While many city-states, kingdoms, and empires competed with one another for power and prestige, Mexico can be said to have had seven major civilizations: The
Olmec,
Teotihuacan, the
Toltec, the
Aztec,
Zapotec,
Mixtec, and the
Maya. These civilizations (with the exception of the politically fragmented Maya) extended their reach across Mexico, and beyond, like no others. They consolidated power and distributed influence in matters of trade, art, politics, technology, and theology. Other regional power players made economic and political alliances with these seven civilizations over the span of 3,000 years. Many made war with them. But almost all found themselves within these seven spheres of influence.
Olmec civilization 1, at Jalapa. The Olmec were an ancient Pre-Columbian people living in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, roughly in what are the modern-day states of
Veracruz and
Tabasco on the Isthmus of
Tehuantepec. Their immediate cultural influence, however, extends far beyond this region. The Olmec flourished during the Formative (or Preclassic) period, dating from 1400 BC to about 400 BC, and are believed to have been the progenitor civilization of later Mesoamerican civilizations.
Teotihuacan civilization The decline of the Olmec resulted in a power vacuum in Mexico. Emerging from that vacuum was
Teotihuacan, first settled in 300 BC. By AD 150, it had grown to become the first true
metropolis of what is now called
North America. Teotihuacan established a new economic and political order never before seen in Mexico. Its influence stretched across Mexico into
Central America, such as
Monte Albán,
Cerro de las Mesas,
Matacapan,
Tikal, and
Kaminaljuyú. Teotihuacan's influence over the Maya civilization cannot be overstated; it transformed political power, artistic depictions, and the nature of economics. Within the city of Teotihuacan was a diverse and cosmopolitan population. Most of the regional ethnicities of Mexico were represented in the city. They lived in rural apartment communities where they worked their trades and contributed to the city's economic and cultural prowess. By AD 500, Teotihuacan had become one of the largest cities in the world with a population of 100,000 people. Teotihuacan's economic pull impacted areas in northern Mexico as well. It was a city whose monumental architecture reflected a new era in Mexican civilization, declining in political power about AD 650, but lasting in cultural influence for the better part of a millennium, to around AD 950.
Maya civilization Contemporary with Teotihuacan's greatness was the greatness of the
Mayan civilization. The period between AD 250 and AD 650 saw an intense flourishing of Maya civilized accomplishments. While the many Maya city-states never achieved political unity on the order of the central Mexican civilizations, they exerted a tremendous intellectual influence upon Mexico. The Maya built some of the most elaborate cities on the continent, and made innovations in mathematics,
astronomy, and writing that became the pinnacle of Mexico's scientific achievements.
Toltec civilization ,
Hidalgo Just as Teotihuacan had emerged from a power vacuum, so too did the
Toltec civilization, which took the reins of cultural and political power in Mexico from about 700. The Toltec empire established contact as far south as
Central America, and as far north as the
Anasazi corn culture in the Southwestern
United States. The Toltec established a prosperous
turquoise trade route with the northern civilization of
Pueblo Bonito, in modern-day
New Mexico. The Mayan city of
Chichen Itza was also in contact with the Toltec civilization were powerfully influenced by central Mexicans as noted by the use of the
Chac Mool,
Atlantean figures,
feathered serpents, and skull platforms. The Toltecs were about to melt and work precious metals such as gold and silver, they cultivated
maguey and produced both
pulque and clothes from the plant, and they were the employed
cocoa beans in trade. The Toltec political system was so influential, that many future Mesoamerican dynasties would later claim to be of Toltec descent.
Désiré Charnay theorized Toltec migrations originated from
Asia due to similarities to Japanese architecture, Chinese decoration, Malaysian language, and Cambodian dress.
Aztec civilization With the decline of the
Toltec civilization came political fragmentation in the
Valley of Mexico, and into this new game of political contenders for the Toltec throne stepped outsiders: the
Aztec. Newcomers to the Valley of Mexico, they were seen as crude and unrefined in the eyes of the existing Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the fallen Toltec empire. .Latecomers to Mexico's central plateau, the Aztecs thought of themselves as heirs to the prestigious civilizations that had preceded them, much as
Charlemagne did with respect to the fallen
Roman Empire. What the Aztecs lacked in political power, they made up for with ambition and military skill. In 1428, the Aztecs led a war of liberation against their rulers from the city of
Azcapotzalco, which had subjugated most of the Valley of Mexico's peoples. The revolt was successful, and the Aztecs, through cunning political maneuvers and ferocious fighting skills, managed to pull off a true "rags-to-riches" story: they became the rulers of central Mexico as the leaders of the
Triple Alliance. This Alliance was composed of the city-states of
Tenochtitlan,
Texcoco, and
Tlacopan. At their peak, 300,000 Aztecs presided over a wealthy tribute-empire comprising 4 to 7 million people and extended into
Central America. The westward expansion of the empire was stopped cold by a devastating military defeat at the hands of the
Purépecha (who possessed state-of-the-art copper-metal weapons). The empire relied upon a system of
taxation (of goods and services) which were collected through an elaborate
bureaucracy of tax collectors, courts, civil servants, and local officials who were installed as loyalists to the Triple Alliance (led by Tenochtitlan). The empire was primarily economic in nature, and the Triple Alliance grew very rich: libraries were built, monumental architecture was constructed, and a highly prestigious artistic and priestly class was cultivated. All of this created a "First World" aura of invincibility around the island-city of Tenochtitlan. Unlike the later Spanish, the Aztecs did not seek to "convert" or destroy the cultures they conquered. Quite the opposite: the engines of warfare and empire in Central Mexico required that all participants understand and accept common cultural "rules" in order to make the flow of imperial wealth as smooth as possible. The rules of empire in Mexico were old rules, understood by all the power players and "contenders to the throne," as had been shown many times before (the kingdom of
Tlaxcala would attempt its own power grab in 1519 by using the Spanish as mercenary-allies). Founded around 1325, the Aztec capital,
Mexico-Tenochtitlan, was by 1519 among the largest cities in the world with a population of around 300,000 By comparison, the population of Venice, the largest city in Europe in 1519, was 100,000 people. Tenochtitlan is the site of modern-day
Mexico City.
Allies of the Aztecs In the formation of the
Triple Alliance empire, the Aztecs established several ally states. Among them were
Cholula,
Texcoco,
Tlacopan, and
Matatlan. Also, many of the kingdoms conquered by the Aztecs provided soldiers for further imperial campaigns such as:
Culhuacan,
Xochimilco,
Tepeacac,
Amecameca,
Coaixtlahuacan,
Cuetlachtlan,
Ahuilizipan. The Aztec war machine would become multi-ethnic, comprising soldiers from conquered areas, led by a large core of Aztec warriors and officers. == Recent discoveries ==