The domestication of cotton allowed for textiles of vibrant colors to be created. The game had a ritualistic significance and was often accompanied with human sacrifice. Evidence of these ball games is found throughout Mesoamerica, and the performance of these games is related to many origin myths of the Mesoamerican people. Rubber trees and cotton plants were useful for making culturally significant products such as rubber balls for Mesoamerican ball games and textiles, respectively. Growing these three crops together helps to retain nutrients in the soil. Maize, beans, and squash form a triad of products, commonly referred to as the " Three Sisters". Squashes provided an excellent source of protein to the ancient Mesoamericans, as well as to people today.Īnother major food source in Mesoamerica are beans. The bottle gourd provided storage space for collecting seeds for grinding or planting as well as a means of carrying water. Another important squash that was domesticated in the early Archaic period was the bottle gourd ( Lagenaria siceraria). These finds date back to 8000 BC, the beginning of the Archaic period, and are related to today's pumpkin. Smith discovered evidence of domesticated squash ( Cucurbita pepo), in Guilá Naquitz cave in Oaxaca. Squash and beans were also important staples of the ancient Mesoamerican agricultural diet and along with maize, are often referred to as the " Three Sisters".Įarly and culturally significant domestic plants Īnother important crop in Mesoamerican agriculture is squash. The most important plant in ancient Mesoamerica, was, unarguably, maize. This sedentary lifestyle reliant on agriculture allowed permanent settlements to grow into villages and provided the opportunity for division of labor and social stratification. Eventually, the Mesoamerican people established a sedentary lifestyle based on plant domestication and cultivation, supplemented with small game hunting. These larger settlements required a greater quantity of food, consequently leading to an even greater reliance on domesticated crops. The reliability of cultivated plants allowed hunting and gathering micro-bands to establish permanent settlements and to increase in size. The latter could have happened as certain plant seeds were eaten and not fully digested, causing these plants to grow wherever human habitation would take them.Īs the Archaic period progressed, cultivation of plant foods became increasingly important to the people of Mesoamerica. The former could have been done by bringing a wild plant closer to a camp site, or to a frequented area, so it was easier access and collect. The cultivation of plants could have been started purposefully, or by accident. The cultivation of these plants provided security to the Mesoamericans, allowing them to increase surplus of " starvation foods" near seasonal camps this surplus could be utilized when hunting was bad, during times of drought, and when resources were low. However, the nomadic lifestyle that dominated the late Pleistocene and the early Archaic slowly transitioned into a more sedentary lifestyle as the hunter gatherer micro-bands in the region began to cultivate wild plants. At the beginning of the Archaic period, the Early Hunters of the late Pleistocene era (50,000–10,000 BC) led nomadic lifestyles, relying on hunting and gathering for sustenance. Agriculture in Mesoamerica dates to the Archaic period of Mesoamerican chronology (8000–2000 BC).
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