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List of Figures
Figure A.1 The island city of Tenochtitlán at the time of Spanish contact. p. 4
Figure A.2 Map showing the three major geographic zones of Mesoamerica. p. 9
Figure A.3 The natural areas of Mesoamerica. p. 12
Figure A.4 Highland valley in Central Mexico. p. 13
Figure A.5 Isthmus of Tehuantepec depression. p. 14
Figure A.6 Highland mountains and valleys in Guatemala. p. 15
Figure A.7 High plateau country of Northern Mexico. p. 18
Figure A.8 Changes in native population size in the Mesoamerican Region
(in millions of native persons). p. 21
Figure A.9 Hypothetical map of ancient lost continents. p. 23
Figure A.10 Sarcophagus lid from the Classic-period Maya site of Palenque, Mexico. p. 25
Figure A.11 Painting of the defender of the Indians, Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas. p. 26
Figure A.12 Mesoamerican culture area and its main subareas. p. 29
Figure A.13 Sequence (steps A–D) by which the Olmec were-jaguar motif
was transformed into later religious motifs of Mesoamerica. p. 31
Figure 1.1 Ruins of the Classic Period Mayan city of Copán, Honduras,
as captured in an 1843 engraving by artist Frederick Catherwood. p. 39
Figure 1.2 Prehispanic chronology of Mesoamerica. p. 41
Figure 1.3 Locations of major Paleoindian and Archaic Period sites. p. 42
Figure 1.4 Constricted adze from Caye Coco, Belize. Such tools were used
during the second millennium B.C. by Late Archaic semisedentary
gardening populations. p. 45
Figure 1.5 Locations of major Formative period sites. p. 47
Figure 1.6 Early Formative figurines from Cuauhtemoc in the Soconusco
region of coastal Chiapas: (a) Initial Formative old, seated, and
young standing female figurines; and (b) late Early Formative
“baby-face” figurines. p. 48
Figure 1.7 Giant Olmec head from the site of San Lorenzo, Mexico. p. 50
Figure 1.8 Temple-pyramid with stucco god masks at the Late Formative
period Mayan town of Cerros, Belize. p. 56
Figure 1.9 Locations of major Classic period, Terminal Classic/Epiclassic
period, and Early Postclassic sites. p. 57
Figure 1.10 Aerial photo of the Classic-period metropolis of Teotihuacán, Mexico. p. 58
Figure 1.11 The central portion of the Classic-period Mayan city of Tikal, Guatemala. p. 65
Figure 1.12 Overview of the site of Palenque; the Palace compound
is in the foreground at the right, and Pakal’s Temple of Inscriptions
is shown on the left. p. 67
Figure 1.13 Newly discovered panel from The Instituto Nacional de Antropología
e Historia, Mexico (INAH) investigations at Palenque depicting
ruler K’inich Janab Pakal II, on exhibit at the Palenque Museum. p. 68