Mesoamerican chronology
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (May 2018) |
Periods in Mesoamerican history |
---|
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of
The periodisation of Mesoamerica by researchers is based on archaeological, ethnohistorical, and modern cultural anthropology research dating to the early twentieth century. Archaeologists, ethnohistorians, historians, and cultural anthropologists continue to work to develop cultural histories of the region.[1]
Overview
Paleo-Indian period
10,000–3500 BCE
The Paleo-Indian (less frequently,
Archaic Era
Before 2600 BCE[3]
During the Archaic Era agriculture was developed in the region and permanent villages were established. Late in this era, use of pottery and loom weaving became common, and class divisions began to appear. Many of the basic technologies of Mesoamerica in terms of stone-grinding, drilling, pottery etc. were established during this period.
Preclassic Era or Formative Period
2000 BCE – 250 CE[4]
During the Preclassic Era, or Formative Period, large-scale ceremonial architecture, writing, cities, and states developed. Many of the distinctive elements of Mesoamerican civilization can be traced to this period, including the dominance of corn, the building of pyramids,
The
In Central America, there were some Olmec influences, the archaeological sites of Los Naranjos and Yarumela in Honduras stand out, built by ancestors of the Lencas, which reflect an architectural influence of this culture on Central American soil.[9][10] Other sites with possible Olmec influence have been reported, such as Puerto Escondido, in the Sula Valley, near La Lima, and Hato Viejo in the department of Olancho, where a jadeite statuette has been found that shares many characteristics with those found in Mexico.[11]
Classic Period
250–900 CE[12]
The Classic Period was dominated by numerous independent city-states in the Maya region and also featured the beginnings of political unity in central Mexico and the Yucatán. Regional differences between cultures grew more manifest. The city-state of
In the Maya region, under considerable military influence by Teotihuacan after the "arrival" of
Postclassic Period
900–1521 CE[13]
In the Postclassic Period many of the great nations and cities of the Classic Era collapsed, although some continued, such as in
The Postclassic is often viewed as a period of cultural decline. However, it was a time of technological advancement in architecture, engineering, and weaponry. Metallurgy (introduced c. 800) came into use for jewelry and some tools, with new alloys and techniques being developed in a few centuries. The Postclassic was a period of rapid movement and population growth—especially in Central Mexico post-1200—and of experimentation in governance. For instance, in Yucatan, 'dual rulership' apparently replaced the more theocratic governments of Classic times, while oligarchic councils operated in much of central Mexico. Likewise, it appears that the wealthy pochteca (merchant class) and military orders became more powerful than was apparently the case in Classic times. This afforded some Mesoamericans a degree of social mobility.
The Toltec for a time dominated central Mexico in the 9th–10th century, then collapsed. The northern Maya were for a time united under Mayapan. Oaxaca was briefly united by Mixtec rulers in the 11th–12th centuries.
The
Spain was the first European power to contact Mesoamerica. Its conquistadors, aided by numerous native allies, conquered the Aztecs.
Colonial Period
1521–1821 CE[14]
The Colonial Period was initiated with the
Chronology
Period | Timespan | Important cultures, cities |
---|---|---|
Paleo-Indian
|
10,000–3500 BCE | Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, obsidian and pyrite points, Iztapan, Chantuto Archaeological Site |
Archaic
|
3500–2000 BCE | Agricultural settlements, Tehuacán
|
Preclassic (Formative) | 2000 BCE–250 CE | Unknown culture in La Blanca and Ujuxte, Monte Alto culture, Mokaya culture |
Early Preclassic | 2000–1000 BCE | Olmec area: San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán; Central Mexico: Chalcatzingo; Valley of Oaxaca: San José Mogote. The Maya area: Nakbe, Cerros; West Mexico: Capacha |
Middle Preclassic | 950–400 BCE | Olmec area: |
Late Preclassic | 400 BCE–250 CE | Zoque area: shaft tomb culture, Chupícuaro
|
Classic | 250–900 | Classic Maya Centers, Teotihuacan, Zapotec |
Early Classic | 250–600 | Maya area: Teuchitlan tradition
|
Late Classic | 600–900 | Maya area: Xultún, Dos Pilas, Cancuén, Aguateca, La Blanca; Central Mexico: Xochicalco, Cacaxtla, Cholula; Gulf Coast: El Tajín and Classic Veracruz culture
|
Terminal Classic | 800–900/1000 | Maya area: Puuc sites – Uxmal, Labna, Sayil, Kabah; Petén Basin sites – Seibal, El Chal |
Postclassic | 900–1521 | |
Early Postclassic | 900–1200 | Tula, Mitla, Tulum, Topoxte |
Late Postclassic | 1200–1521 | |
Colonial | 1521–1821 | Amuzgo
|
Postcolonial | 1821–present | Amuzgo
|
Cultural horizons of Mesoamerica
This section needs additional citations for verification. (April 2022) |
Mesoamerican civilisation was a complex network of different cultures. As seen in the time-line below, these did not necessarily occur at the same time. The processes that gave rise to each of the cultural systems of Mesoamerica were very complex and not determined solely by the internal dynamics of each society. External as well as endogenous factors influenced their development. Among these factors, for example, were the relations between human groups and between humans and the environment, human migrations, and natural disasters.
Historians and archaeologists divide
Timeline of pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica
Preclassic Era
The Preclassic period ran from 2500 BCE to 200 CE. Its beginnings are marked by the development of the first ceramic traditions in the West, specifically at sites such as Matanchén, Nayarit, and Puerto Marqués, in Guerrero. Some authors hold that the early development of pottery in this area is related to the ties between South America and the coastal peoples of Mexico. The advent of ceramics is taken as an indicator of a sedentary society, and it signals the divergence of Mesoamerica from the hunter-gatherer societies in the desert to the north.
The Preclassic Era (also known as the Formative Period) is divided into three phases: the Early (2500–1200 BCE), Middle (1500–600 BCE), and Late (600 BCE – 200 CE). During the first phase, the manufacture of ceramics was widespread across the entire region, the cultivation of maize and vegetables became well-established, and society started to become socially stratified in a process that concluded with the appearance of the first hierarchical societies along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. In the early Preclassic period, the Capacha culture acted as a driving force in the process of civilizing Mesoamerica, and its pottery spread widely across the region.
By 2500 BCE, small settlements were developing in Guatemala's Pacific Lowlands, places such as Tilapa,
Around 1500 BCE, the cultures of the West entered a period of decline, accompanied by an assimilation into the other peoples with whom they had maintained connections. As a result, the
The Olmecs, on the other hand, had entered into an expansionist phase that led them to construct their first works of monumental architecture at San Lorenzo and La Venta. The Olmecs exchanged goods within their own core area and with sites as far away as Guerrero and Morelos and present day Guatemala and Costa Rica. San José Mogote, a site that also shows Olmec influences, ceded dominance of the Oaxacan plateau to Monte Albán toward the end of the middle Preclassic Era. During this same time, the Chupícuaro culture flourished in Bajío, while along the Gulf the Olmecs entered a period of decline.
One of the great cultural milestones that marked the Middle Preclassic period is the development of the first writing system, by either the
Toward the end of the Preclassic period, political and commercial hegemony shifted to the population centers in the
Around the start of the common era, Cuicuilco had disappeared, and the hegemony over the Mexican basin had passed to Teotihuacan. The next two centuries marked the period in which the so-called city of the gods consolidated its power, becoming the premier Mesoamerican city of the first millennium, and the principal political, economic, and cultural center for the next seven centuries.
The Olmec
For many years, the Olmec culture was thought to be the 'mother culture' of Mesoamerica, because of the great influence that it exercised throughout the region. However, more recent perspectives consider this culture to be more of a process to which all the contemporary peoples contributed, and which eventually crystallized on the coasts of
The Olmec culture represents a milestone of Mesoamerican history, as various characteristics that define the region first appeared there. Among them are the state organization, the development of the 260-day ritual calendar and the 365-day secular calendar, the first writing system, and urban planning. The development of this culture started 1600 to 1500 BCE,[16] though it continued to consolidate itself up to the 12th century BCE. Its principal sites were La Venta, San Lorenzo, and Tres Zapotes in the core region. However, throughout Mesoamerica numerous sites show evidence of Olmec occupation, especially in the Balsas river basin, where Teopantecuanitlan is located. This site is quite enigmatic, since it dates from several centuries earlier than the main populations of the Gulf, a fact which has continued to cause controversy and given rise to the hypothesis that the Olmec culture originated in that region.
Among the best-known expressions of Olmec culture are giant stone heads, sculptured monoliths up to three meters in height and several tons in weight. These feats of Olmec stonecutting are especially impressive when one considers that Mesoamericans lacked iron tools and that the heads are at sites dozens of kilometers from the quarries where their basalt was mined. The function of these monuments is unknown. Some authors propose that they were commemorative monuments for notable players of the ballgame, and others that they were images of the Olmec governing elite.
The Olmec are also known for their small carvings made of
The exact causes of the Olmec decline are unknown.
In the Pacific lowlands of the Maya Area,
Toward the end of the Preclassic period, political and commercial hegemony shifted to the population centers in the Valley of Mexico. Around Lake Texcoco there existed a number of villages that grew into true cities: Tlatilco and Cuicuilco are examples. The former was found on the northern bank of the lake, while the latter was on the slopes of the mountainous region of Ajusco. Tlatilco maintained strong relationships with the cultures of the West, so much so that Cuicuilco controlled commerce in the Maya area, Oaxaca, and the Gulf coast. The rivalry between the two cities ended with the decline of Tlatilco. Meanwhile, at Monte Albán in Oaxaca, the Zapotec had begun developing culturally independent of the Olmec, adopting aspects of that culture and making their own contributions as well. In Peten, the great Classic Maya cities of Tikal, Uaxactun, and Seibal, began their growth at c. 300 BCE.
Cuicuilco's hegemony over the valley declined in the period 100 BCE to 1 CE. As Cuicuilco declined, Teotihuacan began to grow in importance. The next two centuries marked the period in which the so-called City of the gods consolidated its power, becoming the premier Mesoamerican city of the first millennium, and the principal political, economic, and cultural center in Central Mexico for the next seven centuries.
Classic period
The Classic period of Mesoamerica includes the years from 250 to 900 CE. The end point of this period varied from region to region: for example, in the center of Mexico it is related to the fall of the regional centers of the late Classic (sometimes called Epiclassic) period, toward the year 900; in the Gulf, with the decline of El Tajín, in the year 800; in the Maya area, with the abandonment of the highland cities in the 9th century; and in Oaxaca, with the disappearance of Monte Albán around 850. Normally, the Classic period in Mesoamerica is characterized as the stage in which the arts, science, urbanism, architecture, and social organization reached their peak. This period was also dominated by the influence of Teotihuacan throughout the region, and the competition between the different Mesoamerican states led to continuous warfare.
This period of Mesoamerican history can be divided into three phases. Early, from 250 to 550 CE; Middle, from 550 to 700; and Late, from 700 to 900. The early Classic period began with the expansion of Teotihuacan, which led to its control over the principal trade routes of northern Mesoamerica. During this time, the process of urbanization that started in the last centuries of the early Preclassic period was consolidated. The principal centers of this phase were Monte Albán, Kaminaljuyu, Ceibal, Tikal, and Calakmul, and then Teotihuacan, in which 80 per cent of the 200,000 inhabitants of the Lake Texcoco basin were concentrated.
The cities of this era were characterized by their multi-ethnic composition, which entailed the cohabitation in the same population centers of people with different languages, cultural practices, and places of origin. During this period the alliances between the regional political elites were strengthened, especially for those allied with Teotihuacan. Also, social differentiation became more pronounced: a small dominant group ruled over the majority of the population. This majority was forced to pay tribute and to participate in the building of public structures such as irrigation systems, religious edifices, and means of communication. The growth of the cities could not have happened without advances in agricultural methods and the strengthening of trade networks involving not only the peoples of Mesoamerica, but also the distant cultures of Oasisamerica.
The arts of Mesoamerica reached their high-point in this era. Especially notable are the Maya
Many scientific advances were also achieved during this period. The Maya refined their calendar, script, and mathematics to their highest level of development. Writing came to be used throughout the Mayan area, although it was still regarded as a noble activity and practiced only by noble scribes, painters, and priests. Using a similar system of writing, other cultures developed their own scripts, the most notable examples being those of the Ñuiñe culture and the Zapotecs of Oaxaca, although the Mayan system was the only fully developed writing system in Precolumbian America. Astronomy remained a matter of vital significance because of its importance for agriculture, the economic basis of Mesoamerican society, and to predict events in the future such as lunar and solar eclipses, an important feature for the rulers, proving to the commoners their links with the heavenly world.
The Middle Classic period ended in Northern Mesoamerica with the decline of Teotihuacan. This allowed other regional power centers to flourish and compete for control of trade routes and natural resources. In this way the late Classic era commenced. Political fragmentation during this era meant no city had complete hegemony. Various population movements occurred, caused by the incursion of groups from
In the Maya region,
Toward the end of the late Classic period, the Maya stopped recording the years using the Long Count calendar, and many of their cities were burned and abandoned to the jungle. Meanwhile, in the Southern Highlands,
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan ("The City of the Gods" in
Once free of competition in the area of the Lake of Mexico, Teotihuacan experienced an expansion phase that made it one of the largest cities of its time, not just in Mesoamerica but in the entire world. During this period of growth, it attracted the vast majority of those then living in the Valley of Mexico.
Teotihuacan was completely dependent on agricultural activity, primarily the cultivation of maize, beans, and squash, the Mesoamerican agricultural trinity. However, its political and economic hegemony was based on outside goods for which it enjoyed a monopoly: Anaranjado ceramics, produced in the Poblano–Tlaxcalteca valley, and the mineral deposits of the Hidalgan mountains. Both were highly valued throughout Mesoamerica and were exchanged for luxury merchandise of the highest caliber, from places as far away as New Mexico and Guatemala. Because of this, Teotihuacan became the hub of the Mesoamerican trade network. Its partners were Monte Albán and Tikal in the southeast, Matacapan on the Gulf coast, Altavista in the north, and Tingambato in the west.
Teotihuacan refined the Mesoamerican
The fall of Teotihuacan is associated with the emergence of city-states within the confines of the central area of Mexico. It is thought that these were able to flourish due to the decline of Teotihuacan, though events may have occurred in the opposite order: the cities of Cacaxtla, Xochicalco, Teotenango, and El Tajín may have first increased in power and then were able to economically strangle Teotihuacan, trapped as it was in the center of the valley without access to trade routes. This occurred around 600 CE, and even though people continued to live there for another century and a half, the city was eventually destroyed and abandoned by its inhabitants, who took refuge in places such as Culhuacán and Azcapotzalco, on the shores of Lake Texcoco.
The Maya in the Classic period
The Maya created one of the most developed and best-known Mesoamerican cultures. Although authors such as Michael D. Coe believe that the Maya culture is completely different from the surrounding cultures, many elements present in Maya culture are shared by the rest of Mesoamerica, including the use of two calendars, the base 20 number system, the cultivation of corn, human sacrifice, and certain myths, such as that of the fifth sun and cultic worship, including that of the Feathered Serpent and the rain god, who in the Yucatec Maya language is called Chaac.
The beginnings of Maya culture date from the development of
Writing and the
The elite controlled agriculture, practiced by means of mixed systems of ground-clearing, and intensive platforms around the cities. As in the rest of Mesoamerica, they imposed on the lowest classes taxes—in kind or in labor—that permitted them to concentrate sufficient resources for the construction of public monuments, which legitimized the
Postclassic period
The Postclassic period is the time between the year 900 and the conquest of Mesoamerica by the Spaniards, which occurred between 1521 and 1697. It was a period in which military activity became of great importance. The political elites associated with the priestly class were relieved of power by groups of warriors. In turn, at least a half-century before the arrival of the Spaniards, the warrior class was yielding its positions of privilege to a very powerful group that was unconnected to the nobility: the pochtecas, merchants who obtained great political power by virtue of their economic power.
The Postclassic period is divided into two phases. The first is the early Postclassic, which includes the 10th to the 13th century, and is characterized by the Toltec hegemony of Tula. The 12th century marks the beginning of the late Postclassic period, which begins with the arrival of the
There were many cultural changes during that time. One of them was the expansion of metallurgy, imported from South America, and whose oldest remnants in Mesoamerica come from the West, as is the case also with ceramics. The Mesoamericans did not achieve great facility with metals; in fact, their use was rather limited (a few copper axes, needles, and above all jewelry). The most advanced techniques of Mesoamerican metallurgy were developed by the Mixtec, who produced fine, exquisitely handcrafted articles. Remarkable advances were made in architecture as well. The use of nails in architecture was introduced to support the sidings of the temples, the mortar was improved, and the use of columns and stone roofs was widespread—something that only the Maya had used during the Classic period. In agriculture, the system of irrigation became more complex; in the Valley of Mexico especially, chinampas were used extensively by the Mexica, who built a city of 200,000 around them.
The political system also underwent important changes. During the early Postclassic period, the warlike political elites legitimized their position by means of their adherence to a complex set of religious beliefs that López Austin called zuyuanidad. According to this system, the ruling classes proclaimed themselves the descendants of
However, the fall of Tula checked the power of the zuyuano system, which finally broke down with the dissolution of the League of Mayapán, the Mixtec state, and the abandonment of Tula. Mesoamerica received new immigrants from the north, and although these groups were related to the ancient Toltecs, they had a completely different ideology than the existing residents. The final arrivals were the Mexica, who established themselves on a small island on Lake Texcoco under the dominion of the Texpanecs of Azcapotzalco. This group would, in the following decades, conquer a large part of Mesoamerica, creating a united and centralized state whose only rivals were the Purépecha Empire of Michoacán. Neither one of them could defeat the other, and it seems that a type of non-aggression pact was established between the two peoples. When the Spaniards arrived many of the peoples controlled by the Mexica no longer wished to continue under their rule. Therefore, they took advantage of the opportunity presented by the Europeans, agreeing to support them, thinking that in return they would gain their freedom, and not knowing that this would lead to the subjugation of all of the Mesoamerican world.
Aztec
Of all
The Mexica people came from the north or the west of Mesoamerica. The Nayaritas believed that the mythic
The date of the departure from Aztlán is debated, with suggested dates of 1064, 1111, and 1168.
In the earliest days of the Triple Alliance, the Mexica initiated an expansionist phase that led them to control a good part of Mesoamerica. During this time only a few regions retained their independence:
The Mexica state was conquered by the Spanish forces of
Postconquest era
Colonial Period, 1521–1821
With the destruction of the superstructure of the Aztec Empire in 1521, central Mexico was brought under the control of the
Postcolonial Period, 1821–present
Mexico became independent from Spain in 1821, with some participation of indigenous in decade-long political struggles, but for their own motivations. With the fall of colonial government, the Mexican state abolished distinctions between ethnic groups, that is the separate governance for indigenous populations in the República de Indios. The new sovereign country made, in theory at least, all Mexicans citizens of the independent nation-state rather than vassals of the Spanish crown, with different legal standing. A long period of political chaos in the post-independence period among white elites largely did not affect indigenous peoples and their communities. Mexican conservatives were largely in charge of the national government and kept in place practices from the old colonial order. However, in the 1850s, Mexican liberals gained power and attempted to formulate and implement reforms that did affect indigenous communities, as well as the Catholic Church. The
See also
- Regional communications in ancient Mesoamerica
- History of Central America, the colonial to post-colonial period
- History of the west coast of North America
- List of pre-Columbian civilizations
- Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
- Spanish conquest of Yucatán
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- Van Young, Eric (2000). "The Indigenous Peoples of Western Mexico from the Spanish Invasion to the Present". The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas. 2: 136–186. ISBN 0-521-65204-9.
- Wauchope, Robert, ed. (1964–76). Handbook of Middle American Indians (16 vols. ed.). Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-78419-8.
- Weaver, Muriel Porter (1993). The Aztecs, Maya, and Their Predecessors: Archaeology of Mesoamerica (3rd ed.). San Diego: Academic Press. ISBN 0-01-263999-0.
- West, Robert C.; John P. Augelli (1989). Middle America: Its Lands and Peoples (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-582271-8.
- Zeitlin, Robert N.; Judith Zeitlin (2000). "The Paleoindian and Archaic Cultures of Mesoamerica". The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas. 2: 45–122. ISBN 0-521-35165-0.
External links
- The Civilizations of Ancient Mesoamerica (archived 12 December 2009)
- Mesoamerica
- History, Myth, and Migration in Mesoamerica (archived 24 June 2010)
- Mesoweb Research Center
- FAMSI, Foundation for Mesoamerican Study (archived 4 September 2019)
- European Mayanist
- The Mirador Basin Project
- Guatemala Cradle of the Maya Civilization (archived 18 July 2007)