The Characteristics of the Mixtec culture Are all those elements shared by this civilization that developed in the present Mexico, before the Spanish conquest of America.
Mixteca culture was a pre-Hispanic culture that settled in southern Mexico, in the present states of Oaxaca, Guerrero and Puebla. This civilization flourished between centuries XV and II a.C. And ended after the conquest of the Spaniards of this area in the sixteenth century.
Geographically, the Mixtecs were divided into three zones: Mixteca Baja, Mixteca Alta and Mixteca de la Costa. It is estimated that the Mixtec population at its best could reach up to one million inhabitants, which made them a civilization of transcendental relevance in indigenous history.
Like most of the indigenous societies, the Mixtecos conceived their religious cults to the stars and maintained a marked social stratification in castes.
The Mixtecs have been recognized for their vast incursions into the artistic and architectural branch, being considered in many occasions the best potters.
However, the most important aspect of this indigenous group is the creation of a writing system of a logographic nature, which allowed the drafting of different codices such as the Codex Bodley or the Codex Vindobonensis Mexicanus.
10 Cultural traits of the Mixtec civilization
Geographic location
The Mixtec people settled in the southern part of the present Mexican United States, in a territory that is now known as La Mixteca. This region lies between the southern state of Puebla, eastern Guerrero and western Oaxaca.
It is estimated that La Mixteca occupies more than 40 thousand square kilometers. In this zone were located all Mixtec peoples, which were divided into three large geographical areas: Mixteca Baja, Mixteca Alta and Mixteca de la Costa.
Mythical origin
The Mixtecs had the same mythical origin as the Mesoamerican cultures Indigenous peoples. They believed that they lived in the era of the Fifth Sun and that before this era the gods had created and destroyed the world in multiple occasions.
The creation of the Mixtecos is narrated in the Codex Vindobonensis Mexicanus I, in which one of the men of corn copulated with a tree and gave birth to the Lord of the Mixteca, who challenged and beat the sun and prevented this star from opposing To the establishment of Mixtecs in its territory.
Political organization
The Mixtecs were not a people organized under the umbrella of a single central government. On the contrary, they were a series of peoples who in many cases maintained internal conflicts.
In the first instance, the Yucuñudahui replaced the Yucuita as a dominant group. However, later on, the figure of the wuu, which were the Mixtec peoples, was established.
Through marriage, unions were established between wildebeest, to develop more force and to be able to fight other neighboring peoples, even being Mixtec.
Economy
Like all Mesoamerican indigenous cultures, agriculture was the main economic activity practiced by the Mixtec peoples. The most important crop of the area was corn, the main food of the American Indian populations.
In addition to this vegetable, variants of bean and chili were produced, with some incursions into the pumpkin. The Mixteca has a geography little agreed for agriculture, reason why the Mixtecos developed irrigation systems and terraces for its optimal execution.
Social stratification
All ethnic groups and indigenous civilizations of the time were managed in a hierarchical system, constituted in the form of castes.
The Mixtecs were no exception. As they ceased to be nomadic people, different social classes were gradually established.
Each Mixtec village had a cacicazgo, although its characteristics varied. They were always accompanied by a group of nobles who used to take care of the minor functions of the government.
Later people were free, often inhabitants of the cities and the workers of the land were following them. The social pyramid was completed by the servants and slaves, who generally came from captures in struggles with other tribes.
Artistic manifestation
The American indigenous cultures left behind an immense artistic legacy, which can still be appreciated today and through which the study of these cultures has been fully enabled, because their visions are reflected in it.
Mixtecos made art in many ways, with particular emphasis on pottery and pottery, which marked their artistic structure in their history and reflected their religious beliefs.
In addition to that, the Mixtec developed sculptures from the beginning of civilization using stones such as jade and turquoise.
Metallurgy
The Mesoamerican civilizations had as main base the stone, reason why the development of the metals developed late.
In spite of this, the Mixtecs developed vast sculptures and representations with gold, besides the copper that destined mainly to uses of materials of daily type. In addition, semiprecious stones like jade were used for the creation of sculptures.
Medicine
Medicine in the native peoples tended to be very similar to each other. Generally, those who exercised the priestly office were also doctors, who treated the different diseases through natural remedies.
The Mixtecs argued that the causes of disease used to be the result of an immoral or unseemly life and manifested as a form of punishment to the gods.
Writing
What stands out most of the Mixtec culture is its advanced writing system of logographic-pictorial type. The Mixtecs wrote, in what today are grouped as codices, a series of images that told stories of their myths, legends and events.
Códice Vindobonensis Mexicanus
For example, the Codex Zouche-Nuttall tells the stories of warriors who disputed power between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
There is also the Codex Vindobonensis Mexicanus, one of the most important because it tells the mythological stories of the Mixtec peoples.
That is, this codex is responsible for counting by means of small drawings the mythological origin of the Mixtec people as well as their divine beliefs.
Militarism
Indigenous civilizations and tribes were counted by tens and had strong confrontations very frequently.
The strongest pre-Columbian cultures were those that maintained a strong and consolidated army, that could fight and endure in the time.
In the case of the Mixtecs, they developed their own warfare techniques, such as remote armed attacks or melee attacks. One of his most outstanding warriors was Venado, according to what the Codex Nuttal narrates.
The military dress was zoomorphic type, with animal skins and feathers.
References
- Alvear, C. (2004). Mexico history. Mexico City: Noriega.
- Dahlgren, B. (1990). The Mixteca, its pre-Hispanic culture and history. Mexico City: National Autonomous University of Mexico.
- De los Reyes, A. (1962). Art in the Mixtec language. Facsimile edition by Wigberto Jiménez Moreno. Mexico City: National Institute of Anthropology and History.
- Hermann, M. (2007). Codex Nuttal: side 1. The life of Eight Deer. Special edition of Mexican Archeology (23). Mexico City: Roots-INAH.
- Joyce, A. and Winter, M. (1996). Ideology, Power, and Urban Society in Pre-Hispanic Oaxaca. Current Anthropology, 1 (37): 33-47.
- Oudijk, M. (2007). Mixtec and Zapotec in the pre-Hispanic period. Mexican Archeology, (90): 58-62.
- Spores, R. (1967). The Mixtec Kings and Their People. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.