik Abaj and Izapa is a link between the Olmecs and the Maya civilization. The development of the Lowlands is the problem of influence they have suffered, either by direct contact with the Olmecs, either through cities Highlands cited above. In the eastern Lowlands south appear first Mayan cities, including Cerros in Belize. The changes concern the deepest basin of El Mirador in Peten. In recent decades, the exploration of the site of Nakba , where the platforms appear monumental Middle Preclassic (ca. 600), and especially the site of El Mirador himself, whose flowering date of the Late Formative and account the pyramidal structure the largest ever built in the Mayan world has revolutionized the idea that specialists had of the development of Maya civilization. The gigantic construction of El Mirador at such an early labor involves extremely important and a degree of political organization, there is little regarded as unknown before the classical period. Around 150 , the basin of El Mirador was depopulated. This period seems to correspond to an initial "collapse" of Maya civilization, before the end of the Classical Era.

At the other end of the Mesoamerican world, in the Mexican region that archaeologists call the "West" in the current states of Colima , Nayarit and Jalisco , as well as along the river Mezcala, flower crops say the " pit graves , whose dating is uncertain. A little further south-east, in the current state of Guanajuato , flourishes Chupicuaro culture.

Classical Period

Site of Teotihuacan.

The Classic is dominated by the ancient metropolis of Teotihuacan , which covers 20 km ² and a hundred thousand inhabitants at its peak . His influence is felt even in the Maya area , where the center of gravity has shifted to the south Lowlands: many city-states develop a political system based on "divine kingship".

Monte Alban.

In Oaxaca, the transition from Preclassic (Monte Albn II) Classic (Monte Albn III) takes place seamlessly. At its peak (Monte Albn IIIb) the Zapotec capital of 30 000 . Most of the buildings visible today date from this era. Monte Alban Teotihuacan III is contemporary with which it maintains diplomatic relations . There is also a neighborhood (barrio) Zapotec in Teotihuacn. At the eastern end of the Mesoamerican culture develops Cotzumalhuapa.

At Late Classic, the collapse of Teotihuacan in the seventh century, in unclear circumstances - invasion or rebellion? - Will result in the disruption of trade routes and the emergence of groups Chichimec from the north, as this will in fact often the case in the history of Mesoamerica.

Murals Cacaxtla.

Some developments still leave archaeologies perplexed, including the presence of Mayan warriors on murals Cacaxtla in central Mexico. Smaller cities take over Teotihuacan, including Xochicalco and Cholula. In Oaxaca, Monte Alban also declines and is gradually dropped to 700. In the region of the Gulf Coast Flowers culture of El Tajin , which is distinguished by the importance attached to the ball game. Evidenced by the many "yokes", "ax" and "palmas" associated with this activity which was found in the region.

In the central Maya Lowlands, archaeologists, based on the absence of inscriptions at Tikal in the mid-sixth century, once thought they saw a "gap" , which would have marked the boundary between the ancient and Classical the Classic period. Currently it is considered a local phenomenon, to be within the context of fierce competition among the major Maya cities of the time, Calakmul and Tikal , the latter having been worsted. Tikal will recover from its recent defeat and the Classic is characterized by both the extraordinary artistic flowering of many Maya cities and conflicts of a still greater intensity. In the central Maya Lowlands, there is literally a "collapse" from the ninth century: one after the other, cities continue to erect headstones dated in the Long Count. Lowlands South gradually became depopulated. By cons, in the Lowlands north end of the Classic or Classic final sees the development of cities Puuc of Uxmal , Sayil , Labna and Kabah. All Mexican cultures also decline to 900.

Postclassic Period

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Archaeological Zone of Tula.

The Postclassic Period ranges from 900 to the Spanish conquest. The Postclassic sees further militarization of the movement of Mesoamerican societies and the emergence of a warrior class, military orders grouped under the umbrella of animal totems, like the eagle or the jaguar . The decline of Chichen Itza begins in the eleventh ^century. After his defeat to 1220 by the City of Mayapan , the latter became head of a confederation that dominated the Yucatan Peninsula . The Books of Chilam Balam Mayapan chronicle the fall of the fifteenth ^century. This event marks the beginning of a political fragmentation which lasts until the Spanish conquest.

In the Maya highlands, the elites are calling for "Toltec" based conquering kingdoms, have a collective leadership, where Mexican cultural influence is significant. The principal of these kingdoms was that of Quiche , to whom we owe our primary source written on religion Maya, the Popol Vuh. Silce the fifteenth, the Cakchiquel them compete for hegemony over the highlands.

The western part of Oaxaca is the territory of Mixtec , a people linguistically related to neighboring Zapotec. Relatively little is known in classical times, they assert the Postclassic. Their story is known by ethnohistoriqus documents, the series codex called "Mixtec." They were divided into city-states militarists who were at war and entered the territory of the Zapotec, they re-used tombs at Monte Albn (Phase V). They brought an important contribution to the history of art in the field of Mesoamerican ceramics, mosaics of turquoise , and especially the silver , which would have reached their technical Peru .

In central Mexico, the chaos of the late Classical emerge the Toltecs , from the north as all invaders. They established their capital at Tula. According to tradition, they were led by a chief called Mixcoatl, whose son, Topiltzin, gave birth to the legends of Quetzalcoatl. In recent Postclassic Tula collapsed in the twelfth ^century at the hands of new waves Chichimec from the north. This creates a new political fragmentation. Toltec groups migrate to the Valley of Mexico, where they founded small states, such as Xochimilco and Azcapotzalco. They are followed by bands of Chichmec whom we owe the founding of Texcoco. From the ^fifteenth century, the scene is dominated by the emergence of the Aztecs or Mexica , latecomers Chichemeca, whose origins are lost in the mists of legend and that his travels took him to the Valley of Mexico. After painful debut in just less than a century, they built an empire stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. They want the heirs of Teotihuacan and the Toltecs above. The Tarascan kingdom in Michoacn is the only power to resist the Aztecs, and even compete with them. The irruption of the conquistadors on the Spanish coast of the Gulf of Mexico in 1519 put an abrupt end to the development of Mesoamerican societies. After the destruction of Tenochtitlan by Hernan Cortes and his Indian allies Tlaxcaltec , the Spaniards quickly extended their dominion over all of Mesoamerica.

The Mayas of Yucatan they put up a fierce resistance until 1546. Instead of indigenous societies settled then mestizo society, Spanish colonial society. Only the small kingdom Mayan Tayasal protected by the jungles of Petn indigenous culture perpetuated until its destruction by the Spaniards in 1697.

Timeline

References

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