The 5 main cultures that existed in Mesoamerica

Mesoamerican cultures are the civilizations that developed in Mexico and Central America. Its records date from the year 2,000 BC. C, and due to its great ethnic diversity and cultural richness, his legacy continues to this day.

At first, the first Mesoamerican peoples were characterized by being nomads, dedicated to hunting and gathering, as they advanced and developing, they discovered agricultural techniques and were able to adopt a sedentary life creating the different civilizations that we know today.

• It may interest you: "10 great short Mexican Legends (that you should know)"

As the Olmecs improved agricultural activity, other activities began to emerge such as the commerce, the arts and also began to work the first architectural works, which were the pyramids.

They were religious temples where Mesoamerican settlers of different civilizations came to perform ceremonies, venerate their gods and communicate with the supernatural world.

All Mesoamerica was polytheistic, that is, people believed in good and evil gods. Civilizations believed that animals were sacred, so each people chose an animal to represent one of their gods.

Human sacrifices were another characteristic shared by these civilizationsTo appease the wrath of the gods, Mesoamerican cultures performed rituals in their temples where they sacrificed mostly slaves conquered in different wars.

The sacrificial rituals were controlled by the priests of each religion, who were considered divine due to the fact that they could communicate with the gods.

The 5 main Mesoamerican cultures that existed

Among the most important cultures of Mesoamerica we can find the following.

1. Mayan culture

The Mayans make up one of the brightest and best organized cultures of all Mesoamerican cultures.. They established a civilization based on city-states, ruled by priests, under a very strict political-social structure.

They stood out mainly for being the ones who managed to develop the only writing system of all pre-Columbian America, and for having developed high knowledge in the area of ​​mathematics and astrology.

2. Aztec culture

The Aztecs were the founders of the city-states in the territory of present-day Mexico City, and that was why they became one of the dominant cultures of the Mesoamerican region. The Aztec civilization dominated the areas of culture, politics, and economics until the period of the wars of conquest by the Spanish. They also excelled in architecture and astronomy studies.

They were organized under the rule of a monarchy, and each group in society had a particular function, which allowed their civilization to remain orderly and organized.

3. Teotihuacan culture

The Teotihuacanos settled in the current territory of Mexico, in what today are the remains of the city of Teotihuacán. Researchers do not have sufficiently accurate data regarding this culture. They are the most mysterious in all of Mesoamerica, and the only thing that is known with certainty about them is that their city was the largest due to the ruins that have been found.

It was a civilization noted for its huge pyramids and its artistic techniques. The socio-political functioning of this culture was divided into well differentiated classes: at the top were the priests and in the strata were the merchants and artisans.

4. Olmec culture

It is believed that the Olmec were the mother of Mesoamerican cultures originating in the territory of what is today Mexico between 1500 a. C. and 300 d. C. This is because It is considered that they were the creators of an entire artistic and architectural style, a legacy of which there are still ruins, indicating the strength of its constructions.

They stood out for the buildings, the heads carved in stone, the calendar and the bases of the writing.

5. Toltec culture

The Toltecs were initially a nomadic people, like many other Mesoamerican civilizations, until they finally settled in Mexico, in the current region of Tula. It has been proven that the members of this civilization have had a strong influence on the Mayans in terms of the architectural style of their civilizations. They stood out mainly for being good merchants and for having developed skills for warfare.

The Toltec socio-political organization was based on a militaristic monarchy, which imposed a caste society in which war was first.