The archaeological and historical reconstruction of the growth of ancient civilization, though still incomplete, presents a coherent picture of regional development, prosperity and decline across the entire Maya area.
The earliest humans to occupy Mesoamerica were hunters and gathers who lived in small bands that moved from one single area to another in the quest for food. These nomadic hunters never established villages during this period.
One of the earliest known permanent settlements forms the Pres classic period is found in at Chaipa de Corzo, in the Grijalva Depression of Chiapas in south Mexico.
During the Middle Preclassic period, around 700 B.C.E., (Hansen, 1998) the planned architectural arrangement that later become common throughout Mesoamerica had begun; at this time, Chiapa de Corzo was the Principe chiefdom in Chiapas and might have developed into a kingdom later by the late Pre-classic.
Rain cults developed during the Early Preclassic in areas as far north as the Southwest t the southern frontier of high cultural America.
San Lorenzo is the earliest identified urban village in Mesoamerica. First evaded in 1945 by Mathew Stirling, San Lorenzo is located approximately 36 miles from the Gulf Cost.
During the Middle Pre-classic period, the large-scale structure appeared at San Lorenzo in the design of a large, earth floor that rose over the fertile flood plains of the streams to about a height of 150 feet.
The oldest recognized pyramid in North America is located at La Ventura and is thought to be a rare presentation of a volcanic cone in the Tuxtla Mountains about 40 miles away.
Early Mesoamerican written associated with the calendar events such as births, marriages, conquests, and deaths are put in a historic structure, and one of the principal functions of this early work appears to be the legitimization of rising to the throne.
One of the religious symbols found is the were-jaguar, a combination of Jaguar and human. The Olmec obviously believed that in the distant past, a woman cohabited with a jaguar, and together they produced a line of were-jaguar who became founding ruler of Olmec civilization.
While Teo Chuan was the largest village during the traditional period, it did not live in isolation and many modern cities blossomed as well.
During the Epiclassic period from 650 to 900 C.E., various smaller cities contended for the power that had crumbled with the fall of Teotihuacan
First occupied during the Classic period and closely allied with Teotihuacan, El Tajin was quite large and embraced an area of nearly 146 acres with other ruins disseminated during the incident or early eighth century.
While it is not one of the greatest cities in Mesoamerica, Mitlas, architecture is exceptional. It consists of five architectural groups which were reused in the Postclassic period.
During installation of water pipes under Mexic city, important Aztec sculptures such as the Sun Stone, or so-called Aztec calendar and a monumental status of the Earth goddess Coaticlue were found under the pavement of the Zocalo, the main plaza in the center of Mexico.
Childe’s criteria are fully manifested in the coastal plains of the northern end of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in southern Veracruz and adjustment Tabasco. The remains found in this era age Olmec, a culture named after a small, historically known people called the Moleca who inhabited the area as much later.
The pre-classic discoveries are thought to represent the ancestors of the Omleca historical group or the Omleca-Xicallanca and are therefore referred to as the “archeological Olmecs” in an attempt to clarify the use of the same name for different people who live in the same are at different times.
Works Cited
Hansen, R. D. (1998). Continuity and Disjunction: the Pre-Classic antecedents of Classic Maya Architecture. Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture, 49-122.
