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'''Mesoamerica''' is a [[historical region]] and [[cultural area]] that begins in the southern part of [[North America]] and extends to the Pacific coast of [[Central America]], thus comprising the lands of central and southern [[Mexico]], all of [[Belize]], [[Guatemala]], [[El Salvador]], and small parts of [[Honduras]], [[Nicaragua]] and [[Costa Rica]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/resource-library-mesoamerica/|title= Mesoamerica}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-americas/beginners-guide-art-of-the-americas/mesoamerica-beginner/a/mesoamerica-an-introduction|title= Mesoamerica an introduction}}</ref> As a cultural area, Mesoamerica is defined by a mosaic of cultural traits developed and shared by its indigenous cultures.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://smarthistory.org/mesoamerica-an-introduction/ | title= Mesoamerica An Introduction | website=www.smarthistory.org/ |access-date=2023-04-16}}</ref>
In the [[pre-Columbian era]], many societies flourished in Mesoamerica for more than 3,000 years before the [[Spanish colonization of the Americas]] began on [[Hispaniola]] in 1493. In world history, Mesoamerica was the site of two historical transformations: (i) primary urban generation, and (ii) the formation of New World cultures from the mixtures of the indigenous Mesoamerican peoples with the European, African, and Asian peoples who were introduced by the Spanish colonization of the Americas.{{sfn|Carrasco|2001}} Mesoamerica is one of the six areas in the world where ancient [[civilization]] arose independently (see [[cradle of civilization]]), and the second in the Americas, alongside the [[
Beginning as early as 7000 BCE, the domestication of [[chocolate|cacao]], [[maize]], [[phaseolus|beans]], [[tomato]], [[avocado]], [[vanilla]], [[squash (plant)|squash]] and [[chili pepper|chili]], as well as the [[Meleagris gallopavo|turkey]] and [[Xoloitzcuintle|dog]], resulted in a transition from [[Paleo-Indians|paleo-Indian]] hunter-gatherer tribal groupings to the organization of sedentary agricultural villages. In the subsequent Formative period, agriculture and cultural traits such as a complex [[Mesoamerican religion|mythological and religious tradition]], a [[vigesimal]] numeric system, a [[Mesoamerican calendars|complex calendric system]], a [[Mesoamerican ballgame|tradition of ball playing]], and a distinct [[Mesoamerican architecture|architectural style]], were diffused through the area. Villages began to become socially stratified and develop into [[chiefdom]]s, and large ceremonial centers were built, interconnected by a network of trade routes for the exchange of luxury goods, such as [[Obsidian use in Mesoamerica|obsidian]], [[jade]], [[Cocoa bean|cacao]], [[cinnabar]], ''[[Spondylus]]'' shells, [[hematite]], and ceramics. While Mesoamerican civilization knew of the [[wheel]] and basic [[metallurgy]], neither of these became technologically relevant.{{sfn|Carmack|Gasco|Gossen|1996|p=55}}
Among the earliest complex civilizations was the [[Olmec]] culture, which inhabited the [[Gulf Coast of Mexico]] and extended inland and southwards across the [[Isthmus of Tehuantepec]]. Frequent contact and cultural interchange between the early Olmec and other cultures in [[Chiapas]], [[Oaxaca]], and Guatemala laid the basis for the Mesoamerican cultural area. All this was facilitated by considerable [[regional communications in ancient Mesoamerica]], especially along the Pacific coast.
In the subsequent [[Mesoamerican chronology|Preclassic period]], complex urban polities began to develop among the [[Maya civilization|Maya]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://artsandculture.google.com/project/exploring-the-maya-world|title=Exploring the Maya World|website=Google Arts & Culture}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://artsandculture.google.com/story/who-are-the-maya/PgWxMGGTRt0KDw|title=Who Are the Maya?|website=Google Arts & Culture}}</ref> with the rise of centers such as [[Aguada Fénix|Aguada fénix]] and [[Calakmul]] in Mexico; [[El Mirador]], and [[Tikal]] in Guatemala, and the [[Zapotec civilization|Zapotec]] at [[Monte Albán]]. During this period, the first true [[Mesoamerican writing systems]] were developed in the [[Epi-Olmec culture|Epi-Olmec]] and the Zapotec cultures. The Mesoamerican writing tradition reached its height in the Classic [[Maya script|Maya logosyllabic script]].
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