130 UNIT 1 PREHISPANIC MESOAMERICA
The principal rivals of the Tarascans were the Aztecs, and this intense externalri-
valry undoubtedly helps explain the relative internalcohesiveness of the West Mex-
ico core zone: A unified empire was necessary if the Tarascans were to compete
successfully with the powerfull, more numerous Aztecs. The Tarascans became one
of the most militarized states of all Mesoamerica, and they more than held their own
in many wars fought against the Aztecs. To the south and west, where the Tarascan
empire abutted Aztec provinces and client states, fortifications were constructed and
client states organized to defend against Aztec incursions. Even though Tarascan
rulers at times attended Aztec ceremonies in Tenochtitlán, and presumably vice versa,
nonmilitary contacts between the two great powers were minimal. As far as we know,
there was no intermarriage between the respective royal families, and direct trade was
virtually nonexistent (nevertheless, considerable trade through intermediaries flour-
ished). Long-distance merchants from the two empires could not cross each other’s
imperial boundaries, and even ambassadors under royal escort entered the other’s
territory at great risk to their personal safety.
The West Mexico core zone, then, was a special case within the Mesoamerican
world-system. Its imperial state was militarily powerful but was more inward-looking
than its Aztec rivals. Beyond the Aztecs and other close neighbors, the Tarascans ap-
pear to have shown limited interest in the rest of Mesoamerica. They were not
renowned as traders, although they produced superb metal objects that may have
been traded over great distances within Mesoamerica (in part, perhaps, by sea along
the Pacific Coast). Tarascan culture shared many of the characteristics of the
Mesoamerican “world” culture, but it was also parochial compared with other im-
perial states. Many of the Tarascan religious beliefs and art forms differed signifi-
cantly from the rest of Mesoamerica and, surprisingly, the Tarascans had no
established writing system.Oaxaca Core Zone. The core zone in what is today the state of Oaxaca, Mexico,
contrasted dramatically with the Central and West Mexican core zones in that there
was no dominant imperial state. Rather, the zone was divided into some fifty small
kingdoms or city-states, whose territorial boundaries and political alliances were
constantly shifting. These states were concentrated in roughly equal numbers in the
Mixtec highlands and the Valley of Oaxaca. The highland city-states were made up
primarily of Mixtec speakers, whereas the peoples of the Valley of Oaxaca mostly
spoke Zapotec (however, an important minority of the Valley inhabitants spoke
Mixtec). The Mixtecs also controlled or were confederated with additional city-
states in the eastern and coastal lowlands, as were the Zapotecs with polities in the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec lowlands. Other ethnic peoples residing in the zone spoke
languages that were neither Mixtec nor Zapotec: Chocho, Chinantec, Mixe, Zoque,
Chatino, and Amuzgo. For the most part, these peoples remained outside the
direct control of the core states, forming a periphery to the Oaxaca Mixtec and
Zapotec city-states of the core zone.
Within the Mixtec highlands the ruling lines of city-states such as Tilontongo, Yan-
huitlan, and Jaltepec were considered to be ancient and particularly prestigious;
moreover, the rulers of many of the other states in the area traced royal genealogy