TheWestern Mexico shaft tomb tradition orshaft tomb culture refers to a set of interlocked cultural traits found in the westernMexican states ofJalisco,Nayarit, and, to a lesser extent,Colima to its south, roughly dating to the period between 300BCE and 400CE, although there is not wide agreement on this end-date. Nearly all of the artifacts associated with this shaft tomb tradition have been discovered by looters and are withoutprovenance, making dating problematic. The first major undisturbed shaft tomb associated with the tradition was not discovered until 1993, at Huitzilapa, Jalisco.
Originally regarded as ofTarascan origin, contemporary with theAztecs, it became apparent in the middle of the 20th century, as a result of further research, that the artifacts and tombs were instead over 1000 years older. Until recently, the looted artifacts were all that was known of the people and culture or cultures that created the shaft tombs. So little was known, in fact, that a major 1998 exhibition highlighting these artifacts was subtitled: "Art and Archaeology of the Unknown Past".
It is now thought that, although shaft tombs are widely diffused across the area, the region was not a unifiedcultural area. Archaeologists, however, still struggle with identifying and naming the ancient western Mexico cultures of this period.
TheSpanish conquest of Guatemala was a conflict that formed a part of theSpanish colonization of the Americas within the territory of what became the modern country ofGuatemala inCentral America. Before the conquest, this territory contained a number of competingMesoamerican kingdoms, the majority of which wereMaya. Manyconquistadors viewed the Maya as "infidels" who needed to be forcefully converted and pacified, disregarding the achievements of theircivilization. The first contact between the Maya andEuropean explorers came in the early 16th century when aSpanish ship sailing fromPanama toSanto Domingo was wrecked on the east coast of theYucatán Peninsula in 1511. Several Spanish expeditions followed in 1517 and 1519, making landfall on various parts of the Yucatán coast. The Spanish conquest of the Maya was a prolonged affair; the Maya kingdoms resisted integration into theSpanish Empire with such tenacity that their defeat took almost two centuries.
Pedro de Alvarado arrived in Guatemala from the newly-conquered Mexico in early 1524, commanding a mixed force of Spanish conquistadors and native allies, mostly fromTlaxcala andCholula. Placenames across Guatemala bearNahuatl placenames owing to the influence of these Mexican allies, who translated for the Spanish. TheKaqchikel Maya initially allied themselves with the Spanish, but soon rebelled against excessive demands for tribute and did not finally surrender until 1530. In the meantime the other major highland Maya kingdoms had each been defeated in turn by the Spanish and allied warriors from Mexico and already subjugated Maya kingdoms in Guatemala. TheItza Maya and other lowland groups in thePetén Basin were first contacted byHernán Cortés in 1525, but remained independent and hostile to the encroaching Spanish until 1697, when a concerted Spanish assault finally defeated the last independent Maya kingdom.
Spanish and native tactics and technology differed greatly. The Spanish viewed the taking of prisoners as a hindrance to outright victory, whereas the Maya prioritised the capture of live prisoners and of booty. The indigenous peoples of Guatemala lacked key elements ofOld World technology such as a functionalwheel, horses, steel andgunpowder; they were also extremely susceptible to Old World diseases, against which they had no resistance. The Maya preferred raiding and ambush to large-scalewarfare, using spears, arrows and wooden swords with insetobsidian blades; theXinca of the southern coastal plain usedpoison on their arrows. In response to the use of Spanish cavalry, the highland Maya took to digging pits and lining them with wooden stakes.
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TheMesoamerican ballgame orōllamaliztli (hispanized asUlama) inNahuatl was asport with ritual associations played since 1,400 B.C. by thepre-Columbian peoples ofAncient Mexico andCentral America. The sport had different versions in different places during the millennia, and a modern version of the game,ulama, is still played in a few places by the localindigenous population.
The rules of the ballgame are not known, but judging from its descendant,ulama, they were probably similar toracquetball, where the aim is to keep the ball in play. The stone ballcourt goals (see photo to right) are a late addition to the game.
In the most widespread version of the game, the players struck the ball with their hips, although some versions allowed the use of forearms, rackets, bats, or handstones. The ball was made of solidrubber and weighed as much as 4 kg (9 lbs), and sizes differed greatly over time or according to the version played.
The game had importantritual aspects, and major formal ballgames were held as ritual events, often featuringhuman sacrifice. The sport was also played casually for recreation by children and perhaps even women.
Pre-Columbianballcourts have been found throughout Mesoamerica, as far south asNicaragua, and possibly as far north as the nowU.S. state ofArizona. These ballcourts vary considerably in size, but all have long narrow alleys with side-walls against which the balls could bounce.
Maya stelae (singularstela) are monuments that were fashioned by theMaya civilization of ancientMesoamerica. They consist of tall sculpted stone shafts and are often associated with low circular stones referred to as altars, although their actual function is uncertain. Manystelae were sculpted in lowrelief, although plain monuments are found throughout the Maya region. The sculpting of these monuments spread throughout the Maya area during theClassic Period (250–900 AD), and these pairings of sculpted stelae and circular altars are considered a hallmark of Classic Maya civilization. The earliest dated stela to have been foundin situ in the Maya lowlands was recovered from the great city ofTikal inGuatemala. During the Classic Period almost every Maya kingdom in the southern lowlands raised stelae in its ceremonial centre.
Stelae became closely associated with the concept ofdivine kingship and declined at the same time as this institution. The production of stelae by theMaya had its origin around 400 BC and continued through to the end of the Classic Period, around 900, although some monuments were reused in thePostclassic (c. 900–1521). The major city ofCalakmul inMexico raised the greatest number of stelae known from anyMaya city, at least 166, although they are very poorly preserved.
Hundreds of stelae have been recorded in the Maya region, displaying a wide stylistic variation. Many are upright slabs oflimestone sculpted on one or more faces, with available surfaces sculpted with figures carved in relief and withhieroglyphic text. Stelae in a few sites display a much more three dimensional appearance where locally available stone permits, such as atCopán andToniná. Plain stelae do not appear to have been painted nor overlaid withstucco decoration, but most Maya stelae were probably brightly painted in red, yellow, black, blue and other colours.
Nahuatl (Nahuatl pronunciation:[ˈnaːwatɬ]ⓘ, with stress on the first syllable) is a group of related languages and dialects of the Nahuan (traditionally called "Aztecan") branch of theUto-Aztecanlanguage family. Altogether they are spoken by an estimated1.5 millionNahua people, most of whom live in centralMexico. AllNahuan languages are indigenous toMesoamerica.
Nahuatl has been spoken in central Mexico since at least the 7th century AD. It was the language of theAztecs, who dominated what is now central Mexico during the Late Postclassic period ofMesoamerican chronology. During the preceding century and a half, the expansion and influence of the Aztec Empire had led to the variety spoken by the residents ofTenochtitlan becoming aprestige language in Mesoamerica. With the introduction of theLatin alphabet, Nahuatl also became aliterary language and manychronicles,grammars, works ofpoetry, administrativedocuments andcodices were written in the 16th and 17th centuries. This early literary language based on the Tenochtitlan variety has been labeledClassical Nahuatl and is among the most studied and best documented languages of theAmericas.
TodayNahuatl varieties are spoken in scattered communities mostly in rural areas. There are considerable differences among varieties, and some aremutually unintelligible. They have all been subject to varying degrees ofinfluence from Spanish. No modern Nahuatl languages are identical to Classical Nahuatl, but those spoken in and around theValley of Mexico are generally more closely related to it than those on the periphery. Under Mexico'sLey General de Derechos Lingüísticos de los Pueblos Indígenas ("General Law on the Linguistic Rights of Indigenous Peoples") promulgated in 2003, Nahuatl along with the otherindigenous languages of Mexico are recognized aslenguas nacionales ("national languages") in the regions where they are spoken, enjoying the same status as Spanish within their region.
TheMayan languages (alternatively:Maya languages) form alanguage family spoken inMesoamerica and northernCentral America. Mayan languages are spoken by at least 6 millionindigenous Maya, primarily inGuatemala,Mexico,Belize andHonduras. In 1996, Guatemala formally recognized 21 Mayan languages by name, and Mexicorecognizes eight more.
The Mayan language family is one of the best documented and most studied in theAmericas. Modern Mayan languages descend fromProto-Mayan, a language thought to have been spoken at least 5,000 years ago; it has been partiallyreconstructed using thecomparative method.
Mayan languages form part of theMesoamerican Linguistic Area, anarea of linguistic convergence developed throughout millennia of interaction between the peoples of Mesoamerica. All Mayan languages display the basic diagnostic traits of this linguistic area. For example, all userelational nouns instead ofprepositions to indicate spatial relationships. They also possessgrammatical andtypological features that set them apart from other languages of Mesoamerica, such as the use ofergativity in the grammatical treatment of verbs and their subjects and objects, specific inflectional categories on verbs, and a specialword class of "positionals" which is typical of all Mayan languages.
During thepre-Columbian era ofMesoamerican history, some Mayan languages were written in theMaya hieroglyphic script. Its use was particularly widespread during the Classic period ofMaya civilization (c. 250–900 CE). The surviving corpus of over 10,000 known individual Maya inscriptions on buildings, monuments, pottery and bark-papercodices, combined with the rich postcolonialliterature in Mayan languages written in theLatin script, provides a basis for the modern understanding of pre-Columbian history unparalleled in the Americas.
The most important staple ofAztec cuisine wasmaize (corn), a crop that was so important toAztec society that it played a central part in theirmythology. Just likewheat in Europe orrice in most ofEast Asia, it was the food without which a meal was not a meal. It came in an inestimable number of varieties varying in color, texture, size and prestige and was eaten astortillas,tamales oratolli, maize gruel. The other constants of Aztec food weresalt andchili peppers and the basic definition of Aztecfasting was to abstain from these two flavorers. The other major foods werebeans and New World varieties of the grainsamaranth (or pigweed), andchia. The combination of maize and these basic foods would have provided the average Aztec with a very well-rounded diet without any significant deficiencies in vitamins or minerals. The processing of maize callednixtamalization, the cooking of maize grains inalkaline solutions, also drastically increased the nutritional value of the common staple.
Water, maize gruels andpulque, the fermented juice of thecentury plant, were the most common drinks, and there were many different fermented alcoholic beverages made from honey,cacti and various fruits. The elite took pride in not drinking pulque, a drink of commoners, and preferred drinks made fromcacao. It was one of the most prestigious luxuries available; it was the drink of rulers, warriors and nobles and was flavored with chili peppers, honey and a seemingly endless list of spices and herbs.
The Aztec diet included an impressive variety of animals;turkeys and various fowl,pocket gophers,Green iguanas,axolotls (a type of water salamander),shrimp,fish and a great variety of insects, larvae and insect eggs. They ate various mushrooms and fungi, including the parasiticcorn smut, which grows on ears of corn.Squash was very popular and came in many different varieties. Squash seed, fresh, dried or roasted, were especially popular.Tomatoes, though different from the varieties common today, was often mixed with chili in sauces or as filling for tamales.
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Human sacrifice was a religious practice characteristic of pre-ColumbianAztec civilization; the extent of the practice is debated by modern scholars. Spanish explorers, soldiers and clergy who had contact with the Aztecs between 1517, when an expedition fromCuba first explored theYucatan, and 1521, whenHernan Cortes conquered the Aztec capital ofTenochtitlan, made observations of and wrote reports about the practice of human sacrifice. For example,Bernal Díaz'sThe Conquest of New Spain includes eyewitness accounts of human sacrifices as well as descriptions of the remains of sacrificial victims. In addition, there are a number of second-hand accounts of human sacrifices written by Spanishfriars that relate the testimony of native eyewitnesses. The literary accounts have been supported by archeological research. Since the late 1970s, excavations of the offerings in theGreat Pyramid of Tenochtitlan,Teotihuacán'sPyramid of the Moon, and other archaeological sites, have provided physical evidence of human sacrifice among the Mesoamerican peoples.
Human sacrifice among pre-Columbian indigenous populations is a controversial topic. The discussion of human sacrifice is connected with the classic conflict between viewing indigenous peoples as either "noble savages" or "primitivebarbarians." Within modern scholarship, some scholars tend to romanticize the description of human sacrifice while others tend to exaggerate it.
Xochimilco (SpanishIPA:[ʃotʃiˈmilko]) is one of the sixteendelegaciones or boroughs withinMexican Federal District. The borough is centered on the formerly independent city ofXochimilco, which was established on what was the southern shore ofLake Xochimilco in the pre-Hispanic period. Today, the borough consists of the eighteen “barrios” or neighborhoods of this city along with fourteen “pueblos” or villages that surround it, covering an area of 125 km2 (48 sq mi). While the borough is somewhat in the geographic center of the Federal District, it is considered to be “south” and has an identity separate from thehistoric center of Mexico City. This is due to its historic separation from that city during most of its history. Xochimilco is best known for its canals, which are left from what was an extensive lake and canal system which connected most of the settlements of theValley of Mexico. These canals, along with artificial islands calledchinampas attract tourists and other city residents to ride on colorfulgondola like boats called “trajineras” around the 170 km (110 mi) of canals. This canal and chinampa system, as a vestige of the area’s pre-Hispanic past, has made Xochimilco aWorld Heritage Site; however, environmental degradation of both the canals and the chinampas is severe and ongoing, putting that status in question for the future.
Mesoamerican languages are thelanguagesindigenous to theMesoamerican cultural area, which covers southernMexico, all ofGuatemala andBelize and parts ofHonduras andEl Salvador. The area is characterized by extensive linguistic diversity containing several hundred different languages and seven major language families. Mesoamerica is also an area of high linguisticdiffusion in that long-term interaction among speakers of different languages through several millennia has resulted in the convergence of certain linguistic traits across disparate language families. The Mesoamericansprachbund is commonly referred to as theMesoamerican Linguistic Area.
The languages of Mesoamerica were also among the first to evolve independent traditions ofwriting. The oldest texts date to approximately 1000 B.C.E. while most texts in the indigenous scripts (such asMaya) date to ca. 600–900 CE. Following thearrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, and continuing up until the 19th century, most Mesoamerican languages were written inLatin script.
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El Tajín is apre-Columbian archeological site and one of the largest and most important cities of theClassic era of Mesoamerica. A part of theClassic Veracruz culture, El Tajín flourished from 600 to 1200 C.E. and during this time numerous temples, palaces,ballcourts, and pyramids were built. From the time the city fell in 1230 to near the end of the 18th century, no European seems to have known of its existence, until a government inspector chanced upon the Pyramid of the Niches in 1785.
El Tajín was named a World Heritage site in 1992, due to its cultural importance and its architecture. This architecture includes the use of decorative niches and cement in forms unknown in the rest of Mesoamerica. Its best-known monument is the Pyramid of the Niches, but other important monuments include the Arroyo Group, the North and South Ballcourts and the palaces of Tajín Chico. In total there have been 17 ballcourts discovered at this site. Since the 1970s, El Tajin has been the most important archeological site inVeracruz for tourists, attracting over 650,000 visitors a year.
Tak'alik Ab'aj (/tɑːkəˈliːkəˈbɑː/;Mayan pronunciation:[takʼaˈlikaˈɓaχ]ⓘ;Spanish:[takaˈlikaˈβax]) is apre-Columbianarchaeological site inGuatemala; it was formerly known asAbaj Takalik; its ancient name may have beenKooja. It is one of severalMesoamerican sites with bothOlmec andMaya features. The site flourished in thePreclassic andClassic periods, from the 9th century BC through to at least the 10th century AD, and was an importantcentre of commerce, trading withKaminaljuyu andChocolá. Investigations have revealed that it is one of the largest sites withsculptured monuments on the Pacific coastal plain. Olmec-style sculptures include a possiblecolossal head,petroglyphs and others. The site has one of the greatest concentrations of Olmec-style sculpture outside of theGulf of Mexico.
Takalik Abaj is representative of the first blossoming of Maya culture that had occurred by about 400 BC. The site includes a Maya royal tomb and examples ofMaya hieroglyphic inscriptions that are among the earliest from the Maya region. Excavation is continuing at the site; the monumentalarchitecture and persistent tradition of sculpture in a variety of styles suggest the site was of some importance.
Takalik Abaj was a sizeable city with the principalarchitecture clustered into four main groups spread across nine terraces. While some of these were natural features, others were artificial constructions requiring an enormous investment in labour and materials. The site featured a sophisticated water drainage system and a wealth of sculptured monuments.
Olmec figurines arearchetypicalfigurines that were produced by theFormative Period inhabitants ofMesoamerica. While many of these figurines may or may not have been produced directly by the people of theOlmec heartland, they bear the hallmarks and motifs ofOlmec culture.
These figurines are usually found in household refuse, in ancient construction fill, and (outside the Olmec heartland) in graves, although many Olmec-style figurines, particularly those labelled asLas Bocas- orXochipala-style, were recovered by looters and are therefore withoutprovenance.
The vast majority of figurines are simple in design, often nude or with a minimum of clothing, and made of localterracotta. Most of these recoveries are mere fragments: a head, arm, torso, or a leg. It is thought, based on wooden busts recovered from the water-loggedEl Manati site, that figurines were also carved from wood, but, if so, none have survived.
More durable and better known by the general public are those figurines carved, usually with a degree of skill, fromjade,serpentine,greenstone,basalt, and other minerals and stones.
Copán is an archaeological site of theMaya civilization located in theCopán Department of westernHonduras, not far from the border withGuatemala. It was the capital city of a majorClassic period kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD. The city was located in the extreme southeast of theMesoamerican cultural region, on the frontier with theIsthmo-Colombian cultural region, and was almost surrounded by non-Maya peoples. In this fertile valley now lies a city of about 3000, a small airport, and a winding road.
Copán was occupied for more than two thousand years, from theEarly Preclassic period right through to thePostclassic. The city developed a distinctive sculptural style within the tradition of the lowland Maya, perhaps to emphasize the Maya ethnicity of the city's rulers.
The city has a historical record that spans the greater part of the Classic period and has been reconstructed in detail by archaeologists and epigraphers. Copán, probably calledOxwitik by the Maya, was a powerful city ruling a vast kingdom within thesouthern Maya area. The city suffered a major political disaster in AD 738 whenUaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil, one of the greatest kings in Copán's dynastic history, was captured and executed by his former vassal, the king ofQuiriguá. This unexpected defeat resulted in a 17-year hiatus at the city, during which time Copán may have been subject to Quiriguá in a reversal of fortunes.
Quelepa is an important archaeological site located in easternEl Salvador. The site was founded around 400 BC, in theLate Preclassic period (500 BC - AD 250). The inhabitants constructed a platform from plaster andpumice and rebuilt it a number of times. Artefacts recovered during the excavations of the site indicate that the local population depended uponsubsistence agriculture, these artefacts includedmetates (a kind ofmortar) andcomales (a type ofgriddle). The site belonged to theMesoamerican cultural region. Quelepa is generally considered to have been settled by theLenca people. Quelepa means "stone jaguar" in theLenca language, probably in reference to the large Jaguar Altar found at the site.
Throughout its occupational history, the inhabitants crafted stone tools fromobsidian. The site appears to have been linked to trade routes to western El Salvador and theGuatemalan Highlands and also to the north inHonduras.
Although sites in western El Salvador were severely affected by the eruption of theIlopango Volcano in the Early Classic, the only affect this had upon Quelepa was the cutting of trade routes into Mesoamerica. This did not result in stagnation at the site but rather resulted in the florescence of a local culture.
Olmec colossal heads are a distinctive feature of theOlmec civilization of ancientMesoamerica. The first archaeological investigations of Olmec culture were carried out byMatthew Stirling atTres Zapotes in 1938, owing to the discovery there of a colossal head in the 19th century. Seventeen confirmed examples of stone heads are known, all from within theOlmec heartland on theGulf Coast of Mexico, in the states ofVeracruz andTabasco. Most colossal heads were sculpted from spherical boulders but two fromSan Lorenzo Tenochtitlán were recarved from massive stone thrones. An additional monument, atTakalik Abaj inGuatemala, is a throne that may have been carved from a colossal head. This is the only known example outside of the Olmec heartland.
Dating of the monuments has proven difficult due to the movement of many from their original context. Most of the heads have been dated to the Early Preclassic (1500-1000 BC) and some to the Middle Preclassic (1000-400 BC). The smallest examples weigh 6 tons, while the largest is variously estimated to weigh 40 to 50 tons, although this was abandoned unfinished near to its quarry.
Olmec colossal heads were sculpted from large basalt boulders quarried in theSierra de los Tuxtlas mountains of Veracruz. They were transported over large distances, although the method used for transportation is not clear. Finished momuments represented lifelike portraits of individual Olmec rulers, each wearing a distinctive headdress, and heads were variously arranged in lines or groups at major Olmec centres.
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Qʼumarkaj, (Kʼicheʼ:[qʼumarˈkah]) is an archaeological site in the southwest of theEl Quiché department ofGuatemala. Qʼumarkaj is also known asUtatlán, theNahuatl translation of the city's name. The name comes from KʼicheʼQʼumarkah "Place of old reeds".
Qʼumarkaj was one of the most powerfulMaya cities when theSpanish arrived in the region in the early 16th century. It was the capital of theK'iche' Maya in theLate Postclassic Period.Archaeologically andethnohistorically, Qʼumarkaj is the best known of the Late Postclassichighland Maya capitals. The earliest reference to the site inSpanish occurs inHernán Cortés' letters fromMexico. Although the site has been investigated, little reconstruction work has taken place. The survivingarchitecture, which includes aMesoamerican ballcourt, temples and palaces, has been badly damaged by the looting of stone to build the nearby town ofSanta Cruz del Quiché.
The major structures of Qʼumarkaj were laid out around a plaza. They included the temple ofTohil, ajaguar god who was patron of the city, the temple ofAwilix, the patron goddess of one of the noble houses, the temple ofJakawitz, a mountain deity who was also a noble patron and the temple ofQʼuqʼumatz, theFeathered Serpent, the patron of the royal house. The main ballcourt was placed between the palaces of two of the principal noble houses. Palaces, ornimja, were spread throughout the city. There was also a platform that was used for gladiatorial sacrifice.
Santa Muerte (Spanish forSaint Death), is a femalefolk saint venerated primarily inMexico and theUnited States. A personification of death, she is associated with healing, protection, and safe delivery to the afterlife by her devotees. Not sanctioned by theRoman Catholic Church, her cult arose from popular Mexican folk belief, asyncretism between indigenousMesoamerican and Spanish Catholic beliefs and practices. Since thepre-Columbian era Mexican culture has maintained a certain reverence towards death, which can be seen in the widespread commemoration of the syncreticDay of the Dead. Elements of that celebration include the use of skeletons to remind people of their mortality. The worship is condemned by theCatholic Church in Mexico as invalid, but it is firmly entrenched among Mexico's lower working classes and various elements of society deemed as "outcasts".
Santa Muerte generally appears as a female skeletal figure, clad in a long robe and holding one or more objects, usually ascythe and aglobe. Her robe can be of any color, as more specific images of the figure vary widely from devotee to devotee and according to the rite being performed or the petition being made. As the worship of Santa Muerte was clandestine until the 20th century, most prayers and other rites have been traditionally performed privately in the home. However, for the past ten years or so, worship has become more public, especially inMexico City after Enriqueta Romero initiated her famous Mexico City shrine in 2001. The number of believers in Santa Muerte has grown over the past ten to twenty years, to several million followers in Mexico, the United States, and parts of Central America. Santa Muerte has similar male counterparts in the Americas, such as the skeletal folk saintsSan La Muerte of Argentina andRey Pascual of Guatemala.
Chacmool (also spelledchac-mool) is the term used to refer to a particular form ofpre-ColumbianMesoamerican sculpture depicting a reclining figure with its head facing 90 degrees from the front, supporting itself on its elbows and supporting a bowl or a disk upon its stomach. These figures possibly symbolised slain warriors carrying offerings to the gods; the bowl upon the chest was used to hold sacrificial offerings, includingpulque,tamales,tortillas,tobacco, turkeys, feathers and incense. In anAztec example the recipient is acuauhxicalli (a stone bowl to receivesacrificed human hearts). Chacmools were often associated with sacrificial stones or thrones.
Aztec chacmools bore water imagery and were associated with Tlaloc, the rain god. Their symbolism placed them on the frontier between the physical and supernatural realms, as intermediaries with the gods. The chacmool form of sculpture first appeared around the 9th century AD in theValley of Mexico and the northernYucatán Peninsula.
TheOlmec were the first major civilization inMexico. They lived in thetropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the modern-day states ofVeracruz andTabasco.
The Olmec flourished duringMesoamerica'sFormative period, dating roughly from as early as 1500BCE to about 400 BCE. Pre-Olmec cultures had flourished in the area since about 2500 BCE, but by 1600–1500 BCE Early Olmec culture had emerged centered on theSan Lorenzo Tenochtitlán site near the coast in southeast Veracruz. They were the first Mesoamerican civilization and laid many of the foundations for the civilizations that followed. Among other "firsts", the Olmec appeared to practiceritual bloodletting and played theMesoamerican ballgame, hallmarks of nearly all subsequent Mesoamerican societies.
The most familiar aspect of the Olmecs is their artwork, particularly the aptly named "colossal heads". The Olmec civilization was first defined through artifacts which collectors purchased on the pre-Columbian art market in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Olmec artworks are considered among ancient America's most striking.
Mexican feather work, also called "plumería", was an important artistic and decorative technique in thepre-Hispanic and colonial periods in what is nowMexico. Although feathers have been prized and feather works created in other parts of the world, those done by the "amanteca" impressed Spanish conquerors, leading to a creative exchange with Europe. Feather pieces took on European motifs in Mexico. Feathers and feather works became prized in Europe. The "golden age" for this technique as an art form was from just before the Spanish conquest to about a century afterwards. At the beginning of the 17th century, it began a decline due to the death of the old masters, the disappearance of the birds that provide fine feathers and the depreciation of indigenous handiwork. Feather work, especially the creation of "mosaics" or "paintings" principally of religious images remained noted by Europeans until the 19th century, but by the 20th century, the little that remained has become a handcraft, despite efforts to revive it. Today, the most common feather objects are those made for traditional dance costumes although mosaics are made in the state ofMichoacán, and feather trimmedhuipils are made in the state ofChiapas.
TheMaya civilization was aMesoamericancivilization developed by theMaya peoples, noted for theMaya hieroglyphic script, the only known fully developedwriting system of thepre-Columbian Americas, as well as for itsart,architecture, andmathematical andastronomical systems. The Maya civilization developed in an area that encompasses southeasternMexico, all ofGuatemala andBelize, and the western portions ofHonduras andEl Salvador. This region consists of the northern lowlands encompassing theYucatán Peninsula, and the highlands of theSierra Madre, running from the Mexican state ofChiapas, across southern Guatemala and onwards into El Salvador, and the southern lowlands of the Pacific littoral plain.