Mexico is a land of great contrast, contrast in the kind of country and the plants that grow there and contrast in the people. To the south in Mexico and on both coasts are the lowland tropical forests. In the north are dry lands and deserts. Central Mexico, where most of the people live, is a high fertile plateau surrounded by mountains. It is high enough to have fairly cool and comfortable weather even though it is in the tropics. In Mexico weather changes depend not so much on how close you are to the equator as on how high you climb.
People in Mexico are both descendants of Indigenous Tribes and of Spanish descent. Some Natives still live in tribes, but others, especially in the capital, Mexico City, live much as do people in the United States. Besides these two ways of life there are also small farmers and tradesmen living in towns and villages.
In the Valley of Mexico on the high plateau the people farm today much as their ancestors did hundreds, even thousands, of years ago. These modern Natives are descendants of the Aztecs who were conquered by the Spanish. But long before the Aztecs were important in the Valley of Mexico other groups of people developed great civilizations. The Indigenous people of Mexico are related to the Natives of North and South America and, like some of the tribes you know about in the United States, they were once, thousands of years ago, wanderers and food-gatherers. But they learned to farm and then they could settle down in one place all year around. Little farming villages must have grown up where people raised corn and beans in their small plots, just as the Mexican farmers do today.
After many years these farming people became civilized, worked out an elaborate religion, and built wonderful cities that, strangely enough, were not to live in but were for the worship of their gods. Their cities were built around a central plaza, which was surrounded by temples built on top of great pyramids where priests sacrificed to their gods. This civilization called Teotihuancan flourished for hundreds of years in the Valley of Mexico, but gradually it lost its power to other groups. Many years later the Aztecs became important.
In the beginning the Aztecs were only wandering tribes moving about from place to place, now settling down for a year or two and then moving on again. Finally they reached the lakes of Mexico where civilized people were already living. In a fierce battle they were defeated and forced to flee to the islands in the lakes. There they stayed and, little by little, began to take on the ways of their neighbors. After awhile they were able to conquer some of the nearby cities and then those farther away. Their city of Tenochtitlan, built on the islands, grew great and beautiful, and at the time of the Spanish Conquest the Aztecs were the most powerful people in Mexico.
Find Mexico City on the map. Its old name was Tenochtitlan. Now find Tepoztlan, whose people paid tribute to the Aztecs and whose descendants still live in the same place. We will follow their history from 1515 to the present day. "Fleming, 1962", edited version.
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