Mixtec culture

Mixtec culture

Religion	Mixtec religion
Geographical range	Present day Mexico Oaxaca Puebla Guerrero
Period	1500 BC
Dates	1500 BC - 1523 AD

The Mixtec culture (also called the Mixtec civilization) was a pre-hispanic archaeological culture, corresponding to the ancestors of the Mixtec people; they called themselves ñuu Savi (a name that their descendants still preserve), which means "people or nation of the rain". It had its first manifestations in the Mesoamerican Middle Preclassic period (12th century BC - 10th century BC) and ended with the Spanish conquest in the first decades of the 16th century. The historical territory of this people is the area known as La Mixteca (Ñuu Dzahui, in ancient Mixtec), a mountainous region located between the current Mexican states of Puebla, Oaxaca, and Guerrero.

The chronology of the Mixtec culture is one of the longest in Mesoamerica, due to its continuity and antiquity. It began as a result of the cultural diversification of the Otomanguean language speaking people in the area of Oaxaca. The Mixtecs shared numerous cultural traits with their Zapotec neighbors. In fact, both populations call themselves "people of the rain or of the cloud". The divergent evolution of the Mixtecs and Zapotecs, favored by the ecological environment, encouraged urban concentration in the cities of San José Mogote and Monte Albán, while in the valleys of the Sierra Mixteca the urbanization followed a pattern of smaller human concentrations in numerous towns. Relations between Mixtecs and Zapotecs were constant during the Preclassic, when the Mixtecs were also definitively incorporated into the network of Pan-Mesoamerican relations. Some Mixtec products are among the luxury objects found in the Olmec heartland.

During the Preclassic Mesoamerican period, the prime of Teotihuacán and Monte Albán stimulated the flourishing of the ñuiñe region (Lowland Mixteca). In cities such as Cerro de las Minas, stelae have been found that show a style of writing that combines elements of Monte Albán and Teotihuacán writing. The Zapotec influence can be seen in the numerous urns found in the sites of the Lowland Mixteca, which almost always represent the Old God of Fire. In the same context, the Highland Mixteca witnessed the collapse of Yucunundahua (Huamelulpan) and the balkanization of the area. The concentration of power in Ñuiñe was the cause of conflicts between the cities of the region and the states of the Highland Mixteca, which explains the fortification of the Ñuiñe cities. The decline of the Ñuiñe culture coincided with that of Teotihuacan and Monte Albán. At the end of the Mesoamerican Classic (c. 7th and 8th) many elements of the classic culture of the Lowland Mixteca became obsolete and were forgotten.

The conditions that allowed the flourishing of the Mixtec culture took place from the 13th century onwards. Ocho Venado's political temperament led him to consolidate the Mixtec presence in La Costa. There he founded the kingdom of Tututepec (Yucudzáa) and later undertook a military campaign to unify numerous states under his power, including important sites as Tilantongo (Ñuu Tnoo Huahi Andehui). This would not have been possible without the alliance with Cuatro Jaguar, a lord of Nahua-Toltec affiliation who ruled Ñuu Cohyo (Tollan-Chollollan). The reign of Ocho Venado ended with his assassination at the hands of the son of a noblewoman who in turn had been assassinated earlier by Ocho Venado himself.

Throughout the Postclassic period, the network of dynastic alliances between the Mixtec and Zapotec states intensified, although paradoxically the rivalry between the two populations increased. However, they acted together to defend themselves from Mexica incursions. Mexico-Tenochtitlan and its allies would win over powerful states such as Coixtlahuaca (Yodzo Coo), which was incorporated as a tributary province of the Aztec Empire. However, Yucudzáa (Tututepec) maintained its independence and helped the Zapotecs resist in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. When the Spaniards arrived in La Mixteca, many lords voluntarily submitted as vassals of Spain and retained some privileges. Other lordships tried to resist but were militarily defeated.