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Lonely Empires of the Indians
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Five sophisticated civilisations flourished in brilliant isolation in Middle America - the term scholars use to describe the area of Central America stretching from Mexico to the northern edge of Nicaragua - over a period of 3500 years. Their first contact with Europeans in 1519 was decisive and disastrous. In a few decades their systems were swamped by the invader. It was more than 300 years before archaeologists and scholars began to uncover and discover the richness of the civilisations so carelessly swept aside.
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OLMEC
First of the great Middle American cultures. They dominated the coastal plain along the Gulf of Mexico from about 1200 BC to 400 BC. They were named Olmec, a Nahuati Indian word meaning 'inhabitant of rubber country', because of the rubber trees that grew there. They began as subsistence farmers, but became brilliant pyramid builders, using clay and earth. Their pyramid at La Venta is 30m (100ft) high. The Olmecs were also great sculptors, carving giant stone heads, some 3m (10 ft) tall, and making figurines and animals from jade.
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MAYA
Most enduring of the Middle American civilisations. The Mayas were a recognisable political group as early as 2000 BC in southern Mexico, Guatemala and parts of Belize. Their golden age lasted from about AD 250 to AD 900. Their hieroglyphic writing is only partly understood. They were superb astronomers with accurate calendar and a sophisticated knowledge of mathematics.
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TEOTIHUACAN
City and cultural centre of a trade empire that flourished from about 300 BC to about AD 750. Archaeological evidence suggests that at its peak (AD 350 to 600) it had as many as 125,000 inhabitants. Its grid network of streets covered nearly 21km2 (8 square miles), making it bigger than imperial Rome. The name Teotihuacan means City of the Gods, and its huge Pyramid of the Sun - which soared, in four great terraces, to a height of 65m (212 ft) - is Mexico's most imposing pre-Columbian edifice. The city appears to have been destroyed by Toltecs in about AD 750.
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TOLTEC
A warrior culture based in the city of Tollan (now Tula) north of Mexico City. The Toltecs forged their civilisation from several different ethnic groups. They are believed to have brought about the collapse of the Teotihuacan and subsequently ruled central Mexico between AD 900 and 1200. Between 987 and 1185, the Toltecs also ruled the city of Chichen Itza in the Yukatan peninsilar of Mexico.
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AZTEC
An originally nomadic civilisation of warriors from northern Mexico who settled in the island heart of Lake Texcoco and created Tenochtitlan - now Mexico City - in about AD 1200. They conquered central Mexico and imposed worship of their gods, Tezcatlipoca and Huitzilopochtli, on the surrounding agricultural villages, They reached their height under Montezuma II (1502 - 20), but were conquered by the Spanish under Hernan Cortes in 1519 - 21.
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