PRE COLUMBIAN MEXICO

Discoveries of organic material and carbon fossil date the Mexican History back to 20.000 years ago, when populations coming from Siberia through the Bering isthmus descended through America and reached Mexico and Central America through Canada and United States.

The Olmecs

Among the first of the ancient civilizations of Mexico were the Olmecs (1200-200 B.C.), whose major settlements were in the coastal states of Veracruz and Tabasco. Their society was based first on fishing and hunting and later on agriculture, and some villages were gradually developed into ceremonial cities where fertility rites were practised. Their main cities were La Venta, (where their famous sculptured basaltic heads weighing over 20 tons and more than 3 meters high are displayed) Tres Zapotes, and San Lorenzo, whose common features were earthen platforms and pyramidal mounds.

The Olmec culture was particularly influential for the other pre-Hispanic civilizations; not only in sculpture and architecture, but also for astronomy and writing, as they were the first civilization to record time with a basic calendar system, and to use hieroglyphic writing.

The Maya

The calendar system was developed further by the Maya, one of the most amazing cultures of the New World, who inhabited a region encompassing southern Mexico as we know it today, and Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador.

The Mayan culture developed into three different periods: the Formative or Pre Classic (2000 BC - 300 AD), the Classic (300 - 900 AD), and the Post Classic (900 AD - conquest).
In the late Pre Classic the Maya also developed the Olmec basic form of writing into a mix of script, ideographic and phonetic elements, and used it extensively. They were the first civilization to keep historical records.

Four Mayan codices (manuscripts) have survived, revealing their amazing calendar and astronomical calculations and their complex system of mathematics. Their notes on religious rituals and offerings give us precious information about their elaborate mythology.

The classic Mayan ceremonial cities, with their monumental buildings and stelae, give testimony of their extensive knowledge about architecture, sculpture, and pottery.
However in spite of the sophistication of the Mayan civilisation it did not survive into the 10th century, and probably faced with famine, foreign invasion, adverse climatic conditions and disease, the period ended in what is called the Classic Maya collapse.

Mayan civilization still continued in the north of Yucatan around Uxmal, and the Post Classic period saw the splendour of Chichen Itza which was probably abandoned by the 12th century. After then, only trading cities like Tulum survived on the Caribbean coasts.

Teotihuacán

One of the most important civilizations of the pre-Columbian era is that of Teotihuacán. Archaeologists think that after the Ixtle volcano destroyed Cuicuilco in 200 BC (another settlement in the region that revealed architectural remains similar to those in Teotihuacán), part of the population fled northwards, where they could find natural springs, surrounding wooded hills, and obsidian.

Their new settlements became a magnificent ritual city and one of the main cultural, religious and economic centres of Mexico. The control of the obsidian mines gave Teotihuacán unprecedented power, and its presence was a determining factor for many other towns in the region due to its commercial influence. Teotihuacán was built at the same time as some of the principal cities of Mesoamerica such as Cholula, Puebla, Monte Albán, and several others in the Maya world, and its influence eventually extended throughout much of the area. The layout of the city of Teotihuacán, set the standard for many subsequent cities from the orientation of its main buildings to the planning of the city itself.

Zapotecs and Mixtecs

The Zapotecs appeared in the valley of Oaxaca around 900 BC and were agricultural city-dwellers whose religion involved ancestor worship and a cult of the dead. They were excellent artisans and builders, and masters in pottery and metal work. Around 700 BC they founded the city of Monte Alban, which became the most important centre in the area.

The city progressively began losing its political domain and around 1300 the Zapotecs were dominated by The Mixtecs, who used Monte Alban only as religious centre and settled in the nearby cities of Mitla and Yagul, both outstanding examples of their architectonic achievements. The buildings and mosaics are evidence of astounding artistic perfection and refinement.Zapotecs and Mixtecs were the ancestors of enduring communities that today still inhabit the Oaxaca region and speak their native languages.

The Toltecs were a nomadic people who were said to have moved south probably in the early ninth century. They had abandoned their nomadic lifestyle in their ancestral homeland in the north and began to adapt to agriculture, spreading their culture profusely with their adaptation of Mesoamerican art and architecture. Legend has it that the Toltecs developed from the magnificent Teotihuacán culture had a magnificent empire in a time that was seen as a sort of golden age. Their capital city was Tula, one of Mexico's most impressive cities, located in the modern Hidalgo. Fire damage at the archaeological site supports claims that in the 12th century the city was destroyed and its inhabitants migrated throughout Mesoamerica and people in cities as far south as the Mayan area claimed to have Toltec ancestors.

The Atzecs

The Aztec civilization dominated Mexico for nearly 200 years (1345-1521 AD) and was flourishing when Spaniards arrived in 1519. The Island Capital of their Empire was Tenochtitlan. The city rose in the Post classic era (1000 A.D. to 1590 A.D.) after the collapse of the Classic centres. The Aztecs used an elaborate system of taxing and patronage to subjugate an enormous empire that stretched well into Central America. They were also master builders and imitators of Mexico's precious cultures and borrowed heavily from their Olmec, Toltec and Mayan predecessors to develop a complex linguistic, religious, artistic, architectural and military heritage.

Their mighty empire came to a sudden and tragic end in 1521, although much of its influence is still present today in the culture of the central highlands.

Today Modern Mexico City covers an area that at the time of the Conquest held Lake Texcoco. The Spaniards under Cortes built their city upon the ruins of Tenochtitlan's sacred precinct. Only a small remnant of the lake exists today, the rest covered by Mexico City, the largest city in the world.