6 INTRODUCTION
so-called Mesoamerican world but have resided in the region for centuries. There-
fore, in this text for the most part, we avoid using the term strictly as a geographic
region or culture area.
A more flexible and useful definition of Mesoamerica, we think, is to define it
as a particular historical tradition of aboriginal cultures, and thus a “civilization.” It
is understood that this cultural tradition was constantly undergoing transformation
prior to the coming of the Spaniards, and it has continued to experience even more
radical change and adaptation since Spanish contact. The creators of this rich his-
torical tradition—both in its original, pre-Hispanic version and in its post-Hispanic,
modified versions—may properly be termed “Mesoamericans” (or “native”
Mesoamericans).
From our perspective, Mesoamerica, whether past or present, cannot be ade-
quately defined by a list of essential traits or ideas; rather, we need to examine the
relationship through time between these cultural features and the social and mate-
rial processes involved in their creation. Both the cultural traditions and the processes
by which Mesoamerica has changed are worth tracing because they have profoundly
influenced the participating peoples of Mexico and Central America, whether they
be natives, mestizos, Africans, or Europeans.
It must be emphasized that Mesoamerica, as we employ the term, does not refer
to a fixed or static cultural tradition. From at least 1000 B.C. onward, the Mesoamer-
ican cultural tradition has consisted of a complex mix of regional and local cultures,
and it has been in a state of continual flux. This was even more the case after Span-
ish culture—and later other European and North American cultures—were imposed
on the Mesoamerican peoples and further fragmented the Mesoamerican cultures.
Nevertheless, the legacy of the Mesoamerican cultural tradition has been sufficiently
cohesive, unique, and influential in the history of the region to warrant its identifi-
cation with a special term: “Mesoamerica.”
Despite the overall unity of the Mesoamerican cultural tradition, the Mesoamer-
icans have perhaps never seen themselves as a single people sharing a common cul-
ture. During pre-Hispanic times, the widest identifying social units for most
Mesoamericans were the polities to which they were subject, whether empires, king-
doms, city-states, or chiefdoms. Furthermore, most Mesoamericans have been locally
oriented; and collective identities based on ethnic group, community, and lineage
were probably stronger than those based on political affiliation. For millions of native
Mesoamericans in the region, this trend continues to be true today, as their collective
identity comes more from the village, hamlet, region, or language group to which
they belong than from the nation-state in whose territory they reside. In most contexts
and time periods, then, Mesoamericans have tended to see themselves mainly as first,
members of a lineage; second, participants in a community; third, speakers of a com-
mon language; and finally, if at all, as Mexicans, Central Americans, or Indians.
Like the term Mesoamerica, Indianis another controversial term debated within
Mesoamerican studies. As is well known, this term was incorrectly applied to the na-
tive peoples of Mesoamerica and elsewhere in the New World by Columbus and later
Spanish explorers. The Spaniards continued to refer to the Mesoamericans during
the colonial period as Indians (in the Spanish form, “Indios”), and its usage persisted