Mexico - Pre-Hispanic Times. Hunter-Gatherer peoples are thought to have discovered and habitated its territory more than 28,000 years ago. Ancient Mexicans began to selectively breed corn plants around 8,000 B.C. Evidence shows the explosion of pottery works by 2300 B.C. and the beginning of intensive farming between 1800 and 1500 BC. For more than 3,000 years, Mexico was the site of several Mesoamerican civiliz ...

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Mexico, Mexico - History, Mexico - Pre-Hispanic Times, Mexico - The Spanish Era, Mexico - Mexican Independence, Mexico - Government and politics, Mexico - Political divisions, Mexico - Major cities, Mexico - Geography, Mexico - Economy, Mexico - Demographics, Mexico - Religion, Mexico - Languages, Mexico - Education, Mexico - The name

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Mexico, Mexico - History, Mexico - Pre-Hispanic Times, Mexico - The Spanish Era, Mexico - Mexican Independence, Mexico - Government and politics, Mexico - Political divisions, Mexico - Major cities, Mexico - Geography, Mexico - Economy, Mexico - Demographics, Mexico - Religion, Mexico - Languages, Mexico - Education, Mexico - Culture, Mexico - The name

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Main article: History of Mexico Mexico - pre-Hispanic Times. Hunter-Gatherer peoples are thought to have discovered and habitated it's territory more than 28,000 years ago. Ancient Mexicans began to selectively breed corn plants around 8,000 B.C. Evidence shows the explosion of pottery works by 2300 B.C. and the beginning of intensive farming between 1800 and 1500 BC. For more than 3,000 years, Mexico was the site of several Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Aztec, the Olmec, Teotihuacan, the Tolt ...

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Mexico, Mexico - History, Mexico - pre-Hispanic Times, Mexico - The Spanish Era, Mexico - Mexican Independence, Mexico - Government and politics, Mexico - Political divisions, Mexico - Major cities, Mexico - Geography, Mexico - Economy, Mexico - Demographics, Mexico - Religion, Mexico - Languages, Mexico - Education, Mexico - Culture, Mexico - The name

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The United Mexican States or Mexico (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos or México; regarding the use of the variant spelling Méjico, see section The name below) is a country located in North America, bordered by the United States to the north, and Belize and Guatemala to the southeast. It is the northernmost and westernmost country in Latin America, and also the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world. Mexico - History. Main article: History of Mexico < ...

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Mexico - History
Mexico - Pre-Hispanic Times Mexico - The Spanish Era Mexico - Mexican Independence
Mexico - Government and politics Mexico - Political divisions
Mexico - Major cities
Mexico - Geography Mexico - Economy Mexico - Demographics Mexico - Religion Mexico - Languages Mexico - Education Mexico - Culture Mexico - The name

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Mexico is named after its capital city, whose name comes from the Aztec city Mexico-Tenochtitlan that preceded it. The Mexi part of the name is from Mexitli, the war god, whose name was derived from metztli (the moon) and xictli (navel) and thus meant "navel (probably implying 'child') of the moon". So, Mexico is the home of the people of Mexitli (the Mexicas), co meaning "pla ...

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Zapotec refers to a native people of Mexico, their language family consisting of more than 15 languages, and their historic culture and traditions. Today, most of the Zapotec languages are endangered. Zapotec - Location. The Zapotec people are centered in Oaxaca, to the south of central Mexico. In Pre-Columbian times they were one of the major Mesoamerican civilizations. Archeological evidence shows their culture goes back some 2500 years. They left archaelogical evidence at the earlier and impressiv ...

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Zapotec - Location Zapotec - Technology Zapotec - Religion Zapotec - Mexican conquest Zapotec - The Zapotec Today Zapotec - See Also

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Uxmal is a large Pre-Columbian ruined city of the Maya civilization in the state of Yucatán, Mexico. It is 78 km south of Mérida, Yucatán, or 110 km from that city on Highway 261 towards Campeche, Campeche), 15 km south-southeast of the town of Muna. Uxmal is pronounced "Oosh-mahl". The place name is Pre-Columbian and it is usually assumed to be an archaic Maya language phrase meaning "Built Three Times", although some scholars of the Maya language dispute this derivation. Uxmal - Ancient history.

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Uxmal - Ancient history Uxmal - Description of the site Uxmal - Modern history of the ruins

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Main articles: Government of Mexico, Politics of Mexico The 1917 Constitution provides for a federal republic with powers separated into independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Historically, the executive is the dominant branch, with power vested in the president, who promulgates and executes the laws of the Congress. Congress has played an increasingly important role since 1997, when opposition parties first formed a majority in the legislature. The president also legislates by executive decree in certain ec ...

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Mexico, Mexico - History, Mexico - pre-Hispanic Times, Mexico - The Spanish Era, Mexico - Mexican Independence, Mexico - Government and politics, Mexico - Political divisions, Mexico - Major cities, Mexico - Geography, Mexico - Economy, Mexico - Demographics, Mexico - Religion, Mexico - Languages, Mexico - Education, Mexico - Culture, Mexico - The name

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Mexico is predominantly Roman Catholic (about 89% of the population). It is the second nation with the largest Catholic population, behind Brazil and before the United States. Also, 6% of the population adheres to various Protestant faiths (mostly Pentecostal), and the remaining 5% of the population adhering to other religions or professing no religion. Some of the country's Catholics (notably those of indigenous background) syncretize Catholicism with various el ...

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Spanish is the official language of Mexico and is spoken by the majority of the population. About 7% of the population speak an Amerindian language. The government officially recognizes 62 Amerindian languages. Of these Nahuatl, and Maya are each spoken by 1.5 million, while others, such as Lacandon, are spoken by fewer than 100. The Mexican government has promoted and established bilingual education progr ...

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Mexico, Mexico - History, Mexico - pre-Hispanic Times, Mexico - The Spanish Era, Mexico - Mexican Independence, Mexico - Government and politics, Mexico - Political divisions, Mexico - Major cities, Mexico - Geography, Mexico - Economy, Mexico - Demographics, Mexico - Religion, Mexico - Languages, Mexico - Education, Mexico - Culture, Mexico - The name

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Main article: Geography of Mexico Situated in the southwestern part of mainland North America and roughly triangular in shape, Mexico stretches more than 3000 km from northwest to southeast. Its width is varied, from more than 2000 km in the north and less than 220 km at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in the south. Mexico is bordered by the United States to the north, and Belize and Guatemala to the southeast. Baja California in the west is a 1,250-km peninsula and forms the Gulf of California. In the east are the Gulf of Me ...

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Main article: Economy of Mexico According to the World Bank, Mexico ranks 12th in the world in regard to GDP and has the highest per capita income in its region; and it is firmly established as an upper middle-income country. Since the economic crisis of 1994–1995 the country has made an impressive economic recovery. According to the director for Colombia and Mexico of the World Bank, the population below the poverty level has decreased from 24.2% to 17.6% in the general population and from 42% to 27.9% ...

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Mexico, Mexico - History, Mexico - pre-Hispanic Times, Mexico - The Spanish Era, Mexico - Mexican Independence, Mexico - Government and politics, Mexico - Political divisions, Mexico - Major cities, Mexico - Geography, Mexico - Economy, Mexico - Demographics, Mexico - Religion, Mexico - Languages, Mexico - Education, Mexico - Culture, Mexico - The name

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Main article: Demographics of Mexico With an estimated 2005 population of about 106.5 million, Mexico is the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world. Mexico is ethnically and culturally diverse. According to the CIA World Factbook, about 60% of the population is mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white), another 30% is Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian. Some 9% is white (of European descent), the majority being from Spain, though there also large numbers of people of German, Italian, French, Portuguese, Briti ...

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Mexico has made impressive improvements in education in the last two decades. In 2004, the literacy rate was at 92%, and the youth literacy rate (ages 15-24) was 96%. Primary and secondary education (9 years) is free and mandatory. Even though different bilingual education programs have existed since the 1960s for the indigenous communities, after a constitution reform in the late 1990s, these programs have had a new thrust, and free text books are produced in more than a dozen indigenous languages. In the 1970's, Mexico became the fi ...

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Mexico is divided into 31 states (estados) and a federal district. Each state has its own constitution and its citizens elect a governor as well as representatives to their respective state congresses. 1.Aguascalientes 2.Baja California 3.Baja California Sur 4.Campeche 5.Chiapas 6.Chihuahua 7.Coahuila 8.Colima 9.Durango 10.Guanajuato 11.Guerrero 12.Hidalgo 13.Jalisco 14.México 15.Michoac ...

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Vanilla was a highly regarded flavoring in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and was brought back to Europe (and from there the rest of the world) by the Spanish Conquistadors. In ancient Mexico the Totonac people were regarded as the producers of the best vanilla. The Totonac are from the region that is now known as the state of Veracruz (Papantla, Mexico, holds itself out as the origin of vanilla). They continued to be the world's chief producers of the flavoring through the mid 19th century. At that time, French vanilla growers in Mexico traded their knowledge of artificial pollination of flowers for the Totona ...

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Vanilla, Vanilla - The vanilla plants and their pollination, Vanilla - Preparation, Vanilla - History, Vanilla - Chemistry, Vanilla - Uses, Vanilla - Specific types of vanilla

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In Pre-Columbian times Chiapas was part of the heartland of the Maya civilization. Chiapas was conquered by Spain in the early 16th century, and became part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, administered as part of the "Kingdom of Guatemala" (what is now Central America), administered from Antigua Guatemala. When Central America achieved its independence from Mexico in 1823, western Chiapas was annexed to Mexico. More of current day Chiapas was transferred after the disintegration of the Central American Federation in 1842, and the remainder of the current state taken from Guatemala i ...

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Chiapas, Chiapas - History of Chiapas, Chiapas - Islam in Chiapas, Chiapas - External links on Muslim conversions, Chiapas - Municipalities, Chiapas - Mormonism

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10th century - 16th century. Collapse of many of the great nations and cities of the Classic Era, although some continue, such as in Oaxaca, Cholula, and the Maya of Yucatán, such as at Chichen Itza and Uxmal. This is sometimes seen as a period of increased chaos and warfare. The Toltec for a time dominate central Mexico in the 11th - 13th century, then collapse. The northern Maya are for a time united under Mayapan. The Aztec Empire rises in the early 15th century and seems on the path to asserting a dominance over the whole region not seen since Teotihuacan, when Mesoamerica ...

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Mesoamerican chronology, Mesoamerican chronology - Paleo-Indian Period, Mesoamerican chronology - Archaic Era, Mesoamerican chronology - Pre-Classic Era, Mesoamerican chronology - Classic Era, Mesoamerican chronology - Post-Classic Era

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Estimates of their population range from 10,000 to 20,000 before contact with Spanish settlers in Mexico, though the population had apparently been devastated by disease prior to that. By 1900, this population had declined to just 200, though there are now some 5,000 people who identify themselves as Chumash. Chumash - Languages. The Chumash spoke seven closely related Chumashan languages which can not be connected to any other language family. For a while, it was assumed the Chumash family was part of the Hokan language phylum, but this was based solely on a few easily borrowed words, ...

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Naturally-occurring platinum and platinum-rich alloys have been known for a long time. Though the metal was used by pre-Columbian Native Americans, the first European reference to platinum appears in 1557 in the writings of the Italian humanist Julius Caesar Scaliger (1484-1558) as a description of a mysterious metal found in Central American mines between Darién (Panama) and Mexico ("up until now impossible to melt by any of the Spanish arts"). The Spaniards named the metal "platina," or little silver, when they first encountered it in Colombia. They regarded platinum as an unwanted impurity in the silver they ...

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Platinum, Platinum - Notable characteristics, Platinum - Applications, Platinum - History, Platinum - Occurrence, Platinum - Isotopes, Platinum - Precautions, Platinum - Rarity and Color

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