Ancient Mexico
Mexico has a long and rich history. Around 1500 BC great civilizations began to form. For over three thousand years, until the Spanish Conquest in 1521, the Olmec, Maya, Teotihuacán, Toltec, and Aztec ruled over the lands and peoples of what is now Mexico.

These groups lived in regions stretching from the Rio Grande border- lands in the north to Guatemala in the south. They raised crops such as corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, cacao, chili peppers, and cotton. Ancient peoples traded with surrounding areas for jade, obsidian, and metals. Important technologies were pottery, weaving, and stone- working. As early as the 6th century BC, the people of this region creat- ed and used a 260-day ritual calendar.
Around AD 150 the Maya developed an advanced form of hieroglyphic writing.

The Spanish Conquest
In 1519 the Spaniard Hernando Cortes sailed to Mexico with his army seeking gold and other riches. Cortes defeated Moctezuma, the king of the great Aztec empire, and for the next 300 hundred years Mexico was ruled by Spain. Over time, marriage between the Spanish and native populations created a new ethnic group called mestizo.

The Spanish influenced much of the culture in Mexico. During this time, horses were introduced. Many other European technologies were brought to Mexico. The Spanish also introduced the Catholic religion to the Native populations.

Mexico fought for its independence from Spain and won in 1821. About 60 Indian groups still live in Mexico today, more than four hundred and fifty years after the Spanish conquest.

Religious lithograph of El Santo Niño de Atocha. Mayo Indians; Navojoa District, Sonora. Lithography is a type of printing process that was invented in Germany in 1798. When the Spanish introduced Christianity to Mexico religious prints like this one, called estampas became common. This image is of a Christian saint called El Santo Niño de Atocha.

The Mexican Revolution & Renaissance
The Mexican revolution took place in 1910, almost one hundred years after Mexico won its independence from Spain. The revolution occurred because of a serious conflict between rich and poor. The goal of the revolution was to overthrow the dictator Porfirio Díaz. Under his rule, a small group of people controlled most of the country’s power and wealth, while the majority of the population worked in pover- ty. The revolution was fought and won by Mexican peasants.

The 1920s and 1930s have often been described as Mexico’s renaissance. During this time the government and the general population took a new interest in the arts and culture of Mexico. Many people began collecting and preserving folk arts in Mexico and exhibitions on Mexican folk arts were dis- played in museums in Mexico and in the United States.