Mesoamerica

Mesoamerica is an area covering the regions of southern Mexico and Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Mesoamerican civilization features four dominant cultures: Olmec (1400 BCE–500 BCE), Maya (300–900 CE), Aztec (1200–1300s to European conquest), and Inca (1400s). Diversity is pertinent to Mesoamerica from the geographical terrain to the cultural and language differences. Historically, Mesoamerica came into existence over four thousand years ago, with many indigenous people still living in these domains. The geographical divisions of Mesoamerica comprise highland and lowland areas and a further division into five key areas. These include the Central Highlands, Gulf region, Maya area, Oaxacan zone, and West Mexico. The term Mesoamerica signifies middle America, sometimes depicting the geography or the cultures. Considered by scholars to be an academically convenient categorization, it is not necessarily a definition or identification that the indigenous people assume.

Brief History

The major historical periods of Mesoamerica may be divided in terms of a framework of different archaeological stages from the Paleo-Indian period commencing approximately 12,000 BCE through to the colonial periods of the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. Mesoamerican cultures transitioned through periods of history in a complex fashion, rising and falling across different time spans and regions, rather than following a set pattern.

Olmec. The Olmec civilization was the first civilization in the Mesoamerica area. The earliest indication is 1200 BCE. Located in the southerly region of the Gulf of Mexico, initially the Olmec people centered around San Lorenzo and later La Venta. Human sacrifice appears to have been a significant ritual conducted by the Olmecs and perpetuated by the cultures that followed.

Maya. The Maya civilization centered around a predominantly jungle region of the east of Mexico and Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, and western Honduras during 300–900 CE. The jungle rendered Maya inaccessible and created a certain protection against attacks by rival groups.

Aztec. The Aztec civilization reached its peak between the fourteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Situated mainly in the northern part of Mesoamerica, Aztec warriors ensured rule by Aztec leaders with Aztec religious systems maintained.

Inca. The Inca civilization inhabited their empire of Tahuantinsuyo or "Land of the Four Quarters." The area was large, encompassing Colombia to Chile across the Andean mountains, and Atacama to the rain forest. Considered to be the largest state and nation in the Western hemisphere and world during the time of their empire, Incan civilization continues to fascinate scholars. There is testimony of the Inca kings’ riches in their palaces and tombs. Gold was in abundance and led to rival attempts to conquer the land and its riches. The Incan empire began in 1438 with the reign of emperor Pachacuti. Machu Pichu in Peru, an Inca site of worship, is a famous tourist site, rediscovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham.

Mesoamerican civilizations rose and fell, amid violence and clashes. In the twenty-first century, there still remain indigenous people tracing their roots to earlier Mesoamerican cultures. In the Mesoamerica landscape, traces of the languages are still evident with a population of six million people speaking the Mayan language.

Overview

Paul Kirchhoff, a German Mexican anthropologist, devised the term Mesoamerica in 1943. His intention was to try to identify the shared commonalities of people living in this part of America, as well as to ascertain their differences.

The Olmec, Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations may comprise the major cultural groups of Mesoamerica, yet there are other cultures making up the larger whole. These include: the Zapotecs, Teotihuacan and Tiktal, Mixtec, and the Toltecs. Other cultures such as the Pipil, Huastecs, and Totonacs were also inhabitants of Mesoamerica. Diversity is a far more accurate description of the area given the various societies, cultures, and subcultures. There was not a single unifying culture binding them all. Languages may have been similar within the cultures, but at the same time, they were not intelligible to each other. There are seven linguistic groups of Mesoamerican languages, together comprising hundreds of individual languages and dialects.

Mesoamerica civilization was primarily agricultural. Indigenous foods flourished, including beans, corn, peppers, sweet potatoes, and squash. Religiously, the focus was theocratic and polytheistic. The belief in multiple gods defined the religious orientation. Religion and agriculture merged in the sense that the gods who were worshipped were connected to the sun or rain, or to crops or fertility. The story of creation was played out during ceremonies, one of which was expressed through a ballgame. The ballgame was not a sport event so much as a religious enactment. Divining through astronomy by ascertaining the movement of the moon and stars became a way of life. Specialized calendars pertaining to agricultural and religious ceremonial events were created.

Aside from agriculture, Mesoamerican civilization made certain intricate and advanced developments in the realm of architecture, engineering, and mathematics. Their system of calendars was especially unique.

The Olmec civilization is noted primarily for architectural skills pertaining to their temples. Sculptures in the form of enormous heads of stone on massive high bodies depicting warriors are features of this work. The Olmec architecture and sculpture influenced later civilizations and becomes evident in rain-god masks and standing warriors and monuments of the Teotihuacan, Tula, and Aztecs.

The Maya civilization is regarded, not as having invented writing, but as elaborately using hieroglyphics engraved on the columns of ceremonial places they built. The hieroglyphic script they used was primarily for their calendar and astronomy recordings. In addition, writing was utilized to record rulers and dynasties, and especially the conquests achieved.

The Aztec civilization, sometimes referred to as Mexica, dominated most of Mexico during the Aztecs’ period of prominence. Noted for agricultural accomplishments and trade, the Aztecs are renowned for the religious practices they instituted in addition to their prowess in war.

The Inca civilization was an enormous empire with 40,000 royal descendants ruling. The empire grew and had profound effect on its own and future civilizations. A universal type language was instituted along with a dominant religion with its people worshipping the sun. Sophisticated engineering by the Inca empire resulted in the establishment of roads and highways and agricultural crop terraces that contributed to the richness of the land.

Bibliography

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