Mesoamerica

Mesoamerica The cultural area known as Mesoamerica covers most of Southern Mexico and Central America. It’s topography and ecology include semi arid deserts in the north, mountainous terrains and steamy rainforests in the South. To the East lies the Gulf coast and the Yucatan peninsula, a limestone jetty with a system of underground rivers, where water is scarce. It shares some distinct cultural traits that were disseminated by what is known as the Olmec of the Gulf Coast. The Olmecs (1000 - 400 B.C.) are considered “the mother culture” because they were the first people to have developed a centralized government. They were the first long-distance traders of Mesoamerica and apparently spread “civilization” as well as their trade goods. They had a strong influence on peoples as far south as Guatemala and as far east as the Zapotec center of Monte Alban. They were the first to create the famous Mesoamerican ballgame which later was included in the cosmology of the Maya, the Teotihuacanos, the Zapotecs, the Mixtecs, the Toltecs, and later the Aztecs or Mexica. It is to them that scholars have attempted to link the Maya and Central Mexican Calendars mesoamerica, maya, city, mutal, calakmul, mexica, known, teotihuacan, mexico, chan, aztecs, state, later, area, writing, system, found, empire, day, ahaw, under, place, people, patron, own, new, battle, years, war, nuun, lowlands, god, fire, each