Mexicos Wa of Independence

The history of Mexico begins perhaps as much as 30,000 years ago. Sometime during the last ice age nomadic tribes of hunter-gatherers from Asia first crossed the Bering Strait and entered the Western Hemisphere. (There is is now an alternative theory that peoples also landed in the South Americas from both Africa and the Pacific Islands and gradually moved north into the North American continent). Following the seasonal supply of wild grains and game, they eventually migrated into the region separating North and South America dubbed by archaeologists as Mesoamerica. With its diverse geography and extraordinary natural abundance, this land gave rise to the development of early civilizations unique in the world.

Pre-Hispanic Mexico

The earliest phase of Mexico's colorful history is generally broken down into four periods:

ARCHAIC, up to 1500 BC

PRE-CLASSIC or FORMATIVE, 1500 BC-300 AD

CLASSIC, 300-900 AD

POST-CLASSIC, 900-1521 AD

The first traces of human life found in Mexico date back to about 20,000 BC. Social organization and rudimentary agriculture developed