36 INTRODUCTION
This emphasis on native Mesoamericans is by design, and it should not be inter-
preted as disinterest in the many millions of mestizos, Blacks, Whites, and diverse eth-
nic groups who now make up the majority of the regional Mexican and Central
American peoples. We trust that the text will make clear that many of these non-In-
dian peoples have exercised controlling power over the native Mesoamericans for
almost 500 years. This historical fact, of course, is well known, and has been stressed
again and again in publications on Mexico and Central America.
This book carries the additional message that there existed a dynamic, highly de-
veloped Mesoamerican civilization before the coming of the Europeans; that the
Mesoamericans resisted conquest from the beginning and have continued to resist
assimilation of their cultures ever since; and that the peoples of the region, both In-
dian and non-Indian, continue to be profoundly influenced by the legacy of that
civilization.
As pointed out in the new Preface to this text, this revised edition is primarily
aimed at updating information on Mesoamerican culture and history. We have re-
organized the chapters into four units, updated all the chapters from the first edition,
and added two new chapters (chapters 3 and 10). The four units cover first, the pre-
Hispanic period; second, the colonial and neocolonial period; third, the modern
period; and fourth, accounts on key issues raised by the Mesoamerican civilization
through its long history.
The three chapters of Unit I of this revised text provide an overview of the pre-
Hispanic Mesoamericans, from their beginnings to the invasion of their territory by
Spaniards. Unit II consists of four chapters that describe the impact of colonization
and neocolonization (by “neocolonization” we refer to the continuing domination
of the native Mesoamericans by Whites and mestizos all the way through the nine-
teenth century and into the first decades of the twentieth century). One of the chap-
ters of this unit describes the nature of Mesoamerican literature produced during the
darkness of the colonial period.
Unit III is constituted by three chapters that provide a historical overview of the
native Mesoamerican peoples during the twentieth century and the first years of the
twenty-first century (beginning with the Mexican revolution). The final chapter of
this unit updates the situation of native Mesoamericans up to the present day through
a detailed account of the Zapatista movement in Mexico and of its significance for
the Indians of the region as a whole.
For each of the first three units, we describe the cultural characteristics of
Mesoamerica, as well as the historical processes by which these characteristics were
created and transformed through time.
The four chapters of Unit lV also take historical developments into consideration,
but the primary focus is on a series of topics of current interest and special impor-
tance in Mesoamerican studies. In the chapters of this final unit, greater attention is
paid to symbolic features of the Mesoamerican tradition than in the preceding units,
particularly in the chapters on language, religion, and oral literature. Nevertheless,
in each of these final chapters, attention is also given to the social and material forces
that condition the cultural features under study.