Civilizations

4,000 Years of Anahuac Civilizations

Civilization is nothing new to our people.

We did not "borrow" culture from Greece, Egypt, or the Middle East, as Europeans did. The civilizations we started came out of our own genius right here at home.

We’ve been at it for a long time. As far back as 7,000 B.C., we saw the beginnings of settled village life. In 5,000 B.C., ancient Mexicans were farming the Tehuacan Valley (Puebla, Mexico) with maize crops.

But it was around 1800 B.C. that we witnessed the development of Olmec civilization. The Olmecs crystallized various aspects of civilization that laid the groundwork for later civilizations. Their innovations to this day are still influential aspects of Mexico’s culture and people. They “took it to a whole new level”, as we might say.

They even predated the Romans or the city of London, which many associate with “civilization”.

It is because of this first complex society that we can say we are the Children of the Olmecs (just like the Jews say they are the children of Abraham).

And we built many civilizations based on this Olmec cultural blueprint. This blueprint includes: irrigation, pyramids, language, religious concepts and observances, a solar calendar based on 365 days, the cultivation of certain foods (like maize, beans, squash), refined artworks, long-distance commerce, government, and unique hieroglyphics. 

The civilizations that developed later – Maya, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Mixtec, Purepecha, Mexica-Aztec, etc – were all variations on a theme of civilization that originated around the southern Gulf Coast of Mexico…the Olmecs.

The portrait that emerges is then one of a culturally unified area (which we called Anahuac) containing several political/economic divisions.

The following is by no means a complete exploration of our civilized heritage. This is just an overview of the main things we need to know. Further studying is definitely encouraged.

What Is Anahuac ?

Anahuac (Ah-naw-walk) is the name our people gave to our collective lands. It means “Land between the waters”in the Indigenous language of Nahuatl. These lands include the “Southwest United States” (Aztlan), Mexico, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. So, Aztlan is included as a part of Anahuac.

Anthropologists often refer to it as “Mesoamerica”, although our people never referred to it as such. Today, our Anahuac lands have borders imposed and enforced by Europeans who invaded our lands. These borders do not accurately portray the heritage of our people.

Aztlan is of course, the Chicano Homeland because it is the Mexica-Aztec Homeland. From Aztlan, 7 tribes of our people migrated southward, eventually making their way to the Valley of Mexico.