Huastec Civilization: Culture

Huastec civilization
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Late Postclassic Huastec temple at Castillo de Teayo

The Huastec civilization (sometimes spelled Huaxtec or Wastek) was a preColumbian civilization of Mesoamerica, occupying a territory on the Gulf coast of Mexico that
included the northern portion of Veracruz state, and neighbouring regions of the states
of Hidalgo, Quertaro, San Luis Potos, and Tamaulipas.[1] The Huastec people were an early
offshoot of the Maya peoples that migrated northwards.[2]
Surviving remains from the Huastec civilization include several large archaeological sites, a wellpreserved temple, and a large amount of stone sculpture. By the Late Postclassic (c. AD 1200
1521), the Huastecs had developed metallurgy and were producing copper alloys. The Aztec
Empire conquered the Huastec region around the 15th century, and probably demanded tribute
payments.
Contents
[hide]
1 Culture
2 Origins
3 Religion
4 Notes
5 References
6 Further reading
Culture[edit]
Life-Death Figure, 9001250.Brooklyn Museum

The Huastec civilization is poorly studied, although there is a large body of stone sculpture, and a
well-preserved Late Postclassic temple at Castillo de Teayo.[1] In the Late Postclassic, the
Huastec region was a centre for metallurgy that included the production of copper alloys.[3] The
Huastec region was conquered by the Aztecs, probably in the 15th century, and it is likely that the
Huastecs paid tribute to the Aztec Empire.[4]
Notable Huastec archaeological sites include Vista Hermosa, with 120 platform
mounds, Platanito with 150 platform mounds, and Tamtok, a large Late Postclassic site.[4] The
Huastecs were not politically unified, and were organised into a number of competing city-states.
[5]
Origins[edit]
Map of the Huastec region on the Gulf coast of Mexico

The Huastec are an isolated offshoot of the Maya. Although the Huastec language is a Mayan
language, the Huastec civilization is not considered to be a part of the Maya civilization.[6] They
did not employ the Maya writing system,[7] and there are no known pre-Spanish Conquest
Huastec documents.[8] Generally, the Huastecs are considered to have split from the main branch
of the Maya around 2000 BC, in the Preclassic period, with this early separation accounting for
the differences between Huastec and Maya culture. Several studies have argued a more recent
split from the mainstream Maya in the Postclassic, based on archaeological and linguistic
evidence.[7] In the latter case, it is proposed that the Huastec migrated from the central Maya
region as a result of the Classic Maya collapse (c. 830950 AD).[9]
Religion[edit]
The Huastecs emphasised the worship of Quetzalcoatl, and circular temples to the deity are
found throughout the region. [10]
Notes[edit]
1.
2.
^ Jump up to:a b Diehl 2000, pp. 184185.

Jump up^ Foster 2002, p. 274.
3.
Jump up^ Hosler and Stresser-Pean 1992, p. 1215.
4.
^ Jump up to:a b Hosler and Stresser-Pean 1992, p. 1217.
5.
Jump up^ Sols Olgun 2006.
6.
Jump up^ Richter 2010, pp. 23.
7.
^ Jump up to:a b Richter 2010, p. 3.
8.
Jump up^ Richter 2010, p. 2.
9.
Jump up^ Richter 2010, pp. 34.
10.
Jump up^ Miller 1996, p. 169.
References[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has
media related to Huastec.
DIEHL, RICHARD A. (2000). "The Precolumbian Cultures of the Gulf Coast" In Richard E.W. Adams
and Murdo J. Macleod (eds.). The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the
Americas, Vol. II: Mesoamerica, part 1. Cambridge, UK and New York, US: Cambridge
University Press. pp. 156196. ISBN 0-521-65204-9. OCLC 33359444
FOSTER, LYNN V. (2002). Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya World Oxford, UK and New York,
US: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-518363-4. OCLC 57319740
HOSLER, DOROTHY; GUY STRESSER-PEAN (28 August 1992) "The Huastec Region: A Second Locus
for the Production of Bronze Alloys in Ancient Mesoamerica". Science. New Series
(American Association for the Advancement of Science) 257 (5074):1215
1220. ISSN 1095-9203. JSTOR 2880022. OCLC 863047799 (subscription required)
MILLER, MARY ELLEN (1996). The Art of Mesoamerica London, UK: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0500-20290-7. OCLC 34750687
RICHTER, KIM NICOLE (2010). Identity Politics: Huastec Sculpture and the Postclassic International
Style and Symbol Set Ann Arbor, Michigan, US: ProQuest. OCLC 714644287(subscription
required)
SOLS OLGUN, FELIPE (MayJune 2006) Los huastecos. Arqueologa Mexicana. (in Spanish)
Mexico City, Mexico: Editorial Races.
Further reading[edit]
ROBERTSON, JOHN; STEPHEN HOUSTON (2003) J.P. Laporte, B. Arroyo, H. Escobedo and H. Meja
eds. "El problema del Wasteko: Una perspectiva lingstica y arqueolgica". Simposio de
Investigaciones Arqueolgicas en Guatemala (in Spanish) (Guatemala City, Guatemala:
Museo Nacional de Arqueologa y Etnologa) XVI (2002): 714724
RUVALCABA MERCADO, JSUS (2005) Alan R. Sandstrom and E. Hugo Garca Valencia eds. "The
Huastec Maya" Native Peoples of the Gulf Coast of Mexico Tucson, Arizona, US:
University of Arizona Press. pp. 255282 ISBN 978-0-8165-2411-2 OCLC 58386515

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Huastec civilization

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Late Postclassic Huastec temple at Castillo de Teayo

Life-Death Figure, 9001250.Brooklyn Museum

Map of the Huastec region on the Gulf coast of Mexico

^ Jump up to:a b Diehl 2000, pp. 184185.

Jump up^ Hosler and Stresser-Pean 1992, p. 1215.

^ Jump up to:a b Hosler and Stresser-Pean 1992, p. 1217.

Jump up^ Sols Olgun 2006.

Jump up^ Richter 2010, pp. 23.

^ Jump up to:a b Richter 2010, p. 3.

Jump up^ Richter 2010, p. 2.

Jump up^ Richter 2010, pp. 34.

Jump up^ Miller 1996, p. 169.

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