Knowra Mesoamerican chronology Mesoamerican chronology Mesoamerican chronology organizes the region’s ancient history into broad periods, commonly the Preclassic, Classic, and Postclassic. These divisions track changing societies, political forms, and cultural traditions rather than a single region-wide sequence of events.
Preclassic period : The Mesoamerican era before the rise of large Classic-period cities, conventionally dated from about 2000 BCE to 250 CE. Its long span covers the emergence of agriculture, villages, and early urban societies.
Radiocarbon dating : A method that estimates the age of once-living material by measuring its remaining carbon-14. It dates organic remains that help establish the sequence of archaeological sites.
Maya civilization : A group of Indigenous societies that developed cities, writing, mathematics, and calendrical systems in Mesoamerica. Maya history supplies much of the evidence behind the Classic-period model.
Maya chronology : The dating and sequencing of Maya history, including archaeological periods and dates recorded in Maya inscriptions. Its regional scheme overlaps with, but does not simply reproduce, Mesoamerica-wide divisions.
Classic period : The Mesoamerican era conventionally dated about 250–900 CE, marked by influential cities and complex political systems. Its dates anchor the middle division of the common three-period framework.
Maya calendar : A set of interlocking calendrical systems used by Maya societies to track ritual and historical time. Calendar inscriptions can connect rulers and events to absolute dates.
Teotihuacan : A major ancient city in central Mexico that flourished during the first half of the first millennium CE. Its rise and influence overlapped with, but did not define, the Classic period across the region.
Mesoamerican chronology of the Classic period : A regional account of Classic-period dates and developments, including local beginnings and endings across Mesoamerica. Its varying regional boundaries contrast with the tidy convention of one shared period.
Postclassic period : The Mesoamerican era conventionally dated about 900–1521 CE, ending with the Spanish conquest of the Aztec capital. Its final boundary connects archaeological chronology with documented conquest.
Stratigraphy : The study of layered deposits, in which lower undisturbed layers generally predate those above them. Layer order establishes relative sequences when absolute dates are unavailable.
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