Earliest Settlements of Mexico

Mexico is a country in the Americas that began as an origin of food production. Because
of this, early civilizations such as the Olmec, Maya, Aztecs, and Incas were able to flourish and
contribute some of the most diverse and useful tools to modern day. Unique religions, their own
numeric systems, and the cultivation of corn are some of the significant influences early people
of what is now Mexico had. However, the advanced technologies of the Spanish, the theories of
Guns, Germs, and Steel, slaughtered millions of indigenous Mexicans. The introduction of guns,
germs, and steel, although violent and destructive to the native cultures of Mesoamerica, created
the culture of present day Mexico. The early settlers from Spain and the natives became a blend
of language, people, and agriculture that we see in the country of modern day Mexico.
The Olmec civilization of Mesoamerica is credited as influencing the civilizations
following its demise. The cultural practices of worshipping, ballgame, bloodletting, early writing
systems, the calendar and the invention of 0 were innovations of the Americas that had not been
seen elsewhere. These religious and recreational practices of the Olmec civilization, whom
flourished between 1600-1500 BCE, are ubiquitous with most Mesoamerican civilizations
however the Olmec civilization declined sharply between 400-350 BCE and the civilizations of
Maya and Tenochtitlan began to emerge and rise to the top as the resilient civilization of Mexico.
The Mayan peoples of the Yucatan peninsula produced some of the most linguistic
diversity of Mesoamerica. Earliest settlements originated around 1800 BCE and the earliest of
them began as an agricultural society. Maize , or corn, which was regarded as holy in some
aspects of Mayan religion, was their main crop and is still used in Mexican ( Mayan) cooking
today. The Mayan people were also great architects and constructed many pyramids which are
still seen and visited today, these great cultural advancements are what distinguished the people

of early Mexico from western societies and their techniques and use of the land along with their
religious and architectural aspects of societies is what influenced much of Mexican culture,
especially in the Yucatan region of modern day. Unfortunately many of these great
Mesoamerican societies diminished with very little evidence on why. These people continued to
live but their once big cities were buried and the arrival of the Spanish further destroyed the
societies of Mesoamerica.
As we can see in the film of Guns, Germs, and Steel, the theories of Jared Diamond
account for the advancing of western societies due to opportunity and necessity. These theories
are also seen in Mexico, with the beginning of the Spanish conquest into the Americas. Why did
these early Mesoamerica civilizations seem to perish? The arrival of the Spanish with their
advanced weaponry and new diseases killed off many of the indigenous people. The Spanish
were advantageous in the aspect that they originated in the Eurasian continent that spanned in an
east west direction as opposed to the Americas that geographically lie north to south. It is a
common theme in our ancient histories that the people of Eurasia, most specifically White
people have conquered and killed off the populations of the Americas and Africa and parts of
Asia. These theories look at the reason, motives, and power, but it single-handedly lies in the
opportunity and location of the people of Eurasia and it is evident in the beginnings of what is
now present day Mexico.
Mexico today is very much diverse and although the indigenous populations of
Mesoamerica such as the Maya still survive and practice their old cultures in regions like the
Yucatan, it is clear that much of it has changed. Agriculture/food seems to be untouched. The
importance of corn can still be seen in what the people of Mexico eat. The ethnic population has
changed though, a result of Spanish colonists mixing with natives, creating mestizos. Language

has changed, religion has changed and as educators and historians and citizens of this world it is
important to realize and understand the origins and creations of certain cultures. In the theories of
Guns, Germs, and Steel, it is important to distinguish the difference between native culture and
the culture brought by the Eurasians and as people it is important to be emphatic and not
oblivious to the creation of nations cultures.

Sources
Maya. (n.d.). Retrieved September 15, 2015.
American History, Page 1, Spanish Conquest of Native America. (n.d.). Retrieved
September 15, 2015.