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Mesoamerican cultures such as the Olmecs, the Mayas and the Aztecs arose and developed in different regions and historical periods, and even, in several cases, simultaneously. Due to this, different time lines were established to study and better understand the history of Mesoamerica. The traditional chronology of Mesoamerican cultures is divided into three major periods: the Preclassic or Formative Period, the Classic Period, and the Postclassic Period.
Mesoamerica: origin and meaning
The word Mesoamerica is made up of the prefix meso – which means “center” or “middle” and the word America, the name of the homonymous continent.
Mesoamerica is a term that was coined to refer to the cultural and historical area that includes southern Mexico and several Central American countries: Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and part of Costa Rica. In this region, civilizations developed that shared characteristics, went through similar processes, or progressed following certain patterns.
In 1939, faced with the need to find a way to name the cultural processes of different peoples located within the same region and in a similar historical context, the American anthropologist Alfred Kroeber created the concept of «cultural area». This happened during his studies on aboriginal peoples in New Mexico (United States), Mexico and Peru.
In 1943, the German anthropologist Paul Kirchhoff used the term Mesoamerica as the title of his article, where he marked the first geographical limits of this cultural region, cradle of the Maya and other American civilizations. At that time, the boundaries were established between southern Mexico and Costa Rica.
Characteristics of Mesoamerica
Some of the most important civilizations of the American continent arose in Mesoamerica, which had common characteristics among themselves and differed from the cultures of other regions. In addition, over time, Mesoamerican cultures went through different historical, evolutionary, technological and cultural processes, as well as moments of boom and decline; all this until they disappeared or gave rise to other civilizations. Some of the most developed Mesoamerican cultures were the Olmec, Teotihuacan, Maya, Aztec and Toltec, among others. Its main features included:
- Settlements from southern Mexico to Costa Rica. In highlands, mainly in the center of the geographic territory and in lowlands on the Pacific coast and the Gulf of Mexico.
- Development within the following cultural areas: Central Mexico, Oaxaca, Guerrero, the Yucatan Peninsula, Western Mexico, Northern Mexico, and Central America.
- Practice of subsistence agriculture and corn as the basis of food.
- Polytheistic religion.
- glyphic writing.
- Use of the calendar
- Human sacrifices.
- Other art related to religious rituals, ideology or political power.
Mesoamerica Timeline
To better understand the historical framework and the characteristics of each culture and its evolution over time, different chronologies were established. The most accepted is the conventional or traditional chronology, which takes into account the development of the Mayan culture as the axis of the historical context. This period is called the Classic Period. The events prior to the existence of the Maya are found within the Preclassic Period. Following the same logic, events that occurred after the Maya fall within the Postclassic Period. Finally, the Colonial Period is described, which marks the end of Mesoamerica during the Spanish conquest.
The periodization process of Mesoamerica
A simplified version of this chronology began to be implemented in the 19th century, when increased interest in the Maya arose and the “rediscovery” of this culture took place, thanks to the publications of the American explorer John Lloyd Stephens and the English explorer Frederick Catherwood. .
At the beginning of the 20th century, the American archaeologist Zelia Nuttal presented her ceramic archaeological finds in Coyoacán, while the Mexican archaeologist Manuel Gamio found similar pieces in the western part of the Basin of Mexico. These findings motivated other scientists to look for the connection with other ceramic pieces of the time. One of them was the German-American anthropologist Franz Boas, who carried out several excavations and achieved the periodization of other discovered objects; Boas would later become the director of the International School of Archeology and Ethnology.
Based on the results of previous investigations, the American anthropologist Herbert Spinden concluded that there must have been an archaic period, prior to those known up to now, and proposed a chronology that included Mesoamerica.
Other criteria for the periodization of Mesoamerica
In the 1940s, the archaeologist Alfonso Caso, the historian Wigberto Jiménez Moreno, the anthropologist Pedro Arnillas, and other Mexican researchers extended the chronology criteria. In 1951, the American archaeologist and anthropologist Robert Wauchope coined the term “Preclassic” and in the following years the terms “Epiclassic”, “Formative” and “Postclassic” were coined, among others.
As new excavations were carried out in Mesoamerica and more advanced techniques and technologies emerged, more data was collected and the timeline used today was organized. It should be noted that, over the years, this chronology had and continues to have modifications, according to the new data obtained in the investigations. Thus, the specified times are flexible, based on findings to date, and are subject to change when new discoveries occur.
In order to classify and compare the different historical moments in the time line, the form of subsistence was taken into account as criteria; Social relations; political-economic relations at the regional and interregional level; hegemonic political relations; the political relations of centralized domination and the process of the Spanish conquest that constituted the end of Mesoamerica.
traditional chronology
The traditional chronology contemplates the history of Mesoamerica from the times before the Clovis culture, which is considered the oldest in the American continent. From there, there is the Preclovis Period (25000-10000 BC), the Paleoindian Period (10000-7000 BC) and the Archaic Period (7000-2500 BC). During these periods, men were nomadic, gathering and hunting. During the Archaic Period, the original peoples began to practice agriculture and follow a more sedentary lifestyle. This gave rise to more organized societies that developed in the following periods:
- Preclassic period
- Early Preclassic Period (2500-900 BCE)
- Middle Preclassic Period (900-300 BC)
- Late Preclassic Period (300 BC – 200/250 AD)
- Classical period
- Early Classic Period (200 or 250-600 AD)
- Late Classic Period (600-800 or 900 AD)
- Terminal Classic Period (650 or 700–1000 AD)
- Postclassic period
- Early Postclassic Period (900 or 1000–1250 AD)
- Late Postclassic Period (1250-1521 AD)
- Colonial Period (1521-1821 AD)
The Preclassic Period is also known as the Formative Period , since it is believed that it was there when the customs and traditions that would later reach their maximum development in the Classic Period began.
The Preclassic Period
The Preclassic Period lasted from approximately 2500 BC to 200 AD. This period was notable for agricultural sedentarism, social hierarchization and the emergence of proto-urban capitals. There were also advances in writing, through epigraphic inscriptions, and especially, the creation of the calendar. At this stage they also began to worship the jaguar and other gods.
The Early Preclassic Period
The Middle Preclassic Period
The Middle Preclassic Period covers the years 900 to 300 BC. C. and was characterized by a great social transformation. The stratification of society was consolidated and inequality among the inhabitants increased. The political and elite class enjoyed greater benefits and power. In this stage, irrigation systems and aqueducts were created, and the urbanization process began. Trade routes extended to Costa Rica, favoring the exchange of all kinds of objects, including exotic raw materials, such as Guatemalan jadeite.
During this period, the most important populated sites continued to be La Venta and Tres Zapotes and Oaxaca. In addition, there were other settlements in Central Mexico and Chiapas and the first Mayan centers arose, especially in Kaminaljuyú, Guatemala.
The Late Preclassic Period
The Late Preclassic Period extended from 300 B.C. C. until 200 or 250 AD approximately. It was distinguished by the increase in population and the appearance of city-states. Although the Olmec culture declined , other areas had greater development. The Mayan area stood out, in the towns of Mirador, Calakmul, Tikal, Uaxactún, Lamanai and Cerros, among others, as well as Teotihuacán, in Central Mexico. In Tres Zapotes, the Epi-Olmec culture arose, which received great influence from the Olmecs, but failed to achieve the same splendor.
Classical period
The Classic Period extended from 200 or 250 AD. C. until 1000 AD Societies were distinguished by greater complexity and organization and continued to depend on agriculture and trade with other regions.
In addition, they made important advances in architecture and crafts, with the construction of ceremonial centers with stone facades and fresco paintings. This period was also distinguished by increased instability in political relations and in the ruling classes. There were also other negative factors such as overpopulation, climate change and soil degradation.
Early Classic Period
The Early Classic Period, which covers the stage from the years 200 or 250 AD. C. until 600 d. C., was characterized by the development of Teotihuacán as a metropolis in the Valley of Mexico. It is believed that the Teotihuacan culture had a population of more than 100,000 inhabitants. This was the culture of greatest apogee in this period. Another important center was El Tajín, where the Totonac culture flourished. The Zapotec culture at Monte Albán expanded its domain into the valley of Oaxaca.
In the Mayan area, numerous stelae on the life and exploits of the rulers were found, indicating further artistic and political development. The Zapotec culture in Oaxaca and the Teuchitlana culture in Teuchitlán, in western Mexico, also prospered in this period.
The Late Classic Period
Between the years 600 AD and 800 or 900 AD. C. the decline of Teotihuacán and the Zapotec culture in Oaxaca took place, but the communities in Yucatán, the Mayan area, continued to grow more and more. Mainly in the towns of Tikal, Palenque, Uxmal, Yaxchilán and Copán, among others. The Mayan civilization had a great mathematical, astronomical, architectural and artistic development, through the construction of huge temples, buildings and murals.
This period was characterized by political instability and settlement reorganization, as well as some changes in religious practices and increased militarization.
Terminal Classic Period (650/700 – 1000 AD)
In this period, political reorganization in the Maya lowlands and the concentration of power in northern Yucatán continued. The architectural constructions of the time show the close economic, ideological and religious relationship between the center of Mexico and the north of the Mayan lands.
Around 800 AD C. the use of metals, such as gold and silver, was introduced.
The most important sites of this period continued to be central Mexico (Cacaxtla, Xochicalco, Tula), the Maya area (Ceibal, Lamanai, Uxmal, Chichén Itzá, Sayil) and the Gulf of Mexico Coast (El Tajín).
The Postclassic Period
The Postclassic Period is located between 900 or 1000 AD. C. and covers the decline of the cultures of the Classic Period, the apogee of the Mayan, Toltec and Aztec civilizations and the end of Mesoamerica in the year 1521 d. C., when the Spanish conquest took place. This stage was characterized by war conflicts and technological and architectural advances. In this phase the use of metals for the manufacture of jewelry and tools also increased.
The Early Postclassic Period
The Early Postclassic Period ranges from AD 900 or 1000 to AD 1250. C. At this stage the Toltec culture flourished in Tula, and cultural connections between the north and the center of the Mayan area (Tulum, Chichén Itzá, Mayapán and Ek Balam) grew.
Other sites that continued to exert their influence were Cholula, Oaxaca, and El Tajín.
Late Postclassic (1250 – 1521)
The Late Postclassic Period ran from 1250 AD. C. and 1521 d. C. At this time the Aztec empire arose, which also managed to dominate other cultures. The Aztecs built monumental temples, developed a 365-day calendar, and distinguished themselves by their knowledge of medicine, meteorology, and astronomy.
However, with the arrival of the Spanish, the Aztec empire fell and the great Mesoamerican civilizations came to an end.
The most important Postclassic sites were Tenochtitlán, Cholula and Tepoztlán in Central Mexico; Cempoala in the Gulf; Yagul and Mitla in Oaxaca; Mayapán, Tayasal, Utatlán and Mixco Viejo in the Mayan area and Tzintzuntzan in western Mexico.
The Colonial Period
The Colonial Period began in 1521, with the fall of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán and the surrender of Cuauhtémoc to Hernán Cortés. In 1524 there was also the fall of the Mayans of the current Guatemalan territories before Pedro de Alvarado.
Since then, Mesoamerica became a Spanish colony and Mesoamerican cultures underwent great transformations; In many cases, starting in the 16th century, these cultures became extinct. On the one hand, the Mesoamerican population was greatly reduced due to conflicts with the conquerors, the diseases they brought and the forced labor they were forced to do. Later, during the missions and the conversion to Christianity, many of the original Mesoamerican religious traditions and customs were also lost.
The Colonial Period ended in 1821, when the Creoles, Spaniards born in the former Mesoamerican territories, began to gain independence from Spain.
Other timelines
In addition to the conventional chronology, other timelines have been developed in recent years, based on different criteria. Some examples are the chronologies of Piñá Chan and Duverger.
Piña Chan Chronology
The Mexican archaeologist Ramón Piñá Chan created a timeline based on the daily life activities of Mesoamerican cultures, beginning several centuries before the traditional chronology and culminating with the Spanish conquest:
- Nomadic Hunter-Gatherer Period (30,000-5,000 BCE)
- Pre-Agricultural (30,000 – 7,000 BCE)
- Proto-Agricultural (7000 – 5000 BC)
- Period of sedentary communities (5000 – 1200 BC)
- Early agricultural (5000 – 2000 BC)
- Farmer villager (2000 – 1200 BC)
- Theocratic Peoples and States Period (1200 BC – AD 900)
- Villages and ceremonial centers (1200 BC – 200 AD)
- Urban centers (200 AD – 800 AD)
- Period of militaristic peoples and states (1200 BC – 900 AD)
- Cities and militaristic manors (900 AD – 1200 AD)
- Imperialist lordships and metropolises (1200 AD – 1521 AD)
Duverger chronology
The French anthropologist Christian Duverger, on the other hand, considers that the beginning of Mesoamerica was after the appearance of ceramics and suggests that its end was not abrupt, but rather a process of miscegenation, the union of cultures, which extended beyond the conquest. Duverger divided Mesoamerican history into five epochs:
- Epoch I – Olmec Horizon (1200 BC – 600 BC)
- Epoch II – Regional flourishings (600 BC – 200 AD)
- Epoch III – Bipolar Mesoamerica (AD 200 – AD 800)
- Epoch IV – Toltec Horizon (800 AD – 1300 AD)
- Epoch V – Aztec Horizon (AD 1300 – AD 1519)
Sources
- Florescano, E. The origins of power in Mesoamerica. (2010). Mexico. Fund of Economic Culture.
- Torres Rodríguez, A. Mesoamerica: Cultural Portrait of the Territory. (2020). Spain. Editions Sill.
- Lopez Austin, A.; López Luján, L. The periodization of Mesoamerican history . Mexican archeology. Available here .
- Piña Chan, R. (2018, August 31). A model of social and cultural evolution of pre-Columbian Mexico . Notebooks of the Department of Pre-Hispanic Monuments, Archeology series, no. 2, INAH, 1976. Available here .
