Metallurgy in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica
Encyclopedia
The emergence of metallurgy
in pre-Columbian
Mesoamerica
occurred relatively late in the region's history, with distinctive works of metal apparent in West Mexico by roughly AD 800, and perhaps as early as AD 600. Metallurgical techniques likely diffused northward from regions in Central
or South America
via maritime trade routes; recipients of these metallurgical technologies apparently exploited a wide range of material, including alloy
s of copper
-silver
, copper-arsenic
, copper-tin
and copper-arsenic-tin.
Metal items crafted throughout Mesoamerica may be broken into three classes: utilitarian objects, objects used for individual ornamentation, and ceremonial/ritual objects. The latter two categories comprise the bulk of distinctly Mesoamerican artifacts, with metals playing a particularly important role in the sacred
and symbol
ic cultural realms.
area appears to have been an early locus of metal working in Mesoamerica.
during the initial period, with some low-arsenic
alloys, as well as occasional employment of silver
and gold
. Lost-wax cast bells were introduced from lower Central America
and Colombia
during this phase, along with several classes of cold-worked ornaments and hand tools, such as needles and tweezers. The prototypes for these small, often utilitarian items appear rooted in southern Ecuador
and northern Peru
. Small copper rings, generally found in burial contexts, are also common to Ecuador and Western Mexico and are abundant during this phase.
Excavated assemblages from the initial phase indicate that lost-wax cast bells also occupied a substantial portion of West Mexican artisan's efforts. Unlike similar bells recovered from coastal Ecuador, West Mexican bells were cast, rather than worked, metal. Typically composed of a smooth, suspended metal shell encasing an interior clapper, the West Mexican bells were generally fashioned from copper alloys and bore particular resemblance to bells made in Colombia
, Panama
and Costa Rica
.
emerged as a technological hub, with metal artifacts also appearing at the adjacent zones of Guerrero
and Jalisco
.
Alloys became more prevalent during the second phase, as metal workers experimented with color, strength and fluidity. Formerly utilitarian assemblages transformed, with new focus placed upon metallic status objects. Further, the appearance of a copper-tin bronze alloy suggests contact between West Mexico and Peru during this period. However, many of the alloys/alloy concentrations used in West Mexico appear to reflect local innovation.
Scholars such as Dorothy Hosler suggest that ancient Mesoamericans were unique in their attention to metals peculiar aesthetic properties, namely, the brilliant sounds and colors evoked through movement of metallic objects. The rather late emergence of metallurgy in ancient Mesoamerican likely contributed to its novelty and subsequent role as a marker of elite
status.
It has been suggested that Mesoamerican metal smiths produced particular alloys with the chief aim of exploiting the alloys’ emergent color properties, particularly the vivid gold tones produced through infusion of tin, and the silver shades that develop at high arsenic concentrations. Notably, certain artifacts from West Mexico contain tin or arsenic at concentrations as high as 23 weight percent, while concentrations of alloying elements at roughly 2 to 5 weight percent are typically adequate for augmented strength and mechanical utility.
Metal smiths in pre-Columbian West Mexico particularly exploited the brilliance inherent in metallic sound and sheen, suggesting that their creations tended to occupy a sacred and symbolic space. Metallic colors, gold and silver, might have been connected with solar
and lunar
deities while bell sounds have been associated with fertility rituals and protection in warfare.
Utilitarian and ceremonial objects; Objects of personal adornment'
Utilitarian and ceremonial objects; objects of personal adornment
Objects of personal adornment and ceremonial objects
Utilitarian and ceremonial objects; objects of personal adornment
Utilitarian and ceremonial objects; objects of personal adornment
Utilitarian and ceremonial objects; objects of personal adornment
Utilitarian and ceremonial objects; objects of personal adornment
Utilitarian objects; objects of personal adornment
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
in pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
occurred relatively late in the region's history, with distinctive works of metal apparent in West Mexico by roughly AD 800, and perhaps as early as AD 600. Metallurgical techniques likely diffused northward from regions in Central
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
or South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
via maritime trade routes; recipients of these metallurgical technologies apparently exploited a wide range of material, including alloy
Alloy
An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...
s of copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
-silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
, copper-arsenic
Arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...
, copper-tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
and copper-arsenic-tin.
Metal items crafted throughout Mesoamerica may be broken into three classes: utilitarian objects, objects used for individual ornamentation, and ceremonial/ritual objects. The latter two categories comprise the bulk of distinctly Mesoamerican artifacts, with metals playing a particularly important role in the sacred
Sacred
Holiness, or sanctity, is in general the state of being holy or sacred...
and symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
ic cultural realms.
Southern Maya area
Owing largely to its proximity to southern centers of metallurgy (specifically southern Central America and South America), the Southern MayaMaya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
area appears to have been an early locus of metal working in Mesoamerica.
West Mexico
As with the Southern Maya area, the number and diversity of metal artifacts recovered from West Mexico indicates that this region was a regional nucleus of metallurgy, from which elements of technique, form and style could have diffused throughout Mesoamerica.Phase 1: AD 600 - 1200/1300
West Mexican smiths worked primarily in copperCopper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
during the initial period, with some low-arsenic
Arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...
alloys, as well as occasional employment of silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
and gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
. Lost-wax cast bells were introduced from lower Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
during this phase, along with several classes of cold-worked ornaments and hand tools, such as needles and tweezers. The prototypes for these small, often utilitarian items appear rooted in southern Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
and northern Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. Small copper rings, generally found in burial contexts, are also common to Ecuador and Western Mexico and are abundant during this phase.
Excavated assemblages from the initial phase indicate that lost-wax cast bells also occupied a substantial portion of West Mexican artisan's efforts. Unlike similar bells recovered from coastal Ecuador, West Mexican bells were cast, rather than worked, metal. Typically composed of a smooth, suspended metal shell encasing an interior clapper, the West Mexican bells were generally fashioned from copper alloys and bore particular resemblance to bells made in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
and Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
.
Phase 2: 1200/1300 - 1521
Metal smiths demonstrated increasing technical sophistication, producing both utilitarian and status-linked items. During the latter phase, MichoacánMichoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
emerged as a technological hub, with metal artifacts also appearing at the adjacent zones of Guerrero
Guerrero
Guerrero officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guerrero is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo....
and Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
.
Alloys became more prevalent during the second phase, as metal workers experimented with color, strength and fluidity. Formerly utilitarian assemblages transformed, with new focus placed upon metallic status objects. Further, the appearance of a copper-tin bronze alloy suggests contact between West Mexico and Peru during this period. However, many of the alloys/alloy concentrations used in West Mexico appear to reflect local innovation.
Scholars such as Dorothy Hosler suggest that ancient Mesoamericans were unique in their attention to metals peculiar aesthetic properties, namely, the brilliant sounds and colors evoked through movement of metallic objects. The rather late emergence of metallurgy in ancient Mesoamerican likely contributed to its novelty and subsequent role as a marker of elite
Elite
Elite refers to an exceptional or privileged group that wields considerable power within its sphere of influence...
status.
It has been suggested that Mesoamerican metal smiths produced particular alloys with the chief aim of exploiting the alloys’ emergent color properties, particularly the vivid gold tones produced through infusion of tin, and the silver shades that develop at high arsenic concentrations. Notably, certain artifacts from West Mexico contain tin or arsenic at concentrations as high as 23 weight percent, while concentrations of alloying elements at roughly 2 to 5 weight percent are typically adequate for augmented strength and mechanical utility.
Metal smiths in pre-Columbian West Mexico particularly exploited the brilliance inherent in metallic sound and sheen, suggesting that their creations tended to occupy a sacred and symbolic space. Metallic colors, gold and silver, might have been connected with solar
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
and lunar
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
deities while bell sounds have been associated with fertility rituals and protection in warfare.
Central Mexico
(AD 900-1450)Utilitarian and ceremonial objects; Objects of personal adornment'
- Atotonilco, Hidalgo
- CalixtlahuacaCalixtlahuacaCalixtlahuaca is a Postclassic period Mesoamerican archaeological site, located near the present-day city of Toluca in the State of Mexico...
, MexicoMexico (state)México , officially: Estado Libre y Soberano de México is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of the United Mexican States. It is divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Toluca de Lerdo.... - TenayucaTenayucaTenayuca is a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican archaeological site in the Valley of Mexico. In the Postclassic period of Mesoamerican chronology Tenayuca was a settlement on the former shoreline of the western arm of Lake Texcoco, located approximately 10km to the northwest of Tenochtitlan...
, Mexico - Tenochitlan, Distrito Federal (D.F.)Mexico CityMexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
- TeotihuacanTeotihuacanTeotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas...
, Mexico - Texcoco, Mexico
West Mexico
(AD 800/900-1450)Utilitarian and ceremonial objects; objects of personal adornment
- Amapa, NayaritNayaritNayarit officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its capital city is Tepic.It is located in Western Mexico...
- Apatzingan, MichoacánMichoacánMichoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
- Atoyac, JaliscoJaliscoJalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
- Cojumatlán, Michoacán
- Coyuca de Catalán, GuerreroGuerreroGuerrero officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guerrero is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo....
- Culicaán, SinaloaSinaloaSinaloa officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 18 municipalities and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales....
- Jiquilpan, Michoacán
- Peñitas, Nayarit
- Río Balsas, Guerrero
- Tancitaro, Michoacán
- Telpalcátepec, Michoacán
- Tepic, Nayarit
- Texmelincan, Guerrero
- Tuxcacuesco, Jalisco
- Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán
- Yestla, Guerrero
- Zacpu, Michoacán
- Zamora, Michoacán
Eastern Mexico
(AD 900-1500)Objects of personal adornment and ceremonial objects
- Cerro Montoso, VeracruzVeracruzVeracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
- Chachalacas, Veracruz
- El TajinEl TajínEl Tajín is a pre-Columbian archeological site and was the site of one of the largest and most important cities of the Classic era of Mesoamerica. The city flourished from 600 to 1200 C.E. and during this time numerous temples, palaces, Mesoamerican ballcourts and pyramids were built...
, Veracruz - Isla de Sacrificios, Veracruz
- Pánuco, Veracruz
- Tampico, Veracruz
Southern Mexico
(AD 900-1500)Utilitarian and ceremonial objects; objects of personal adornment
- Coatlán, OaxacaOaxacaOaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
- CoixtlahuacaCoixtlahuacaCoixtlahuaca was a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican state in the Mixteca Alta . Coixtlahuaca was a multi-ethnic polity, inhabited by both Chochos and Mixtecs. In addition to the Chocho and Mixtec languages, Nahuatl was used as a lingua franca...
, Oaxaca - EjutlaEjutla de CrespoEjutla de Crespo is a city and a municipality of the same name, in the central valleys of the Mexican state of Oaxaca.It is part of the Teotitlán District in the north of the Cañada Region....
, Oaxaca - GuiengolaGuiengolaGuiengola is a Zapotec archeological site located 14 km north of Tehuantepec, and 243 km southeast of Oaxaca city on Federal Highway 190. The visible ruins are located between a hill and a river, each carries the name of Guiengola. The name means “large stone” in the local variant of the...
, Oaxaca - Huajuapan, Oaxaca
- Huitzo, Oaxaca
- Juquila, Oaxaca
- MitlaMitlaMitla is the second most important archeological site in the state of Oaxaca in Mexico, and the most important of the Zapotec culture. The site is located 44 km from the city of Oaxaca. in the upper end of the Tlacolula Valley, one of the three that form the Central Valleys Region of the...
, Oaxaca - Monte AlbanMonte AlbánMonte Albán is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site in the Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán Municipality in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca...
Oaxaca - Sola de Vega, Oaxaca
- TehuantepecTehuantepecTehuantepec is a city and municipality in the southeast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Tehuantepec District in the west of the Istmo Region. The area was important in pre Hispanic period as part of a trade route that connected Central America with what is now the center of...
, Oaxaca - Teotitlán del Camino, Oaxaca
- Teotitlán del ValleTeotitlán del ValleTeotitlán del Valle is a small village and municipality located in the Tlacolula District in the east of the Valles Centrales Region, 31 km from the city of Oaxaca in the foothills of the Sierra Juárez mountains. It is part of the Tlacolula Valley district...
, Oaxaca - Tlacolula, Oaxaca
- TlaxiacoTlaxiacoTlaxiaco is a city, and its surrounding municipality of the same name, in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is located in the Tlaxiaco District in the south of the Mixteca Region, with a population of about 17,450. The city is formally known as Heroica Ciudad de Tlaxiaco in honour of a battle waged...
, Oaxaca - TututepecTututepecTututepec is a Mesoamerican archaeological site located in the lower Río Verde valley on the coast of Oaxaca that formed the nucleus of an extensive Mixtec state during the Late Postclassic period...
, Oaxaca - XaagaXaagaXaaga is a small town South-West from the town of San Pablo Villa de Mitla in the Valles Centrales of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. It is about 10 km far away from Hierve el Agua....
, Oaxaca - Yanhuitlán, Oaxaca
- Zachila, Oaxaca
Southern Maya Area
(AD 450(?)-1500)Utilitarian and ceremonial objects; objects of personal adornment
- Chipal, GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
- Chutixtiox, Guatemala
- CopánCopánCopán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It was the capital city of a major Classic period kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD...
, Honduras - KaminaljuyúKaminaljuyuKaminaljuyu is a Pre-Columbian site of the Maya civilization that was primarily occupied from 1500 BC to AD 1200. Kaminaljuyu has been described as one of the greatest of all archaeological sites in the New World by Michael Coe, although its remains today - a few mounds only - are far less...
, Guatemala - Motagua RiverMotagua RiverThe Motagua River is a long river in Guatemala. It rises in the western highlands of Guatemala where it is also called Río Grande, and runs in an easterly direction to the Gulf of Honduras. The final few kilometres of the river form part of the Guatemala/Honduras border...
valley, Guatemala - Los Naranjos, HondurasHondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
- Nebaj, Guatemala
- Quemistlá “Bell Caves”, Honduras
- QuiriguáQuiriguáQuiriguá is an ancient Maya archaeological site in the department of Izabal in south-eastern Guatemala. It is a medium-sized site covering approximately along the lower Motagua River, with the ceremonial center about from the north bank. During the Maya Classic Period , Quiriguá was situated at...
, Guatemala - San Augustín Acasaguastlán, Guatemala
- Tajumulco, Guatemala
- TazumalTazumalTazumal is a Pre-Columbian Maya archeological site in Chalchuapa, El Salvador. Tazumal means, "the place where the victims were burned," in K'iche'....
, El SalvadorEl SalvadorEl Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America... - Zacualpa, Guatemala
- ZaculeuZaculeuZaculeu or Saqulew is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site in the highlands of western Guatemala, about outside of the modern city of Huehuetenango. Occupation at the site dates back as far as the Early Classic period of Mesoamerican history...
, Guatemala
Central Maya Area
(AD 900-1500)Utilitarian and ceremonial objects; objects of personal adornment
- Chiapa de CorzoChiapa de Corzo (Mesoamerican site)Chiapa de Corzo is an archaeological site of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, located in the Central Depression of Chiapas of present-day Mexico. It rose to prominence during the Middle Formative period, becoming a regional center or capital that controlled trade along the Grijalva River. By then, its...
, ChiapasChiapasChiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las... - El Paredón, Chiapas
- Polol, Guatemala
- Santa Rita Corozal, BelizeBelizeBelize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
- TayasalTayasalTayasal is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site that dates to the Postclassic period. The site is located in the southern Maya lowlands on a small island in Lake Petén Itzá, now part of the Department of Petén in northern Guatemala...
, Guatemala - TikalTikalTikal is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centres of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archaeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala...
, Guatemala - YaxháYaxhaYaxha is a Mesoamerican archaeological site in the northeast of the Petén Basin region, and a former ceremonial center and city of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. Located in the modern-day department of Petén, northern Guatemala, it is approximately 30 km southeast from Tikal, between the...
, Guatemala - PalenquePalenquePalenque was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that flourished in the 7th century. The Palenque ruins date back to 100 BC to its fall around 800 AD...
, Chiapas - Wild Cane Cay, BelizeBelizeBelize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
- LamanaiLamanaiLamanai is a Mesoamerican archaeological site, and was once a considerably sized city of the Maya civilization, located in the north of Belize, in Orange Walk District...
, Belize
Northern Maya Area
(1000-1450)Utilitarian and ceremonial objects; objects of personal adornment
- Chichén ItzáChichen ItzaChichen Itza is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the Municipality of Tinúm, Yucatán state, present-day Mexico....
, YucatánYucatánYucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida.... - Dzantún C’hen, Yucatán
- MayapánMayapanMayapan , is a Pre-Columbian Maya site a couple of kilometers south of the town of Telchaquillo in Municipality of Tecoh, approximately 40 km south-east of Mérida and 100 km west of Chichen Itza; in the state of Yucatán, Mexico...
, Yucatán
Northern Mexico
(1000-1450)Utilitarian objects; objects of personal adornment
- Casas GrandesCasas GrandesCasas Grandes is the contemporary name given to a pre-Columbian archaeological zone and its central site, located in northwestern Mexico in the modern-day Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is one of the largest and most complex sites in the region...
, Chihuahua - Chalchihuites, ZacatecasZacatecasZacatecas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Zacatecas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas....
- Hervideros, DurangoDurangoDurango officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is located in Northwest Mexico. With a population of 1,632,934, it has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja...
- La QuemadaLa QuemadaLa Quemada is a Mesoamerican archeological site, also known as Chicomóztoc. It is located in the Villanueva Municipality, in the state of Zacatecas, about 56 kilometers south of the city of Zacatecas on Federal Highway 54 Zacatecas–Guadalajara, in Mexico.- History :Given the distance between La...
, Zacatecas - Navocoyán, Durango
- Chihuahua, Chihuahua
- Schroeder site, Durango
- Venis Meicis, San Luis PotosíSan Luis PotosíSan Luis Potosí officially Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is San Luis Potosí....
- Zape, Durango
- Babicora, Chihuahua
- Rancho San Miguiel, Chihuahua
- Santa Maria R., Chihuahua