In major museums, only a small fraction of the artifacts held by the museum are on display and interpreted for the public. Most of the museum’s artifacts are in vaults where they are available only to researchers. The Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History maintains a Visible Vault in which visitors can view hundreds … Continued
Veracruz is a region in Mexico’s gulf coastal lowlands. This was the homeland for one of Mesoamerica’s earliest civilizations, the Olmec. The Olmec first emerged about 1500 BCE. Their civilization and their art styles influence many of the later Mesoamerican civilizations. In their Encyclopedia of Ancient Mesoamerica, Margaret Bunson and Stephen Bunson report: “As the … Continued
At one time, Teotihuacán, was not only the largest city in Mexico, but also one of the largest cities in the world. Construction of this city, which is located to the northeast of present-day Mexico City, was started about 2,200 years ago. By 1,500 years ago Teotihuacán had a population of about 250,000 people, making … Continued
The San Bernardino County Museum in Redlands, California, includes displays of archaeological artifacts from Western Mexico. Western Mexico includes the modern states of Colima, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacan, Nayarit, and Sinaloa. One of the archaeological features within this region are shaft tombs. Shaft tombs by 300 BCE are associated with circular architecture. There is a central … Continued
For most people the mention of ancient Mexico brings up images of the Aztecs, the Mayas, and perhaps the ancient city of Teotihucán. Ancient Mexico, however, also includes somesites which are much older than these and which are not tourist attractions.One of these is Tlatilco in the Valley of Mexico. For today’s archaeologically-oriented tourist, accustomed … Continued
Archaeologists use the term Mesoamerica in referring to Mexico and the adjacent areas of Central America which were the home to Native American civilizations prior to the Spanish invasion. During the time generally known as the Classic Period in Mesoamerica, the region was characterized by several complex cultural systems known as state societies. For Central … Continued
Archaeologists use the term Mesoamerica in referring to Mexico and the adjacent areas of Central America which were the home to Native American civilizations prior to the Spanish invasion. The Formative Period in Mesoamerica is an era of spectacular social transformation marked by the development of social stratification and monument building. With regard to dating, … Continued
In major museums, only a small fraction of the artifacts held by the museum are on display and interpreted for the public. Most of the museum’s artifacts are in vaults where they are available only to researchers. The Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History maintains a Visible Vault in which visitors can view hundreds … Continued
From 1500 BCE until about 1200 CE, the Zapotec were one of the prominent and historically important groups in Mesoamerica. They originated in the Valley of Oaxaca in Mexico. Their major archaeological sites include Monte Albán, Dainzu, Huitzo, Monte Negro, Yagul, and Zaachila. The Zapotec By 1500 BCE, the Cloud People (Ben Zaa, Gula’sa, or … Continued
When the Europeans began their invasion of the Americas, they found that the indigenous people of the continent, generally called American Indians, had a highly developed agricultural system. While American Indians raised a great many different crops, one of the important plants was maize (Zea mays), often called corn in American English. In addition to … Continued
