Capital: Mexico
Area: 1 972 550 km²
Population: 85.8 million
Currency: 1 US$ = 9.3 Pesos
GDP: 60 / 8 454$
HDI:   50/ 0.786
CPI  :  58 / 3.4
TSI:  0.004

2000 data

français = texte de 2001

español= texto de 2001

There is a lot to say about this big country's history. This time I will only mention a few pre Colombian events that had an impact on the Maya.

Agriculture started late (6500 BC, 300 km south east of Mexico City) and developed slowly, the first pottery appearing around 2300 BC. The earliest traces of civilisation, dated 1200 BC, were found at San Lorenzo near Veracruz on the Gulf coast, where the Olmec flourished until 900 BC. The Olmec were the inventors of many memes(units of culture), that spread throughout mezo-america such as the feathered serpent, the man-jaguar rain god, base 20 arithmetic, the long count calendar and glyph writing.

The Olmec influence gave rise to the Zapotec culture of Monte Alban near Oaxaca around 300 BC, and a century later, to the Iztapan culture on the Mexico - Guatemala border near the Pacific coast, that is thought to have transmitted Olmec memes to the Maya tribes long established in Guatemala and the Yucatan peninsula. Olmec memes are also found in the great Teotihuacan Empire that developed 50 km northeast of Mexico City from the time of Christ to about 600 AD when it was destroyed. Around 400 AD, the Teotihuacan empire spread south as far as the Guatemalan highlands where it had a profound influence on Maya architecture.

During all this time, the civilised settlements were subjected to raids by less developed "wild" tribes from the northwest, collectively called the Chichimecs (meaning savages). After the fall of Teotihuacan, some of the Chichimec called Toltec absorbed Teotihuacan culture and founded Tula which became powerful in the 10th century. Internal conflicts between followers of the war god Tezcatlipoca and followers of Quetzalcoatl, the plumed serpent led to the expulsion of the latter who migrated to the Yucatan peninsula where they overcame the Maya, were absorbed by them and became their elite in the 11th century.

Finally, another group of Chichmec tribes called the Aztec must be mentioned. They founded their capital Tenochtitlan on lake Mexico around 1350 and were the dominant power when the Spanish conquistadors arrived but their power did not extend over the Maya.

The Mayas were enriched by these powerful Olmec, Teotihuacan and Toltec influences which they absorbed without loosing their language and identity. This link will take you to a page on the history of the Maya nation  seen through their archaeological monuments.