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| Mixteca | |
|---|---|
| Name | Mixteca |
| Location | Mesoamerica |
| Subdivisions | Oaxaca; Puebla; Guerrero |
Mixteca is a culturally and geographically distinct highland and lowland region in Mesoamerica spanning parts of Oaxaca, Puebla, and Guerrero. The region is noted for its complex pre-Columbian polities, such as the city-state networks contemporaneous with Teotihuacan and Tenochtitlan, and for producing codices, metalwork, and ceramics linked to broader exchanges involving Zapotecs, Mixtecs, and Aztecs. Scholars of anthropology, archaeology, and linguistics often reference Mixteca in studies alongside sites like Monte Albán, Tenochtitlan, and Tula.
The regional name derives from Nahuatl exonyms used in sources associated with Triple Alliance records, Bernal Díaz del Castillo's chronicles, and colonial-era maps in archives tied to Real Audiencia of New Spain and the Archivo General de la Nación (Mexico). Colonial chroniclers such as Fray Bernardino de Sahagún and Diego Durán recorded local designations alongside Nahuatl placenames that appear in codices like the Codex Bodley and the Codex Nuttall, while Spanish administrators in the period of the Viceroyalty of New Spain standardized toponyms used in audiencia reports and parish registers maintained by Franciscan Order and Dominican Order missionaries.
The region occupies the western portion of the Oaxacan highlands and transitions to the Pacific coastal plains adjacent to the Gulf-facing valleys near Puerto Escondido and Acapulco. Geomorphic features include portions of the Sierra Madre del Sur, river basins draining toward the Pacific Ocean, and montane valleys that connect to trade routes once used by polities communicating with Teotihuacan and Tlatelolco. Contemporary administrative units overlay historic subregions demarcated by colonial alcaldías and native señoríos referenced in records from the Real Hacienda and municipal cabildos in Oaxaca City, Puebla City, and Chilpancingo.
Preclassic and Classic occupation shows interaction networks linking Mixteca-affiliated centers with Monte Albán, Teotihuacan, and coastal entrepôts attested in ceramic chronologies and obsidian sourcing studies parallel to data from Tikal and Copán. Postclassic polities issued genealogical codices comparable to the Codex Mendoza and engaged diplomatically and militarily with the Aztec Empire and coastal polities anchored at Colhuacan and Xocotl. Colonial conquest campaigns led by captains operating under mandates from Hernán Cortés’s successors and audited by the Viceroyalty of New Spain produced tribute lists integrated into visita reports and lawsuits heard in the Audiencia of New Spain. Nineteenth- and twentieth-century transformations involved land reforms tied to statutes from the Mexican Revolution and the Ejido system implemented during the presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas, with subsequent demographic movements connecting Mixteca to migrant labor circuits reaching Mexico City and the United States.
Community organization historically centered on altepetl-like señoríos and calpulli-style kinship units visible in genealogies preserved in codices such as the Codex Selden. Ritual calendars and ceremonial cycles resonated with Mesoamerican rites recorded by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún and referenced in comparative studies of Purépecha and Zapotec calendrics. Social practices include patronage networks resembling those documented in Tlaxcala and guild structures comparable to artisan associations in Colima and Valladolid (Yucatán). Contemporary civic life interweaves municipal usos y costumbres with regional festivals paralleling celebrations in Oaxaca City and pilgrimage routes akin to those leading to Guadalupe.
The region hosts a family of related Otomanguean languages with diverse lects classified under the Mixtec branch, studied alongside the linguistic descriptions of Antoine Meillet-era typologies and modern analyses published by institutions such as the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia and the Summer Institute of Linguistics. Phonological and morphosyntactic features receive comparative treatment in works addressing Nahuatl, Zapotec languages, and Totonac languages, with orthographies developed in collaboration with municipal authorities and academic programs at universities including Benito Juárez Autónoma de Oaxaca and National Autonomous University of Mexico.
Traditional agriculture relies on milpa systems and terraced cultivation with crops paralleling those of Chiapas and Veracruz such as maize, beans, and squash and includes management of agave common to regions like Tequila. Land tenure evolved through viceregal mercedes, nineteenth-century hacienda consolidation, and twentieth-century agrarian reforms under administrations like Plutarco Elías Calles and Lázaro Cárdenas, influencing migration trends toward industrial centers including Guadalajara and Monterrey. Contemporary livelihoods combine subsistence farming, artisan production sold at markets comparable to those in Oaxaca City and Pátzcuaro, and remittances from diasporas connected to urban centers such as Los Angeles and Chicago.
Artisanal traditions include metalworking, weaving, ceramics, and codex painting linked to iconographic systems also found in Codex Bodley and Mixtec codices studied by curators at institutions such as the British Museum and the Museo Nacional de Antropología (Mexico). Notable craft forms parallel those in Chiapas textiles and Jalisco ceramics, and contemporary practitioners collaborate with cultural programs funded by agencies like the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes and municipal cultural offices in Oaxaca City. Collectors and scholars compare artifacts to holdings in collections at the University of Oxford and the Smithsonian Institution.