Ancient Mesoamerica contained Mexico, Belize and Guatemala, extending into parts of Honduras. Mesoamerica, mostly located near the Valley of Mexico, was the heartland for the earliest of civilizations in the Americas. It consisted of a diverse environment beginning from mountainous and semi-arid desert conditions to tropical rain forests.
The subarctic regions of North America have long been believed to be the gateway for prehistoric people migrating into the Americas. These migrations across the Siberian peninsula and Bering Strait are believed to have occurred as early as 25,000 years go over a land bridge that existed during the last Ice Age. There is also the theory that some people may have crossed over to the Americas by water, constituting many trans-Pacific crossings over a long period of time. Over thousands of years the peopling of the Americas took place, with migrations, traveling as far south as Central and South America.
As early as 1500 BCE, urban and ceremonial centers were being built in the Gulf Coast lowlands of Mexico by a people known as the Olmecs. They are often referred to as the “mother culture” of Mesoamerica. In western Mexico around 500 BCE, the first true “cities” emerged in the Valley of Oaxaca. These cities constituted the first complex political societies in ancient Mexico.
Social structure also became more defined during this period reflecting the distinction between nobility, commoners and laborers. Generally, the broad periods of cultural growth and change in Mesoamerica are defined as formative, classic and
post-classic.
By approximately 5,000 BCE, the early beginnings of agriculture were apparent in Mesoamerica. Although there was a rise in social and political structure around this time, most Mesoamerican cultures remained agricultural. Chinampas, or raised, terraced farmland surrounded by water, were utilized particularly by the Aztecs in which they grew different harvests ranging from squash to sweet potatoes. Building cities in ancient Mexico was a slow process for the Mesoamericans as they never developed the use of the wheel. Animals such as cattle and horses were unheard of in ancient Mexico. Over the next 2,000 years, magnificent stone structures and pyramids would be built by hand. The stones used to build these structures would be carried by human porters. Even today, archaeologists and anthropologists struggle to understand how many of the heavy stones were moved, considering some of these stones weighed more than a ton. There is speculation that in some areas the stones may have been floated on a raft down the local rivers.
Later in the future, Mesoamerica developed complex systems of government, religion, science, architecture, writing & art, astronomy and a precise calendar. By 2000 BCE, Mesoamerican communities achieved cultivating corn (maize), beans, chili peppers, tomatoes, avocados, cotton and cacao (used to make chocolate).
The subarctic regions of North America have long been believed to be the gateway for prehistoric people migrating into the Americas. These migrations across the Siberian peninsula and Bering Strait are believed to have occurred as early as 25,000 years go over a land bridge that existed during the last Ice Age. There is also the theory that some people may have crossed over to the Americas by water, constituting many trans-Pacific crossings over a long period of time. Over thousands of years the peopling of the Americas took place, with migrations, traveling as far south as Central and South America.
As early as 1500 BCE, urban and ceremonial centers were being built in the Gulf Coast lowlands of Mexico by a people known as the Olmecs. They are often referred to as the “mother culture” of Mesoamerica. In western Mexico around 500 BCE, the first true “cities” emerged in the Valley of Oaxaca. These cities constituted the first complex political societies in ancient Mexico.
Social structure also became more defined during this period reflecting the distinction between nobility, commoners and laborers. Generally, the broad periods of cultural growth and change in Mesoamerica are defined as formative, classic and
post-classic.
By approximately 5,000 BCE, the early beginnings of agriculture were apparent in Mesoamerica. Although there was a rise in social and political structure around this time, most Mesoamerican cultures remained agricultural. Chinampas, or raised, terraced farmland surrounded by water, were utilized particularly by the Aztecs in which they grew different harvests ranging from squash to sweet potatoes. Building cities in ancient Mexico was a slow process for the Mesoamericans as they never developed the use of the wheel. Animals such as cattle and horses were unheard of in ancient Mexico. Over the next 2,000 years, magnificent stone structures and pyramids would be built by hand. The stones used to build these structures would be carried by human porters. Even today, archaeologists and anthropologists struggle to understand how many of the heavy stones were moved, considering some of these stones weighed more than a ton. There is speculation that in some areas the stones may have been floated on a raft down the local rivers.
Later in the future, Mesoamerica developed complex systems of government, religion, science, architecture, writing & art, astronomy and a precise calendar. By 2000 BCE, Mesoamerican communities achieved cultivating corn (maize), beans, chili peppers, tomatoes, avocados, cotton and cacao (used to make chocolate).