The Huastec civilization (sometimes spelled Huaxtec or Wastek) was a

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

civilization of

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. Wit ...

, occupying a territory on the

Gulf coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

that included the northern portion of

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

state, and neighbouring regions of the states of Hidalgo,

Querétaro Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities. Its cap ...

, San Luis Potosí, and

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

.Diehl 2000, pp. 184–185. The

Huastec people The Huastec or Téenek (contraction of ''Te' Inik'', "people from here"; also known as Huaxtec, Wastek or Huastecos) are an indigenous people of Mexico, living in the La Huasteca region including the states of Hidalgo, Veracruz, San Luis Potos� ...

were an early offshoot of the Maya peoples that migrated northwards. Surviving remains from the Huastec civilization include several large archaeological sites, a well-preserved temple, and a large amount of stone sculpture. By the Late Postclassic (c. AD 1200–1521), the Huastecs had developed metallurgy and were producing copper alloys. The Aztec Empire conquered the Huastec region around the 15th century, and probably demanded tribute payments.

Culture

The Huastec civilization is poorly studied, although there is a large body of stone sculpture, and a well-preserved Late Postclassic temple at Castillo de Teayo. In the Late Postclassic, the Huastec region was a centre for metallurgy that included the production of

copper alloy Copper alloys are metal alloys that have copper as their principal component. They have high resistance against corrosion. The best known traditional types are bronze, where tin is a significant addition, and brass, using zinc instead. Both of t ...

s. The Huastec region was conquered by the

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...

s, probably in the 15th century, and it is likely that the Huastecs paid tribute to the Aztec Empire.Hosler and Stresser-Pean 1992, p. 1217. Notable Huastec archaeological sites include Vista Hermosa, with 120 platform mounds, Platanito with 150 platform mounds, and Tamtok, a large Late Postclassic site. The Huastecs were not politically unified, and were organised into a number of competing

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

Origins

The Huastec are an isolated offshoot of the Maya. Although the

Huastec language The Huastec (or Wasteko or Huasteco) language of Mexico is spoken by the Huastecos living in rural areas of San Luis Potosí and northern Veracruz. Though relatively isolated from them, it is related to the Mayan languages spoken further south ...

is a

Mayan language Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

, the Huastec civilization is not considered to be a part of the

Maya civilization The Maya civilization () of the Mesoamerican people is known by its ancient temples and glyphs. Its Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas. It is also noted for its art, a ...

. They did not employ the Maya writing system,Richter 2010, p. 3. and there are no known pre-Spanish Conquest Huastec documents. Generally, the Huastecs are considered to have split from the main branch of the Maya around 2000 BC, in the Preclassic period, with this early separation accounting for the differences between Huastec and Maya culture. Several studies have argued a more recent split from the mainstream Maya in the Postclassic, based on archaeological and linguistic evidence. In the latter case, it is proposed that the Huastec migrated from the central Maya region as a result of the

Classic Maya collapse In archaeology, the classic Maya collapse is the decline of the Classic Maya civilization and the abandonment of Maya cities in the southern Maya lowlands of Mesoamerica between the 7th and 9th centuries. At Ceibal, the Preclassic Maya e ...

(c. 830–950 AD).

Religion

The Huastecs placed an emphasis on worshiping

Ehecatl Ehecatl ( nci-IPA, Ehēcatl, eʔˈeːkatɬ, ) is a pre-Columbian deity associated with the wind, who features in Aztec mythology and the mythologies of other cultures from the central Mexico region of Mesoamerica. He is most usually interpreted a ...

, the Mesoamerican god of wind. The Huastecs built characteristically circular pyramids in his honor, some of which still comprise a distinguishing aspect of many Huastec ruins today.Miller 1996, p. 169. When the Huastecs were subjugated by the Aztec Empire, Aztec religious leadership recognized the sacred status of Ehecatl in Huastec society and thus added the wind deity to their own pantheon.

Notes

References

* (2000). "The Precolumbian Cultures of the Gulf Coast" In Richard E.W. Adams and Murdo J. Macleod (eds.). ''The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas, Vol. II: Mesoamerica, part 1.'' Cambridge, UK and New York, US: Cambridge University Press. pp. 156–196. . * (2002). ''Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya World'' Oxford, UK and New York, US: Oxford University Press. . *; (28 August 1992
"The Huastec Region: A Second Locus for the Production of Bronze Alloys in Ancient Mesoamerica".
''Science.'' New Series (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 257 (5074):1215–1220. . . * (1996). ''The Art of Mesoamerica'' London, UK: Thames and Hudson. . * (2010)
Identity Politics: Huastec Sculpture and the Postclassic International Style and Symbol Set
Ann Arbor, Michigan, US: ProQuest. * (May–June 2006

''Arqueología Mexicana.'' (in Spanish) Mexico City, Mexico: Editorial Raíces.

Culture

Origins

Religion

See also

Notes

References

Further reading