Transcript Mesoamerican Geography & Ecology

Mesoamerican
Geography & Ecology
General Area Map
http://www.famsi.org/maps/
Northwest Area
Northwest Area Geography
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The Western Fringe encompasses the broad area
from Baja California to the western part of
Mexico.
This region has some variation in land
formations.
The Pacific coast of west Mexico and Baja
California consists of lowlands, which only reach
about 200m above sea level.
In contrast in west Mexico there are many active
volcanoes and high mountains. The height of the
Western Fringe region ranges from 1000 to
3000m above sea level.
Climate and Resources
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The climate in the west is a typical, tropical highland
climate. The area of Baja California and its periphery
consists of a dry climate. The mean January temperature in
the lowlands is 15 to 22° C or 22 to 26° C. In July, the
mean temperature is less than 26° C. On the coastal side of
the Western Fringe, is dry tropical scrub and thorn forest,
as well as mountain vegetation.
A large tropical forest spreads is home to rubber trees,
brazil nuts, myrtle, laurels, acacias. bignonias, and palm
trees.
Interestingly, more than 40 percent of the birds species of
the world are found in the Western Fringe region. This
includes over 2900 species. Monkeys, armadillos, frogs, and
brightly colored snakes also inhabit this environment.
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistor
y/latinamerica/geography/western_fringe.
html
Gulf Coast Area
Gulf Coast Area
The Olmec domain extended from the
Tuxtlas mountains in the west to the
lowlands of the Chontalpa in the east, a
region with significant variations in
geology and ecology.
 Over 170 Olmec monuments have been
found within the area, and eighty percent
of those occur at the three largest Olmec
centers, La Venta, Tabasco (38%), San
Lorenzo Tenochtitlan, Veracruz (30%), and
Laguna de los Cerros, Veracruz (12%).
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http://www.crystalinks.com/olmec.html
Resources
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Three major Olmec centers are spaced from east
to west across the domain so that each center
could exploit, control, and provide a distinct set of
natural resources valuable to the overall Olmec
economy.
La Venta, the eastern center, is near the rich
estuaries of the coast, and also could have
provided cacao, rubber, and salt.
San Lorenzo, at the center of the Olmec domain,
controlled the vast flood plain area of
Coatzacoalcos basin and riverline trade routes.
Laguna de los Cerros, adjacent to the Tuxtlas
mountains, is positioned near important sources of
basalt, a stone needed to manufacture manos,
metates, and monuments. Perhaps marriage
alliances between Olmec centers helped maintain
such an exchange network.
Tuxtlas Mountains
http://www.tuxtlas.com/geography
/index.html
Volcanoes
http://www.tuxtlas.com/geography/volcano/index.html
Gulf Coast Lakes and Rivers
Laguna Catemaco
http://www.tuxtlas.com/geography/rio/catemaco.html
Gulf Coast
Central Plateau
Geography and Ecology
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The region of Central Mexico consists of four
states including Puebla, Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, and
Morelos. The Valley of Mexico or the Tehuacan
Valley are also considered part of Central Mexico.
This region encompasses the mountain ranges of
the four "Sierra's". These highlands surround the
Tehuacan valley located in the Central Plateau of
Mexico.
To the north are the Sierra de Pachuca
mountains, to the east are the Sierra Nevada
range, to the south lie the Sierra de Ajusco, and
finally to the west are the Sierra de las Cruces
range.
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/latiname
rica/geography/central_mexico.html
Area around Valley
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory
/latinamerica/geography/central_mexico.ht
ml
Climate
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The weather of Central Mexico consists of five months of a
rainy season that starts in May and ends in September; like
that of Guerreros.
The other months are somewhat dry but have occasional
rain showers.
During the rainy season, the rain falls in heavy downpours
in the afternoon and ends in the evening. The winter
weather is influenced by a tropical, dry, high pressure. The
summer climate is affected by the moist air of the
northeast trade winds. Altitude is important in determining
temperature in Central Mexico.
In the higher altitude, the average temperature is around
60 degrees F, which is cool for the tropical region. In
surrounding lower areas, temperatures can climb into the
90 degrees F range. January is typically the coldest month
and May is generally the warmest.
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory
/latinamerica/geography/central_mexico.ht
ml
Flora and Fauna
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of the species of oak and pine
that covered the highlands have
been cut for construction or to make
charcoal.
 Central Mexico also contains many of
the wild species of plants and
animals, such as the iguana, the
white-tail deer and jaguars.
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/latinamer
ica/geography/central_mexico.html
Oaxaca Area
Oaxaca Geography
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The Sierra Madre del Sur mountain range rises
from the west and stretches along the coast. Its
Pacific-facing slopes have tropical forests flowing
down to the hot and humid coast with its
beautiful beaches. The inland Sierra Madre de
Oaxaca mountain range has its origin in the
center of the country, and its slopes include a
cloud forest and stands of oak and pine.
The two mountain ranges meet in the center of
the state, forming the Valles Centrales and it is at
this convergence that the city of Oaxaca is
found. The warm and dry climate found at the
joining of these three valleys has attracted
people to this area for hundreds of years.
The eastern part of the state lies on the Isthmus
of Tehuantepec and the climate is hot and dry.
http://www.questconnect.org/Oaxaca_Mexico.htm#Geography
Rivers and Lakes
http://www.famsi.org/research/williams/images/Fig03.jpg
Oaxaca Flora and Fauna
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The terrain in the State of Oaxaca is extremely
varied. The mountainous areas such as the
Chimalapas forest, have pine and oak trees.
In the cloud forests you can find orchids, mosses,
ferns and vines.
In the coastal areas there are tropical rain
forests.
The wildlife in Oaxaca state is as varied as its
terrain and climate. In the more mountainous
regions you can find deer, mountain lions (rare),
raccoons, tlacuches (Mexican possum), hawks
and eagles. In the more tropical areas you might
see monkeys, boa constrictors, tapirs and
iguanas. There are also peccaries (wild pigs) and
armadillos. Along the Pacific Coast there are sea
turtles, dolphins, whales and lots of sea birds.
http://www.questconnect.org/Oaxaca_Mexico.htm#Geography
Fish Eagle
Mexican Possum
Jaguar
Tapir
Maya Area
Mayan Area
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topography of the area greatly
varied from volcanic mountains,
which comprised the highlands in the
South, to a porous limestone shelf,
known as the Lowlands, in the
central and northern regions.
 The southern portion of the Lowlands
were covered by a rain forest with an
average height of about 150 feet.
http://www.crystalinks.com/mayangeography.html
Mayan Area
Scattered savannas and swamps, or bajos,
appeared sporadically, interrupting the
dense forests.
 The northern Lowlands were also
comprised of forests but they were drier
than their southern counterparts, mainly
growing small thorny trees.
 February to May was the dry season
characterized by air that was intensely hot
and uncomfortable.
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Fauna
Many animals occupied this region of the
peninsula including the jaguar, the
caiman, the bull shark, and many species
of poisonous snakes.
 These animals had to be avoided as the
Maya scavenged the forest for foods
including deer turkey, peccaries, tapirs,
rabbits, and large rodents such as the
peca and the agouti.
 Many varieties of monkeys and quetzal
also occupied the upper canopy.
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Howler
Monkey
Coati
Bats
Spider
Monkey
American Crocodile
Resources
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Both the Highlands and the Lowlands were
important to the presence of trade within the
Mayan civilization. The lowlands primarily
produced crops which were used for their own
personal consumption, the principle cultigen
being maize.
They also grew squash, beans, chili peppers,
amaranth, manioc, cacao, cotton for light cloth,
and sisal for heavy cloth and rope.
The volcanic highlands, however, were the source
of obsidian, jade, and other precious metals like
cinnabar and hematite that the Mayans used to
develop a lively trade.
Although the lowlands were not the source of any
of these commodities, they still played an
important role as the origin of the transportation
routes.
Rivers
The rainfall was as high as 160 inches per
year in the Lowlands and the water that
collected drained towards the Caribbean or
the Gulf of Mexico in great river systems.
 These rivers, of which the Usumacinta and
the Grijalva were of primary importance,
were vital to the civilization as the form of
transportation for both people and
materials.
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