The Legacy of Mesoamerica History and Culture of a Native American Civilization, 2nd Edition

INTRODUCTION 21

YEAR 1520 1800 1900 1950 2000

Mexico 21 4 2 3 30

Central America 6 1 1 4 8

Totals 27 5 3 7 38

Note: All figures are approximations, especially for the pre-Hispanic period. For the 2000 figures,

see The World Almanac and Book of Facts,2005.

Figure A.8 Changes in native population size in the Mesoamerican Region

(in millions of native persons).

especially in the urban centers, where a glance at a crowded street in Mexico or Cen-

tral America reveals the complex biological makeup of much of its modern popula-

tions. The so-called mestizos and Whites now form the ethnic majority in these

countries, rapidly approaching 100 million persons in total numbers.

PAST STUDIES OF MESOAMERICA

The summary of Mesoamerican history and culture to follow in this text builds on

the labor of numerous scholars who have gone before us. Because the legacy of past

studies is not one of information alone but is also of particular interpretations of

that information, we have chosen to organize the following historical sketch ac-

cording to the diverse approaches to Mesoamerica that have been taken through

time. We warn the reader that space does not permit us to do justice to the full his-

tory of Mesoamerican studies and that the account here is meant to be illustrative

rather than exhaustive.

Let us begin the review with the “Romanticists,” writers who approached the

study of Mesoamerica with preconceived notions, usually based on strong religious

or philosophical views. Next we discuss the “Scientific Precursors,” students of

Mesoamerica who employed a more systematic and objective approach. They be-

came particularly influential toward the end of the nineteenth century, and they

began to replace religious ideas with scientific theories. A modern scientific approach

emerged gradually during the twentieth century, carried forward at first by the “Cul-

ture Historians,” and after 1950 by the “Cultural Evolutionists.” The historical and evo-

lutionary approaches continue to be influential in Mesoamerican studies today, and

we will argue in the final section of this introduction that our own approach in gen-

eral terms might be seen in part to be a synthesis of these two approaches.

Romanticists

From the time of Columbus to the present day, an unending stream of Western writ-

ers has concocted fanciful explanations for the origin and cultural achievements of

the Mesoamerican Indians. We refer to them as Romanticists because their ideas

have been highly speculative and for the most part have been based on preconceived

religious notions about how they would like the world to be rather than how it actually