Calakmul is situated in Campeche, Mexico on the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. It is now an isolated archaeological site on the largest bioreserve in Mexico, but it was once the seat of one of the most powerful dynasties in the Maya world. A Maya group currently lives on site and maintains the entrance to the bioreserve. The architecture is in the Petén style, but maintains the monumental architecture that is found throughout the Mesoamerican world. Stucco friezes, a horizontal carving or painting as decoration made out of stucco, and painted murals have been found at Calakmul that are truly one of a kind because they depict the life of the commoners or the daily life of Calakmul. This genre depicting the daily life of the non-aristocratic life in friezes is not seen elsewhere in the Mesoamerican world. Calakmul is a UNESCO heritage site as of 2002, to be selected as a UNESCO site the location must be of universal cultural or environmental value and meet the criteria set by the organization. The site was extended in 2014 to include the biosphere.

Yuknoom Ch'een or Yuknoom the Great was born in 600 CE and was the ruler of the city state of Calakmul from 636 to 686 CE. He was a part of the Kaan Dynasty that has been nicknamed Snake Dynasty due to Calakmul's emblem glyph being a snake’s head. This places his reign during the Classic Period of Maya civilization and during Calakmul's height of power and prestige. With this great leader Calakmul became one of four powerhouses of the Maya world during the Classic Period. Yuknoom Ch'een was the ruler that brought Calakmul to its height and led to its victory in 677 CE over its arch rival to the south, Tikal, its Bat Dynasty and their allies. The political ties made between Calakmul and its allies were personal ones, some made through marriages. They ruled over their weaker domains through political dominance and defeated their enemies with military might. Yuknoom Ch'een has many monuments dedicated to him within the archaeological site of Calakmul.

It is believed that Yuknoom the Great is buried in the tallest temple, Structure 2, where four tombs have been found within this temple, including his son's tomb, Jaguar Paw or Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk. Since Yuknoom the Great was in his late eighties during the end of his reign, it is argued that his later achievements were led by his successor Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk. Upon Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk’s ascension to the throne in 686 CE another war with Tikal began. He ruled until around 695 CE when Tikal defeated Calakmul for the first time. Calakmul was defeated once more by their archrivals after that in 744 CE.

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Merida is known for its rich history in Maya culture and tradition. The Yucatan capital was found on January 6, 1542 by Francisco de Montejo, but the history of Merida goes back to the ancient Maya city of Ichcanziho. Merida was built on the ruins of the ancient Maya city. Today Merida still embraces several Maya culture and tradition, from food, to having reenactments of the ball game every Friday, to even the people. It is no surprise why Merida is known as a colonial city, but now this cosmopolitan city has distinguished itself from other cities in Mexico by having something very particular that only can be seen in its originality in the state of Yucatan, even more in Merida. The you and me chairs, or the “sillas tu y yo” are what brings a uniqueness quality to this beautiful city. It is very rare to find in any other Mexican state to have an abundance of “sillas tu y yo”. These chairs or benches can be seen all around Merida. The chairs seat two people, they are binary and are usually painted white, and the chairs are connected by their handles on opposite sides, so when you sit down you are facing the other person. These chairs are usually used by lovers, friends and or people that share an interpersonal relationship. The name " tu y yo" is Spanish for you and me, this was the name given to the chairs for obvious reasons. The “tu y yo” chairs have become part of the Yucatan culture and identity. These chairs can be seen mainly in the Square of Independence or as many of the locals call it “la plaza grande”. The chairs were installed there in 1915 during the remodeling of the Square of Independence.

It is unsure on why these chairs were constructed. Some believe that it was a design taken from the “butacas confidentes”, this was the name of similar chairs that were designed in France during the Renaissance. Although the origin of these chairs is unclear, there is a popular legend that many people in Merida like to believe is the reason behind the “sillas tu y yo”. The tale says there once was a very overprotective father in Merida and this man had a daughter who at the time was seeing a boy who she really liked. The daughter would tell her father that she wanted to go out with the boy, but then the overprotective father would ask her “to do what?”, in which case she would reply, “just to talk”. The father agreed to let her go out and talk to the boy, but when the boy and girl were sitting down on a normal traditional bench the father saw how close they were sitting next to each other, so it was then when he decided to create the “sillas tu y yo”. This way the boy and the girl could just talk comfortably without having to sit next to each other. Regardless of what brought these chairs to the city of Merida and now the Yucatan Peninsula, the you and me chairs have become part of the city’s culture and individuality.

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The stories of the subjugation of the Maya are traditionally told through the infamous “Black Legend” and the horrors of Spanish Conquest. However, it is during the colonial era of the Yucatán that provides further insight into their malicious mistreatment. This subjugation and exploitation occurred at the Hacienda Yaxcopoil, located near Merida in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico. Yaxcopoil, meaning “place of the green alamo trees” in Mayan, was a former hacienda used to cultivate henequen, also known as sisal, beginning in the seventeenth century. During its zenith in the nineteenth century, it reached almost 22,000 acres in size. While today its size has been significantly reduced and it is essentially abandoned with the exception of a museum and a nearby tortilla factory, it serves as a reminder of the exploitation of the Maya people and their resources in an effort to produce mass quantities of henequen to meet demand from United States and European markets during the early twentieth century.

The Porfiriato, that is, the time in which Porfirio Diaz ruled in Mexico from 1876-1911, is viewed as a time of economic boom or the “Gilded Age,” as referred to by authors such as Allen Wells. During this time, demand for goods such as henequen skyrocketed as part of a booming Mexican economy. Wells along with Gilbert M. Joseph refer to this in Corporate Control of a Monocrop Economy in saying that “the accelerated change… accompanied the burgeoning industrial development of the United States and Western Europe...” which ultimately, “tied Mexico every more closely to the global economy” (Joseph and Wells, 69). This boom was at the expense of the Maya peasants who were forced to work on the henequen plantations as part of a system of debt peonage. Hacienda owners purchased the debts in an effort to create a labor force that was comparable to slavery. The peasants, unable to pay back debts, were forced into a cyclical life of debt and servitude by signing labor contracts with the brutal hacendados that bound them to the haciendas until their debts were resolved. The workers began in the early hours of the morning and worked in harsh conditions while they faced beatings and little to no compensation. They were paid in either cash or fichas, a form of scrip used in the haciendas. The scrip was useless elsewhere and workers paid exorbitant prices for goods within the haciendas. They received loans during their time at the hacienda which further increased their debts to the hacendados, who exerted control over many aspects of their lives. This created a system that made it almost impossible for workers to pay back their debts. In the years in which muckraking was a popular means of journalism in the United States, John Kenneth Turner described the conditions of debt peonage system in Yucatán and claimed that nearly a third of the population were part of this cycle.

Yaxcopoil is one of the most prominent examples of the rise of henequen production and the subjugation of Maya in Yucatán. The emphasis on henequen production is derived from the growth and demand of foreign plantations as a result of the invention of the mechanical reaper and the mechanical rasper. Henequen was used to make a variety of cordage for twine. Other crops such as maize could not compete with the demand for this “green gold.” It quickly became the most important export and necessity that Mexico had to offer. Countries such as the United States controlled virtually all of the production as well as the price through a trust known as the International Harvester Company. Ultimately, the haciendas served as one of the few options for the Maya peasants, who were forced into a system of capitalism because of the relationship between Yucatán and the United States.

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The Yaxche, as the Maya referred to it, was the representation of what is known in vast ancient civilizations as the tree of life. In the Maya civilization the Yaxche is represented by the Ceiba pentandra, known as the Kapok tree in English, that is native to the southern Mexico region. The Yaxche was a symbol that permeated into the Maya mythology, architecture, and societal ambience.

In Maya mythology the Yaxche hold a high importance because of its significance in the creation story of the Maya people. According to the Popol Vuh, an ancient Maya scripture, the Gods planted four Ceiba trees in each corner of the world, in the east a red Ceiba; in the west a black Ceiba; in the south a yellow Ceiba; and in the north a white Ceiba, so that they could hold up the heavens. The fifth Yaxche was planted in the center of the four trees so that its roots could reach Xibalba, the underworld, and its branches reached the heavens. The fifth tree was viewed as the sacred connector of the three realms; the Underworld, the Middle world, and the heavens. The World Tree, as it was called, was thought to provide a channel for the souls of humans to travel into the underworld or the heavens and was seen as sacred because it was the only way the Gods had of traveling into the Middle world.

The Ancient Maya civilizations followed, what is known as, Quadripartite order in their architecture due to the belief that the world was made of five Ceiba trees. Four of the Yaxche were thought to be located in the corners of the world, in so representing the four cardinal directions, as they upheld the world. Meanwhile the fifth Yaxche was perceived as the central axis of the universe or axis mundi, and was thought to be located in the middle of the square formed by the four previous trees. The importance of the Yaxche and their locations are portrayed throughout the architecture of the Maya civilizations. Prestigious temples were built and arranged in Quadripartite order in honor of the five Yaxche trees of creation. Throughout the establishments of great cities, the existence and importance of the Ceiba tree is portrayed through art work imbedded onto buildings and the overpowering need to plant and acquire the presence of such a sacred entity.

The ancient Maya portrayed the importance of the Yaxche into their everyday life. The tree was planted near areas of spiritual importance, or sacrificial rituals such as the Ball Game. It was a symbol that defied the structure of political hierarchy. The Yaxche was decicted on the sides of buildings, pottery, and even on the tombs of leaders like Pakal. The Maya saw comfort in the Yaxche during times of war and birthing complications. They depicted the travels of the souls, such as women who died at childbirth and the men who were slain during battle, through the Yaxche and their ascendance to the heavens. The Yaxche was the center of the universe and so the center of all characteristics of Maya life.

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In December 2015, the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City recuperated the Bas-relief known as Xoc. An Olmec sculpture, just over 2 meters tall, once sat in the Lacandon jungle of Chiapas until it was chipped off its original location and sold to a private collector in France.[1] Xoc is carved on limestone, and the seven-foot-tall figure displays a male wearing an elaborate headdress and a breechcloth; he has Olmec-like thick limbs, an absent neck, and small feet. Based on the talons drawn on his feet and the beak-mask over his face, he appears to be a representation of a man-bird or man-jaguar combination, carries a knife-like object in his right hand, and a large bundle of a maize plant on his left arm.[2] While held together by a metal harness and displayed as part of an exhibition upon its return, Xoc represents the mystery that surrounds the Olmecs to this day.

The Olmecs were situated along the humid lowlands in the Gulf Coast of Mexico that includes todays southern Veracruz in San Lorenzo’s Tenochtitlán and Hidalgotitlán (directly south of the coastal city of Coatzacoalcos), and stretching west into La Venta, Tabasco. The original name by which they called themselves is unknown, and the only thing we have to examine them by are the huge basalt monuments that depict rulers and supernatural beings. The peak for the Olmecs was during the Early (1200 BC to 900 BC) and Middle Formative Periods (900 BC to 400 BC). During this time, they transitioned from small-scale societies to settled towns and cities, and incorporated a water drain system made of stone which can still be found today. The Olmecs were some of the earliest complex societies in Mesoamerica that began as hunters, planters, and fisherman, to eventually established warriors, long-distance traders, stone carvers and craftsman, master town architects, and supreme rulers. They often buried jade, ceremonial axes, woodworking tools, large natural rubber balls (representing the earliest sign of the ball game of anyplace in ancient Mesoamerica), and other ceramic vessels that served as mortuary offerings.[3]

The Olmecs sculpted animals from their geographic region to represent themselves such as jaguars, serpents, alligators, sharks, and harpy eagles. Their figurines have commonly depicted babies in chunky, naked forms combined with jaguars and crocodiles while also physically representing spiritual beings that once inhabited the Olmec cosmos. These babies were normally carved in the arms of a more noble seated character displaying similar mystical features. This incorporation of natural elements of earth, sky, and water in their stylistic legacy influenced later civilizations. Olmec sculpture has come to be recognized as some of the finest art styles in Pre-Columbian America.[4]

Officially discovered in 1928, Xoc received multiple visits from scholars over the next forty years until it was taken by looters sometime between 1968 and 1972. Xoc’s first photograph was published in 1959 by photographer Wolfgang Cordan and was revisited several times by archeologist Susanna Ekholm-Miller, until its departure. Further studies of Xoc have found that it originates from the Middle Pre-classic period based on discoveries found along its base prior to its removal. Archeologists have found items including ritual axes made of jade and copper, pottery, and a protohistoric copper axe, all of which have aided in dating Xoc’s origination date.[5] The mask worn by Xoc is another clue indicating who he might generally be, as masks were commonly worn by “priests,” and the items found near the rock site suggest the sculpture may have been created for ritual performances. Stone carvings were also commonly used in ritualistic practices and played performative roles during the Formative Period, all aligning with Xoc’s characteristics.[6] The successful date placements of other Olmec sculptures have shown similar iconographic motifs, like the statue found along the Pacific Coast of Pijijiapan. While not yet fully understood, further studies of Xoc provide a clearer picture as to how far Olmecs thrived geographically, how they viewed themselves in the world, and how vast their scope of influence was.

Xoc once stood as a solid figure along the Jatate River in Ocosingo, Chiapas for over three thousand years, but is now part of the collection in Mexico City’s National Museum of Anthropology. The Olmec’s influence is present across multiple Gulf states in Mexico which helps scholars pinpoint discoveries akin to Xoc. For instance, the styles used in the chubby Olmec infant figurine found near Mexico City links the piece to Early Formative San Lorenzo. Similarly, rock carvings, figurines, and other ceramic pieces found in the Mexican state of Morelos have tied the styles to Middle Formative La Venta. While cultural pieces similar to Xoc have been studied repeatedly, there is still an absence of a complete picture. The fact that Xoc is no longer in its original location creates a new wave of challenges for historians and archeologists as they must now utilize two separate areas. For the native people of Mexico, it means completing a large part of their cultural identity that has been stripped from them over hundreds of years. The Olmecs are certainly one piece of many, but still carry foundational knowledge of the natives of Mexico. Nevertheless, the recuperation of Xoc is one step in the right direction for Mexico in their search for ancestral legacy. 

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From the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico maintained a reputation as a vice capital. Americans flocked to the city for drinking, gambling, and prostitutes. Additionally, white women from the American West, especially southern California, became increasingly aware of the lax laws regarding prostitution and sought the safety of the city. Morality laws in the United States created increased difficulty for women who were in the world’s oldest profession, so they moved south of the border. Naturally, this created more concern and famously the Mann Act(s) were passed by the United States Congress, thereby prohibiting the transport of women into the United States or across state lines “for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose, or with the intent and purpose to induce, entice, or compel such woman or girl.” [1] The Mann Act(s) was also known as the White Slave Traffic Act, the first act was concerned with immigrant women being brought into the United States for prostitution and the second concerned American women being transported across state lines for prostitution. The passage of these acts emphasized the growing concern with morality and culturally appropriate behavior.

In this paper, I am asserting that Americans who were concerned and outraged about the possible disintegration of traditionally held beliefs regarding women, race, and sex in the United States painted prostitutes as victims of white slavery. Yet, this narrative was not supported by many of the women that engaged in prostitution. Additionally, the paper will underscore the impact of race and ethnicity on this issue. Miscegenation was taboo at best for most Americans during this period. And finally, this paper will address the link between white slavery and prostitution and the development of border control policies. Border regulation was inextricably linked to the prostitution along the U.S.-Mexico border. In general, this paper is an examination of social and cultural norms of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries in America and how those norms impacted the U.S.-Mexico borderlands.

The 1910 passage of the Mann Act allowed the US government to legislate morality and define and criminalize behavior that was deemed immoral. While the original target of the law was prositution, the vague language of “debauchery” and “immoral purposes'' allowed the law to be interpreted in a much more broad fashion. Thus, people engaging in consensual, noncommercial sexual relationships were prosecuted for violating the act. This broad interpretation of the law was upheld in Caminetti v. United States, 1917 which established the “the plain meaning rule” with Justice William Day writing in the opinion, “When the language of a statute is plain and does not lead to absurd or impracticable results, there is no occasion or excuse for judicial construction; the language must be accepted by the courts as the sole evidence for the ultimate legislative intent, and the courts have no function but to apply and enforce the statute accordingly.” [2] Additionally, the vague language and interpretation of the law easily allowed for the arrest and prosecution of heavyweight boxer, Jack Johnson.

For white Americans in the early twentieth century, Jack Johnson was representative of a Black man not knowing his proper place in society. He was a champion boxer who defeated white men, and most notably and controversially, had public relationships with white women. This was incredibly taboo for the time period and ultimately led to him being prosecuted under the Mann Act. He was prosecuted for transporting a woman across state lines, but it is impossible to separate the issue of race because he was Black and she was white. Men like Johnson represented the possible issues from urbanization and immigration that could develop over time: the possibility of interracial relationships. The Mann Act and the overall concern with white slavery reflected concerns of moral debasement and societal decline. Morality legislation was viewed as a way to fix those problems. Coinciding with this, white women were viewed as vulnerable [3] and pure so they would need to be protected from dangerous men of a different race. With the concern of white slavery came the narrative that women were abducted so they would need to be protected. These concerns and ideas contributed to the victimization of white women due to them being forced to give up their most prized possession, their sexual purity. [4] But, the false victimization and morality legislation is what drove women to Tijuana in order to pursue legal prostitution.

However, when examined more closely, the victimhood narrative did not necessarily hold up according to many of the women who were perceived as white slaves. In “The Selling of American Girls: Mexico’s White Slave Trade in the California Imaginary,” Catherine Christensen Gwin breaks apart the narrative of white slavery as a whole and the supposed victimhood of the women. Following the passage of California’s Red Light Abatement Act, many women left California for Baja California, Mexico in order to make money through prostitution without legal problems. [5] The morality legislation crackdowns led to the development of Tijuana as a vice haven and locale for prostitutes. There, women who worked as prostitutes had protections, and prostitution was regulated as a legitimate occupation. As Christensen Gwin identifies in two of her works, women who fled to Baja California had more lucrative opportunities working in vice resorts and establishments south of the border than in the United States. [6] Esteban Cantú, governor of the Northern District of Baja California, wanted to capitalize on the reputation of northern Baja California as a vice haven by institutionalizing the “economies of vice by selling ‘entertainment…’” [7] Tijuana provided working women better financial and social opportunities than the United States did. The abolishment of brothels in the U.S. did put women at risk of danger, but the regulated market and legal status of prostitution in Mexico provided women with a level of security. This directly negates the notion that women who were prostitutes that moved south of the border were ensnarled in white slavery and were being subjected to unspeakable horrors by men as proclaimed by Roger Bell, et. al in Fighting the Traffic in Young Girls or War on the White Slave Trade.

Grace Peña Delgado asserts that the flight of American prostitutes to Tijuana and the rise in morality legislation led to the development of border patrol and border control. Policing the U.S.-Mexico border was a method to eradicate the white slave trade. Prior to 1907, immigration law and morality laws did not have much intersection. [8] The Immigration Act of 1907 prohibited women from entering the United States for prostitution. The immigration legislation of the United States was shrouded in the racism of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but, coupled with the morality legislation of the same time period, the attempt was to keep America pure and in compliance with traditionally accepted forms of morality. The combination of legislation, policing, and the language and concern around white slavery was able to reinforce social and cultural boundaries. [9] If white American women were in compliance with the morality legislation of the early twentieth century then fears of miscegenation (as in the case of Jack Johnson) would be diminished. Additionally, the amount of non-white people coming into the United States and potentially mixing with whites would be lowered.

The push for border control can also be linked to the language that was prevalent in discussions of white slavery and played into Americans’ fears. The term “white slavery,” was propaganda itself. It was used to describe women who were involuntary prostitutes. [10] The term was sensationalized as “The Greatest Crime in the World’s History,” as put by Ernest Bell. [11] As previously mentioned, the belief was that young girls and women were being abducted and sold into slavery. This was a marketable claim that instilled fear and concern in Americans. This fear led to support for an agency to specifically focus its efforts on mitigating such a possibility. Delgado explains that eventually, the United States joined an international treaty aimed at fighting white slavery, “But it was not until 1905, at the urging of American anti-white slavery activists, that the United States adhered to some of the treaty’s protocols by designating the Bureau of Immigration as the principal agent to detect and scrutinize alleged prostitutes—and whenever such trade was suspected, deny the entry of these women.” [12] And while this depiction was often of foreign women as voluntary prostitutes who could be denied entry into the United States, that was not the case for American women who were seen as victims. This was due to the association of white women and purity which was not associated with Mexican or Asian women in the same way as it was with white, American women who were thought to be vulnerable, naive, and in need of protection. “The concept of volition was also lost or at least obscured in the rhetoric of Braun and other morals purity advocates who often conflated prostitution, a voluntary practice, with the involuntary sex trafficking of women and girls. Immigration inspectors trying to make sense of prostitution and the mandate to enforce white-slave laws often fused the two ideas.” [13]

The victimization of white women in the context of prostitution can be relayed back to beliefs of white women’s purity and importance in state-making. [14] Thus, protecting the purity of white American women through immigration and morality could have also been viewed as protecting America itself. If American women weren’t subjected to abduction and migration to a foreign country, then America could flourish and be safe. The combination of language and imagery of white slavery was powerful and relevant for Americans in the early twentieth century. In Figure 4 an image from Fighting the Traffic in Young Girls is shown with a caption that mentions “dens of shame.” [15] At that time shame would have referred to young women losing their virginity and dignity by having been involved in white slavery. Protecting and keeping young white women safe and virginal was a culturally significant practice that many Americans supported, thus allowing for the government to strengthen immigration law and border patrol.

White slavery was a bane on the American conscience during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Horrified that young women were being sold down a pipeline of miscegenation and immorality, Americans rallied support behind immigration and morality legislation. Controlling the movement of people through the Mann Act and the types of people who could enter the country through several immigration acts were implemented to undermine the plague of white slavery. Yet, what many at the time failed to realize what that white slavery and prostitution were not inherently the same thing. Americans conflated the two and the rise in legislation led to the flight of American prostitutes to Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. There, these women were provided legal protections and increased financial opportunities. However, the language and imagery in America was depicting the women as being forcibly taken and exploited against their will. This belief could be related back to the importance and adoration of white women’s purity and the development of the United States. Protecting American women and girls from harmful foreigners was also protecting America as a whole. Vice establishments and prostitution were viewed as a stain on the morality of America and could pose a danger to such a great nation. As seen in figure 5, vice establishments were believed to be a danger to the public and degrading to American society. Therefore, legislation and policing were viewed as the way to stop the plague on American society.

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Calakmul and Tikal were two rival kingdoms who fought each other multiple times for supremacy during the Classic period from the sixth century to 900 A.D.. The Kaanul or Snakes orchestrated a plan with a vision with new ideas to expand to rule the Maya civilization. The Snake Kings were able to prevail by using their political influence and expanded to create one of the greatest Maya Kingdoms.

For centuries Tikal was a superpower who dominated the low lands of the jungles of Peten in northern Guatemala until it was defeated by the Snakes in the sixth century. At the end of the fifth century Tikal held on to it supremacy perhaps because of the possible alliance 650 miles away with Teotihuacan which controlled Central Mexico and the exploitation and distribution of black and green Obsidian and manufactured military weapons that reached Tikal. In the sixth century the alliance with Teotihuacan and Tikal disengaged. It left Tikal in a dangerous position because it lost its most powerful political alliance in the west.

The Snake Kingdom recognized the position of Tikal and took that opportunity for political control and slowly used its power and influence to persuade cities in the Maya low lands as well as cities to the north of Tikal to form alliances with the Snakes. The Snakes were the best when it came to building and breaking alliances in the sixth century. The alliances were orchestrated for decades by the first Snake ruler by the name of Stone Hand Jaguar who probably based the Snake Kingdom in the city of Dzibanche which is located 80 miles northeast to Calakmul in Southern Mexico. According to Vance, no one’s sure where the Snakes came from; there’s no evidence of them ruling Calakmul before 635 AD. Some experts imagine them hundreds of years before the Classic era, moving from place to place, creating one mega city after another. But this is guesswork. The first obvious snake glyphs seem to appear in Dzibanche (Vance, 83). The Snakes were successful in in persuading the cities of Caracol and Waka to break the alliance with Tikal and switch sides to form an alliance with Stone Hand Jaguar. This allowed the Snake Kingdom to finally form a giant pincer with Tikal right in the center.

The other major cities which allied with the Snakes to encircle Tikal were Saknikte (La Corona), Holmul and Naranjo. Now the Snakes had the perfect opportunity to attack its main rival King Double Bird in Tikal. Stone Hand Jaguar died before the war began with Tikal. The Snake kingdom was transferred to his successor Sky Witness who led the offensive on Tikal. Sky Witness led his forces east from Waka while his allies attacked from the west. The Snakes along with its allies defeated and sacked the city of Tikal on April 29, 562. Ten years later Sky Witness died but because of his victory over Tikal the Kaanul dynasty would rule the Maya civilization for many years making Calakmul the largest political regional state that reigned in one of the most intense jungles in the world.

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In the midst of downtown Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, there is an Aztec site lying in ruin known as Templo Mayor. This site is home to the House of Eagles, which was a sort of barracks for the eagle warrior cult. Stucco paintings along the walls depict the warriors in battle ready poses, brandishing weapons and wearing the feathered helmets associated with skill and bravery. However the eagle warriors were not the only warrior cult of the Aztec empire. There were three distinct groups that differed in several key aspects. But what distinguished these warrior cults from the rest of the Aztec soldiers? Research shows that there are four distinguishing factors: the number of enemy soldiers captured, position in society, armor, and patron deity.

The jaguar warriors (also referred to as the ocelot warriors) have become one of the most iconic symbols of the Aztec empire though, in the context of today’s U.S. military, they were really the equivalent of the Marine Corps. Murals depict them wearing full jaguar pelts over their entire bodies, including the head with their face visible through the jaguar’s open mouth. Their weapons were typically axes or clubs made with obsidian, the trademark of their people. Commoners could achieve the rank of jaguar warrior and, in turn, be given a higher standing in society. To accomplish this, a warrior would have to capture at least four enemy soldiers. It is believed that this warrior cult worshipped Tezcatlipoca, the god of the night sky.

If the jaguar warriors were the equivalent of the Marine Corps. then the eagle warriors were the equivalent of Seal Team 6. They are depicted wearing armor with feathered collars and beaked masks. They are also painted with taloned feet, though that is likely only symbolic imagery. Their weapons were likely very similar to that of the jaguar warriors: wood based weapons with sharpened obsidian additions. Commoners could achieve this rank as well by having four captured enemy soldiers to their name and would enjoy the benefits it came with. These benefits would include housing in the sort of barracks one can see today at the House of Eagles ruin of Templo Mayor in Mexico City. What truly distinguished the eagle warrior cult from the jaguar warrior cult is that the eagle warriors were believed to worship Huitzilopochtli, the god of war.

Becoming a member of the shorn ones was one of the most prestigious honors an Aztec warrior could achieve. They wore yellow tlahuiztli, Aztec war suits personalized to each warrior. Murals depict them with shaved heads, excluding one long braid on their left side, hence the name ‘shorn ones’. These warriors were always the first ones into battle as they acted as the Aztec empire’s special forces. The shock troops, in a sense, to make the enemy worry that all Aztec warriors were this skilled. Unlike the jaguar and eagle warriors, the rank of shorn one was only open to warriors of noble blood. Those who achieved this rank were greatly feared and respected.

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The second largest Volkswagen factory is located in Puebla, Mexico. Volkswagen de Mexico was established in 1964 and construction of the Puebla plant began in January of 1965. In October of 1970, production of the Combi (combination craft vehicle) began. The plant has an area of 3,000,000 square meters with buildings on an area of about 480,000 square meters. In its 50 years, the Puebla plant has produced over 10 million vehicles.

Volkswagen employees the most amount of works in Puebla. In 1970 the plant had only 30 workers, but today that number is at 15,000. Like its own town, the Puebla plant has its own fire station, medical center, five banks, and a travel agency. More than a hundred buses provide free rides to workers who live in the Puebla area. Volkswagen even boasts the biggest restaurant in Latin America: eight separate units; preparing and serving some 14,000 meals each day. The average salary at the Puebla plant is $20,000.

Volkswagen de México has gone through three major stages. The first stage lasts from the 60s to the late 80s, the period in which the company mainly supplied the domestic market. The second stage lasted from the late 80s until the signing of the NAFTA, a time when the world economic plunge forced the company to move production from its plants in the United States to Puebla. In the third and current stage, Volkswagen de México becomes concentrated on exporting. Eighty percent of the Volkswagen vehicles produced are destined for export to more than 120 countries in the world. Two of the most iconic Volkswagen vehicles in Mexico were the Combi and the Vocho.

The Combi is a fifteen-passenger van that has had its seats removed and replaced with small benches. These benches are aligned so that when passengers are seated, they are facing each other and have to hold their bags. It was not difficult to get on the van, people simply pointed their index finger out to hail a Combi when one was approaching on the street. After getting on the van, the passenger would tell the driver where they were going and would pay at the end of the trip. Working class Mexicans in small communities used this mode of transportation to get to and from work. In the 1980s, pesero (a microbus that’s name comes from the fact that in the beginning of this form of transport a flat fee of one peso was charged per ride) owners started using Combis. The government was unable to run a public transportation system that was able to serve the needs of the rapidly growing environment and it caused high demand that made them a very good business.

On October 23, 1967, the first Vocho (Volkswagen Beetle) rolled off the assembly line at the Puebla plant and production lasted until 2003. By 1973, a third of cars sold in Mexico were Vochos and they became one of the most massed-produced vehicles. In Mexico, the Vocho was the car preferred by taxi drivers, but the final blow to production came when Mexico City passed an ordinance requiring that all taxis have four doors, citing safety concerns as their reason. While Vochos might not be in production anymore, they are still everywhere! They are reliable, easy to repair and super cost effective.

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Uxmal is the most heavily decorated and unique site in the Yucatan. It is located in the region of Puuc, which means small hill. The surrounding terrain did not possess any naturally occurring bodies of water, making it one of the most arid regions on the peninsula. Civilization existed in the region due to the reliance on rainfall and the creation of chultuns, which were artificial rain basins that acted as reservoirs for the local populace. This dependence on the fickle trends of rainfall caused the people of Uxmal to place great significance behind the rain god Chaak (also known as Tlaloc to people such as the Mexica in the north), who can be seen on the majority of major temples and buildings in Uxmal. The site has a vast array of opulent constructions such as the Pyramid of the Magician, the House of the Governor, and, most notable, the Nunnery Quadrangle.

The Quadrangle was originally created in the years of 900- 910 AD during the Post Classic Period. The origin of the structure’s name comes from the group of maidens that originally inhabited the Quadrangle. The women that lived in these buildings were held in high esteem in the Uxmal social system, comparable to that of the “Vestal Virgins” that lived in Rome (Emily Davis, The Science-News Letter, 298). They wore garb that was heavily ornamented, like the surrounding architecture, with precious stones and other decorations. The theocratic system of the Mayans held the maidens in a position that is similar to that of the native priests. Their original purpose for these maidens was to tend to the state of the temple and maintain it. If any of them failed to meet their goals, they would be summarily executed. The maidens lived in all four of the structure on the Quadrangle. Though their total number is not known, the number of rooms and cells in all four structures is around 88.

The decoration of the Quadrangle is exuberant and offers insight to the political and religious attitudes of the area and time. The buildings have a massive amalgamation of different architectural techniques, including lattice designs, visages of Chaak, serpents, Venus, etc. These various decorations all allude to certain stories. The most notable of these would be the Mayan creation mythos. These varied styles connect the site of Uxmal to Chichen Itza with its use of non-Classic imagery. This imagery also shows the importance of religion in Uxmal, and how the native leadership sought to establish the site as one of great importance. The structure also shows a certain amount of political authority, due to the presence of a decorated capstone. This stone is decorated with the name and image of “Lord Chac”, full name being Chan-Chak-K’ak’nal’Ahaw (Jeff Kowalski, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures, Uxmal). He is the most well-known ruler of Uxmal. Chac ordered the construction of the Quadrangle during his reign. It is suggested that Chac himself ruled over the majority of the Eastern Puuc region and likely had an alliance with Chichen. This was possible through the creation of numerous sakbes, raised limestone roads, in the region.

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Many years later following the end of his presidency, Ulysses S. Grant decided to venture on a trip to Cuba and Mexico in December of 1879. Grant’s colleagues, such as Whitelaw Reid, asserted that Grant's trip was motivated by his eagerness to make money. Grant was “dazed” by the business ventures Mexico presented. However, Grant asserted that there were two reasons for his trip. First, to gratify the interest he had taken in Mexico during the US-Mexico War. Second, to see if a relationship between Mexico and the United States could be established, both as a friendship and as commerce. While Grant most likely did want to build an international friendship, some historians believe that the Cuba and Mexico trip was Grant’s way of laying the groundwork should he choose to exit politics for good. [1] Furthermore, this trip would lead to a groundbreaking development in Mexico: the railroad.

Grant’s initial interest in Mexico began with the US-Mexico War. Beginning in 1846, the United States and Mexico fought a brutal war over the annexation of Texas. The end of the war resulted in the establishment of the Mexican border with the United States along the Rio Grande. Grant developed sympathy towards Mexico during the war where he gained a new perspective regarding our southern neighbors. The war showed that he was cool, calm, and collected under heavy fire. Although he was a natural on the battlefield, Grant also held the strong belief that the war was one of the most unjust wars ever waged against a weaker nation. His feelings towards Mexico and the connections he made throughout the war would prove to be important after his presidency when he looked to build business relations with Mexico. [2]

When reflecting back on his time in Mexico, Ulysses S. Grant was outspoken about his disdain towards the United States and the war with Mexico. He often said it was the most unjust war the US had ever taken part in. Maybe it was this sentiment that led Grant to pursue business ventures in Mexico. [3] Whatever his motivation, his involvement in the Mexican Southern Railroad would make Wall Street capitalists recognize the importance of building US-Mexico relations. Grant, with the help of Mexican Minister to the United States Matías Romero, would bring the railroad to Mexico. The Mexican Southern Railroad proved to impact both the United States and Mexico in many ways, including the exploitation of a new market.

Grant’s trip to Mexico City was his key to developing his relationship with Mexican leaders. Grant and his party expressed interest in “growing prosperity” and the country’s need for modern transportation. Grant’s visit to Mexico was economically important. In speeches and letters, Grant emphasized his desire to eliminate revolutions and had hope of improvement and prosperity in Mexico. It was also Grant’s belief that Mexico’s mines and railroads could bring prosperity with the help of American capital. [4]

Grant drew back to the relationship he built during his stay in Mexico, specifically with Matías Romero. Romero believed that transportation was the single most expensive cost of transporting new machinery across Mexico. Romero argued that Mexico cannot attain a future without the construction of railways to increase production and take part in the industrial revolution. [5] Furthermore, Romero believed that much of the national territory was inaccessible due to lack of transportation methods. Grant expressed previous ideas regarding opportunities for a railroad in Mexico. He also discussed the prosperity that Mexico could enjoy, adding that the public would be very pleased. [6] Romero was an ideal partner for Grant as he, too, believed in the opportunity Wall Street could present for Mexico. [7]

Romero and Grant both worked to convince American capitalists to invest in a Mexican Railroad. Romero spoke about the commercial importance and superiority of the United States and the market Mexico would present if it were developed. Grant spoke about the ways in which a railroad in Mexico could be developed. This left markets for goods to operate on a small, local scale. [8] Shortly after, a committee was developed to investigate the railroad interest in Mexico. Border lawlessness and debt caused many investors to hesitate before lending money for long-term projects in Mexico. When Grant arrived with his intention of building a rail line, Romero wasted no time sharing this information with his colleagues. [9] Romero helped gather supporters for a railroad to be constructed.

Grant was named the President of the Mexican Southern Railroad in 1881. While Grant looked forward to expanding his business deals, promoters of such a business venture looked for ways to frame Mexico as a place for capitalist expansion. The new line ran south from Mexico City. The business was to be responsible for constructing and operating railroads and telegraph lines. After the company was created, Grant gained recognition in both the United States and Mexico for the railroad. The railroad turned into a major line in Mexico. Soon enough, Grant was involved in large projects in Mexico concerning expanding the railroad and consolidating with the Mexican Oriental Railroad. [10]

The Mexican Southern railroad and the United States’ financing of such rail lines provided a direct link of Mexican markets to the newly completed transcontinental United States rail lines. Not only did this provide a link to Mexican markets, but the railroad also provided a way to connect to mining, manufacturing, and agricultural districts.

The Mexican Southern Railroad would eventually collapse in 1884, though it is still unclear what led to this collapse. The railroad did provide a connection to a new market for the United States, but it did not generate new opportunities for Mexicans to acquire the knowledge required to work on new machinery. Freight rates caused issues as well for those trying to maintain the railroads. Additionally, the construction of railroads and human expertise required were primarily designated to foreign resources. [11] The benefit of having a respected person like Grant in Mexico proved to be large, but it was not enough to keep the Mexican Southern Railroad alive.

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In the midst of the ruins of Chichén Itzá, there is a wall covered entirely in skull carvings known as a tzompantli (or skull rack, wall of skulls, skull banner, etc.). However this is just one version of a tzompantli. Another version consisted of a wooden construction that real skulls would be placed on after holes were drilled into them. Usually these skulls belonged to war captives or sacrificial victims. Skull racks have been found all throughout Mesoamerica and they have been dated ranging from 600 to 1250 AD (the epiclassic to post-classic eras), however a few are believed to have existed in the Zapotec civilization in 200 BCE (though the Zapotecs referred to it as a yágabetoo).

A typical tzompantli was a structure made up of vertically standing poles with horizontal poles interwoven to create a sort of checkerboard pattern. The skulls would either be on strings tied to these horizontal poles or slid onto the poles themselves. In the Maya regions, it was also common for the skulls to be impaled and stacked on the vertical posts. Other tzompantli are like the one at Chichén Itzá: a stone platform with rows of skulls carved into all sides upon which the real skulls would be displayed. The latter version was introduced to the Maya by the Toltecs along with large-scale human sacrifice. Some carvings on ball courts depict the losers of the ball game being beheaded and it is believed that those skulls were also displayed on the tzompantli, which is why the structures are now closely linked. This link is even displayed in the Popol Vuh through the imagery of Hun Hunahpu’s death. Hun was the father of the hero twins and was killed by the lords of Xibalba. The lords hung his severed head in a gourd tree next to a ball court as a way of gloating over their victory. This gourd tree was a symbol for the tzompantli as more skulls were depicted growing on the tree as if they were fruit.

Although the tzompantli at Chichén Itzá is one of the best preserved, the most renowned skull rack is located at Temple Mayor, Tenochtitlan in modern day Mexico City (known as the Huey Tzompantli). This tzompantli was discovered quite recently and is a great testament to how the Aztecs handled warfare. It is believed to have been built while the Aztecs were in the midst of the Flowery Wars and was used to display the skulls of fallen enemies turned sacrificial victims alongside the skulls of women and children sacrifices as Aztec sacrifice was very diverse. Several people have attempted to calculate the number of skulls on the platform, including one conquistador, but the estimated number varies widely from 60,000 to 136,000. The top of the structure used to hold a wooden structure tzompantli that is estimated to have held tens of thousands of skulls as well. Bernal Diaz Del Castillo even wrote an eyewitness account stating that when Cortes and his men were forced to retreat from Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs created a smaller tzompantli to display the skulls of the fallen Spanish men and even some of their fallen horses.

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The capital of the Aztec Empire, Tenochtitlan, was razed and rebuilt by the Spanish during their colonization. Templo Mayor was one of the buildings that was devastated. Archeologists fully uncovered the temple in 1979. The temple’s earliest construction dates to 1390 AD, while its most recent construction dates to 1521. The archeological site has transformed into a museum, where some artifacts contained turquoise. Turquoise was incorporated into the social activities that took place within the capital’s the market place, status, and religious beliefs.

Turquoise has a long history in Mesoamerica; it has been around since the Pre-Classic Era to the Late Post Classic Era, which is roughly 1500 B.C. to 1521 A.D. The stone was an item of commerce in Tenochtitlan, a major trade center. Typical trade routes would flood daily; on average the routes reached 20,000 people and easily doubled on Sundays. Luxurious goods, such as turquoise, jade, xcal obsidian, chocolate, salt, feathers, and shells were traded. These items were fashioned into various items. For instance, turquoise was made into helmets, ear plugs, masks, mirrors, sacrificial knives, scepters, shields, spears, staffs, and jewelry. These items would have been made for the elite.

Carmen Aguilera explains that “objects bearing turquoise were very expensive and could be worn only by gods, nobles, and priests.” So, elite used turquoise to display their power, wealth, and status. They also used turquoise as a gift in order to build new relations with other rulers. Turquoise was traded by traveling merchants, or the pochteca, as far north as New Mexico and as far south as the Yucatán Peninsula. Trading on such a wide scale, shows how luxurious items like turquoise shows the capital’s large network.

The capital was a major religious attraction too. According to Mark Cartwright, Templo Mayor was centrally positioned in Tenochtitlan; signifying that the temple was “the religious and social heart of the Aztec empire.” There was well-over a hundred offerings archeologist have uncovered at Templo Mayor. Most of the offerings had foreign origins. Among these gifts, turquoise was found; there were small turquoise beads, small unworked turquoise fragments, jet, alabaster, and greenstone discovered at Templo Mayor. Who were these offerings to, and why offer them turquoise?

Templo Mayor’s design gives insight into how the Mexica’s economy sustained itself. The temple was divided into two sections, each one exalted a deity. In the northern half, Tlaloc, a rain god who is associated with life and fertility, while the southern half is devoted to Huitzilopochtli, a solar god who was associated with war. According to Eduardo Moctezuma, the architectural layout of the temple suggests that “Templo Mayor contains two of the principal Aztec myths, reflecting Tenochtitlan’s two means of support: agricultural production and the military conquest of other communities to impose tribute obligations on them.” With this in mind, it makes sense why the original design of Templo Major was replicated in the Museum's layout; one half of the exhibit is dedicated to agriculture, while the other half of the exhibit is devoted to war.

While the Aztec capital was stimulated by agriculture and war, “Mesoamerican religion touched practically every aspect of social life. It regulated everything from the most insignificant daily acts to relations among the different political entities,” claimed Lopez Lujun. Turquoise, in particular, managed to permeated into the Mexica’s cosmology. Tlaloc and Huitzilopochtli were regarded as Mexica’s regional protectors, and turquoise symbolized these gods. For example, the blue-to-green color of turquoise was associated with Tlaloc. One of the artifacts from the museum was a depiction of Tlaloc wearing a turquoise mask. The mask is not merely turquoise because of his status but because turquoise symbolizes who he is. Likewise, the brightness of a turquoise stone was associated with Huitzilopochtli. Overall, turquoise played an intricate role in trade, status, and religious beliefs.

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The second largest reef in the world is located in the Caribbean Sea. The Mesoamerican Reef borders the countries of Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico. “Stretching nearly 700 miles from the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula down through the Honduran Bay Islands” ("Mesoamerican Reef"). The section of the reef located outside of Tulum has a special history. Tulum is well known for being a walled city, “the main set by its sides north, south and west as the eastern overlooking the Caribbean Sea.” (Zona Arqueológica De Tulum). The walled city used the Mesoamerican Reef as the fourth wall to protect their city. The reef was used as an entry point to the ancient city of Tulum. The size of the entry point is unknown due to the deterioration over the years of the reef. It acted as a funnel that would guide the canoes, the only boat that was in using in this region during this time, straight to the El Castillo. At the top of El Castillo, sat a temple and the temple had more uses than just a ceremonial one. The temple doubled as a watchtower and lighthouse. Using an open flame, it would act as a beacon to friendly ships to help guide them safely into port. If an unfriendly boat found its way towards Tulum and tried to enter, they would crash due to not knowing where the reef opened.

The Mesoamerican Reef was used in a variety of ways by the Maya that lived there. Aside from being used as a defensive barrier, they used it as a trade route as well. They used the reef as a guidance system to aid them on their trade routes. They traded as far south as Belize, and imported goods such as salt and gold. Tulum was the trade center and major port for the city of Cobá, which is located just 47.5 kilometers down the road. The Maya at Tulum would follow the reef knowing it would lead them to their destination. Using this to their advantage, Tulum soon became the largest trading hub, not only for Coba, but for the entire east coast of the Yucatan.

During the zenith of Tulum in the 13th century, the Mesoamerican Reef served them well. As they used it for trade, a defensive barrier, and many other reason, it can be contributed to as why Tulum became the great city it was. They respected the reef, and the wildlife that went with it, something we cannot say we do today. When the Maya at Tulum used the reef they were operating canoes, causing very little damage to both the reef and wildlife that live there.

Today with the use of outboard motors and overfishing the Mesoamerican reef is being damaged beyond repair. “More than 60 species of coral make up the reef, and more than 500 species of fish live in its ecosystem.” (Conserving the Mesoamerican Reef). The damage from modern day human activity is so enormous that the reef at some places is all but gone. The conservation of the reef was ignored for too long, but in 2009 as a part of an art museum called MUSA (Museo Subacatico de Arte) over 500 permanent life-size sculptures were sank off the coast of Cancun. This museum is aimed to show how art and the environment interact, but aside from being an art gallery it serves as an artificial reef as well, helping to restore the damaged ecosystem back to a healthy point. The Mesoamerican Reef was once the lifeblood of trade and culture for the city of Tulum. They treated the reef with respect and saw it not only as a tool, but as an important aspect of their society, something we as modern day humans could learn from. Today the Mesoamerican Reef is a tourist site used for snorkeling, scuba diving, and boat driven tours, a far cry from what it once was to the Maya people at Tulum

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Resting beautifully on a cliff overlooking the turquoise blue waters of the Caribbean Sea is El Castillo of Tulúm, its castle. Originally presumed to be a temple El Castillo reflects the glory of Maya civilization at its height when realizing from a recent discovery in 1984, its critical role operating as a lighthouse. With many small windows perfectly aligning to the break in the barrier reef, the magnificence of this structure comes when imagined is a line of canoes, vessels and sailors traveling from afar who can unload that of their precious cargo as directed by reference points where to line and business kept in fashionable order. When late into the evening, in replacement of sunlight captured in the windows a small fire would be lit transforming the structure into a lighthouse.

Furthering its role as a lighthouse El Castillo truly lives to its name as a wondrous castle. Tulúm is one of the few fortified cities built and its walls can still be seen today standing 5 meters in width. With the Caribbean Sea to the east, the walls consist of three sides and five gates. For this reason, in the Yucatec language Tulúm translates as “wall.” With five gates facilitating inflow and out both of traffic and commerce, Tulúm was from the Classical Period, perhaps 564 A.D. by what is of known earliest inscriptions, to the Post Classic Period, 1200 to 1450 A.D., having reached its apogee as a trade center and seaport.

By its geographical location to the sea Tulúm was an important center for receiving imports and operating in the business of shipping. Activity thrived as trading canoes frequented stops from Honduras and the Gulf Coast. Overseas routes proved extensive as to reaching Costa Rica and even to Panama, by demand for precious metals inclusive of gold, copper, and silver. Via land routes Tulúm facilitated its success equally in welcoming merchants through its gates as well maximizing the use of rivers as an express by placing traffic signs along in assisting, both the distribution and timeliness of, essential and luxury goods to deliver. Tulúm was key for networking societies into the streamline of various goods and resources. Obsidian, for instance, is found in abundant supply as a household item throughout the lowlands area despite how the land, within that particular area, contains no obsidian ores. Adding to obsidian, the importance of Tulúm may also be illustrated by example of the metate, a stone-grinding tool crucial for the preparation of corn and grains. In Tikal, over 2,000 metates have been excavated and of these: 15% made of native limestone; the remaining 85% being of imported stone such as granite or serpentine. Other trade items into the lowlands or any landlocked region include shells, stingray spines for rituals, salt, and jade ornaments.

The role in allowing basic necessities to be attained made Tulúm vital and its role facilitating the accessing of luxury items representative of royalty such as gold and coral-colored shells made itself heavily sought. By the 4th century, rulers from Teotihuacán began investing their attentions into the tapping and control of the routes. Cities, such as Calakmul and Tikal, became political and economic rivals by clash of their interests to claim supreme rule, including the securement of control over a wealth generating asset.

The significance of this seaport is historically rich. Tulúm allowed the nobility to establish their prestige while becoming promotive of commoners who participated in trade. The city once populated by 1,500 inhabitants can still be seen with activity by visiting tourists and El Castillo proving in continuance a wondrous sight.

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Monté Albán is an archaeological site dating back to the Late Classic Period from 650 to 800 A.D (World Monument Fund). Monté Albán means “White Mountain” (“Visit Mexico”). Many tourists flock from around the world to the outskirts of Oaxaca to visit the Zapotec ruins, which are known for having a spectacular mountain view.

The mountaintop city contained a complex culture. For example, their art can be seen in their sophisticated architecture and sculptures. The city contains buildings, such as an observatory, a ball court, residential palaces, temples, and many tombs. The structures within the city suggest that the city’s social structure can be compared to an acropolis with a feudal system. The tombs indicated the complex burial rituals and customs. Another example is seen in the Zapoteca’s simplified calendar system. The Zapoteca kept time by using the Calendar Round, which is a combination of the Tzolkin and the Haab’. The Tzolkin was a 260-day calendar that kept sacred days. The Haab’ was a 365-day solar calendar. The Calendar Round was actually round, and it functioned much like two gears would. The effect was that both calendars synchronized into a simpler, an all-in-one calendar. Lastly, the city traded with Oaxaca and developed their own system of pictographic writing.

What is interesting is that around 700 A. D., Monté Albán was abandoned. Many of the high priests and royalty left. The commoners did not immediately leave the city. The city was not abandoned because of war; There are no signs of military force. A likely story is an economic downturn. The city Teotihuacan had undergone a great fire. The fire subsequently placed the Zapoteca’s economy into stagnation, which once combined with infertile crops, created the city’s decline in the 14th century. Shortly after the decline, Monté Albán was later reused and reoccupied by the Mixtec.

Alfonso Caso, an archaeologist, arrived in the once Zapotec capital and started digging around. He was credited with the site’s discovery. Caso was attributed for proving that there are at least five major phases in the long history of Monté Albán. He provided a chronology of its history and its relations to other sites, as well as, deciphering the Mixtec Codices. Caso found an area where there were as many as 170 tombs, all of which were filled with paintings, carvings, and other artifacts.

The tombs in Mesoamerica were chamber-like burials locations that were spacious enough to hold the remains of one or more individuals, as well as any material items. Often these uncovered tombs and the artifacts they hold offer great insights into pre-conquest Mesoamerican art and craftsmanship. The artifacts aid archaeologist “interpretation of Mesoamerican worldviews, religious ideologies, and artistic canons” (Andrews).

Out of the 170 tombs, Caso uncovered was Tomb Seven. This tomb has gained its own reputation for being one of the richest archaeological finds. The structure was originally built in the Classic Period. It was reused during the Late Postclassical. Some of the artifacts include skeletons, bone carvings, jade necklaces, earplugs, bead work, and other offerings.

Seven’s findings included nine skeletons and over 500 grave offerings. Of the nine bodies, one was named Individual A. According to Geoffrey McCafferty, Individual A was found with “a human skull covered with turquoise and shell mosaic plaques and with a flat shell representing a knife projecting from the nasal cavity” (McCafferty 144). Caso found the skull on an altar. As Caso documented the items he found, he made guesses as to what the items were, their purpose, and the like. Caso happened to assume the remains of Individual A were male. However, it is now believed that Individual A was a female.

In fact, recent studies suggest a more engendered perspective. When McCafferty revisited Tomb Seven, he found there was substantial evidence pointing at Individual A is a woman. The artifacts and offerings found were feminine. For instance, McCafferty found sewing items, such as battens, spindle whorls, onyx, and crystal spinning bowls within Tomb Seven that support the new interpretation. In fact, if Individual A is a female, it is likely that she was associated with the Crass Lady, a goddess. Other items like carved bones, were not interpreted as weaving tools by Caso despite how “he did identify a scene on one of the bones in which a possible batten was carried by Lady 9 Reed, whom he associated with an Aztec goddess Tlaxolteotl, patroness of weavers” (McCafferty 146). This new development calls archeologist to have an open mind in revisiting artifacts.

Today, people can go and visit Tomb Seven at Monté Albán and see it’s artifacts at the San Domingo Cathedral. Unfortunately, there are consequences of tourism. As Foote points out, Monté Albán only offers a tourism revenue. Foote expresses that one of the consequences of tourism is that people are living too close to the site and it persists as an issue in preservation, as well as, aiding the impoverished obtain aid from the government. Despite this issue, the rediscovery of Monté Albán and Tomb Seven have given valuable insight into the Zapotec society, culture, religion, and history, much of which is still being studied.

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Religion is one of the most powerful forces in human history. Religion compels people, saves people, condemns people, and halts people. Records of religious beliefs have been found in almost every civilization in recorded history. Despite the fact that many of these civilizations had no contact with one another, their recorded beliefs share many similarities. The Mesoamericans had a very complex system of beliefs, comparable to other ancient civilizations in other parts of the world. This complexity is evident through the study of Tollan and Quetzalcoatl in the ancient city of Tula.

Tula was the capital city of the Toltec Empire. The city was at its height from AD 900 to 1100. The people of Tula, like others throughout Mesoamerica, believed in many different gods. The term “Tollan” refers to both cities and deities. Teotihuacan was believed to be the first Tollan.[1] In fact, “Tula” is a derivative of the word “Tollan,” meaning “Place of Reeds,” which is believed to have been a figure of speech implying that the number of people living in the city were like the number of reeds surrounding a source of water.[2] Tollan also appears as a deity alongside Quetzalcoatl, the most well-known of the Mesoamerican deities.[3] Although Quetzalcoatl tends to receive most of the recognition and publicity, Tollan, as a deity, was also very powerful and was intensely worshiped by the people of Mesoamerica.

The City of Tula has had many names throughout history. The Aztecs called it Tollan and later historians referred to it as the City of Quetzalcoatl.[4] Tula became the center of the Toltec Empire after the decline of Teotihuacan. Quetzalcoatl Ce Acatl Toplitzin founded the city in the central highlands area of present-day Mexico in the ninth century AD.[5] The word “Tollan” meant “Place of Reeds,” but over time the meaning of the name changed to signify “Great City.”[6] The original meaning, “Place of Reeds” is believed to have been a figure of speech to indicate a densely populated area.[7] The history of the Toltecs is somewhat unorganized as those who lived in Teotihuacan did not leave written records behind. What we do know, however, is that their religious beliefs were very important to them.

Although Ce Acatl Toplitzin had earned the title of “Quetzalcoatl,” it is important to note that the priestly rank of Quetzalcoatl and the deity called Quetzalcoatl were very different; one being a man and one being a myth. The Toltec had many gods and deities that they worshiped, however, the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl was the heart of the city and remains the main attraction for tourists and historians alike. The Toltecs, and later the Aztecs, built very ornate temples to honor their gods. The Temple of Tlahulzcalpantechuti is decorated with carved pillars depicting warriors with plumed serpents on their sandals.[8] The Coatepantli, or “Wall of Snakes,” was also very intricately carved.[9] These intricate carvings and detailed decorations give insight into the importance of religion to the people of Tula. It was the center of their lives and their society, just as the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl was the center of their city.

The religion of the Toltecs did not die with the fall of their empire. The Aztecs continued the beliefs of the Toltec. They continued to worship Quetzalcoatl as a god, as their ancestors in Tula had done.[10] The Aztecs looked upon the Toltec almost as a mythically perfect society. The Aztecs wrote that the Toltecs “were wise. Their works were all good, all perfect, all wonderful, all miraculous…very marvelous.”[11] The Aztecs described Tollan as the original city-state where religious practice and myth were integrated.[12] David Carrasco, one of the leading experts in Mesoamerican culture and history suggests in his book The Aztecs: A Very Short Introduction that the Aztecs perhaps were “recalling traditions of urban greatness” of Teotihuacan, but instead called it Tollan or Tula.[13] Historians will most likely never know for sure, but it is believed that “Tollan” refers not only to the tenth century city of Tula, but also to the idyllic city and society of Teotihuacan.[14]

Tollan played a huge role in the religious beliefs of the Toltecs. In addition to being their capital city, Tollan and Quetzalcoatl together were religious symbols; Quetzalcoatl representing sacred authority and Tollan representing sacred space.[15] Quetzalcoatl and Tollan are almost inseparable in Mesoamerican culture. Quetzalcoatl is the god-king and Tollan his scared city.[16] Tollan had other meanings besides “sacred city.” It also described the political order of the Toltecs as well as the Aztecs later on. [17]

Tollan and Quetzalcoatl are connected to each other throughout Mesoamerican myth and legend. The stories and legends begin with the birth of Quetzalcoatl, his childhood, and conflict between Quetzalcoatl and his uncles. [18] There are two different stories concerning Quetzalcoatl and Tollan. The first is that Quetzalcoatl created Tollan and constructed all of the structures there.[19] The second is that he traveled there and was asked to become king.[20] Regardless of which myth one chooses to believe, it is evident that Quetzalcoatl and Tollan are inseparable from one another. As one Tollan fell, another arose to take its place. To the Aztecs, Tollan was more than a physical place, it was a vision of how their capital cities should be. This vision inspired many capital cities during the Classic and Post-Classic periods.[21]

There have been many people throughout the twentieth century who contributed to the knowledge gained of Tula-Tollan and Quetzalcoatl. In his article Tula, Stephen Castillo Bernal discusses the research and discoveries of Desire Charnay, the French explorer, and also Robert Cobean and Alba Guadalupe Mastache, professors at Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, as it relates to the mythical city of Tollan versus the ancient city of Tollan.[22] This led to debate over whether Teotihuacan was the mythical Tollan of the Toltec legends, or whether Tula was the Tollan in the legends and myths.[23] Bernal goes on to say that the myth and reality of Quetzalcoatl is also of great importance in discovering the myth and reality of Tollan. He argues that myth or reality, religion was clearly important to the Toltecs, as is evident by the pillars of Pyramid B at Tula. These pillars were decorated with symbols of three important Mesoamerican deities; Tlaloc, Tezcatlipoca, and Quetzalcoatl, as well as many warriors. [24] Bernal suggests that these images could depict either a mythical or historical event, but states it is unlikely that anyone will ever know for sure.[25]

In his book Tula of the Toltecs: Excavations and Survey, Professor Dan Healan of Tulane University describes in detail, the excavations that took place at Tula that helped historians and anthropologists establish that Tula was, in fact, one of the Tollan cities of Toltec and Aztec legend.[26] Healan states that there were three main characteristics of the ruins at Tula that allowed historians to draw this conclusion; the discovery of warrior columns and serpent columns, the frequent depiction of Quetzalcoatl, and the chronological time period of the city occurring between the Toltecs and the Aztecs.[27] Through his work, and the work of other historians and anthropologists, we can ascertain that Tula was one of the ancient cities referred to as “Tollan.”

Tollan provides an interesting conundrum for those studying Mesoamerican religion. Tollan and Quetzalcoatl are all but inseparable; the God-King and his Sacred City. But unlike some other modern and ancient religions, Tollan is not just one city. Tollan has described many capital cities of both the Toltecs and Aztecs.[28] The blurring of the lines between myth and reality is much more evident in Mesoamerican religion than, say, in Christianity, the religion introduced to Latin America by the Spanish in the sixteenth century. The sacred city of the Christians is Jerusalem. It was their sacred city two thousand years ago, and it is still their sacred city. But Tollan was many cities. Teotihuacan was Tollan. Then Tula was Tollan. Then, later on, Tenochtitlan was Tollan.[29] This fluidity of the Aztec and Toltec myths allowed the legends to remain shrouded for so long, even after the Spanish began colonizing the area.[30]

The conundrum students of Mesoamerican religions face is determining the chronology of religion from city to city, civilization to civilization, and empire to empire. There are many similarities between the religion of the Toltecs and the religion of the Aztecs, although there was a considerable amount of time between the two empires.[31] In addition, the creation of temples and pyramids in various Tollans has caused an uncertainty in the myth of Quetzalcoatl and his Tollan. Although Quetzalcoatl appears in all of the Tollans, which is one of the ways historians and anthropologists are able to determine that Teotihuacan and Tula, among others, were, in fact, the Tollans of legend, the depictions do not always tell the same story.[32] As a result, it is sometimes difficult to determine myth from reality.

Tollan was the most important city in Mesoamerica. Many cities were given the name Tollan as empires grew, fell, and moved on. Quetzalcoatl and Tollan are forever connected through the ruins of the cities of these empires. Tollan was a real place, but it was also a mythical city. Quetzalcoatl was a title given to real people, but he was also a mythical god. Ancient civilizations do not always leave behind the best records of their history and beliefs. So students of Mesoamerican history, anthropology, and religious studies are left to sort through the ruins of ancient cities from great empires and determine the truth behind Quetzalcoatl and Tollan – the man, the myth, and the legend.

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In the heart of Mexico City, the historical site of Tlatelolco tells a portion of the history the Aztec Empire left behind. Tlatelolco is known as The Plaza of Three Cultures due to this location representing the indigenous Aztec people, the Spanish colonies and a combination of both, the people of Mexico. This city was built on upon a shallow lake bed which was built up by the Aztecs in order to use the land. This is why most of the buildings and different historical sites are sinking and are not level. The Aztec ruins signifies the earliest of the three cultures dating back to around 1473 which was known for its enormous market that served thousands of people each day.

The Aztec’s believed that their God, Huitzilopochtli had selected them to rule over this land when they arrived. A group of people from Tenochtitlan had left their home and began building what is now known as Tlatelolco. The two cities remained independent until 1473 when an Aztec ruler decided the city would serve him better under his complete control. A war between the two cities had broken out and eventually Tenochtitlan defeated Tlatelolco and put them under their authority. Tlatelolco and Tenochtitlan ruled alongside one another, splitting up the things that were needed for the two city states to function property. Tenochtitlan held political power and Tlatelolco held power of military, trade and production of food. In 1519, the Spanish arrived and Spanish leader Hernan Cortez, began his conquest of Tlatelolco and eventually gained control in in 1521. Cortez defeated the Aztec empire which was the last indigenous group to withstand Spanish rule.

There are over sixty different pre-Hispanic structures located at Tlatelolco that consisted of the calendar temple, the temple of the paintings, great platforms of previous structures, many altars and the most recent discovery, the mass burial site of about 200 Aztec sacrifices. In 2009, the mass grave was discovered and was said to have been dated to the time of the Spanish conquest. This was thought to be true due to the bodies showing evidence of Aztec rituals as well as evidence Spanish goods. The Aztec bodies that were found were thought to have died in the battle against Cortez. The archaeological dig at this site began in 1944 and continues on through today. As previously mention the location of this site makes it especially hard to excavate, the government is constantly wanting to continue on with researching its past but in order to continues discovering the people before colonial times, they will need to disrupt what was built on top at a later point in history.

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In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Laredo, Texas native, Thomas C. Mann, as the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico from Texas. Long a proponent of settling a fractious border dispute involving a small piece of land known as “El Chamizal” on the El Paso-Juárez border, Ambassador Mann was given the authority by President Kennedy to negotiate a resolution. The eventual settlement was substantially similar to the binding arbitration award the United States had rejected in 1911. Mann’s quiet negotiations with citizens and leaders at all levels of government were ultimately successful, resulting in a large buyout and resettlement program, the rechanneling of the Rio Grande, and the construction of new international bridges and border control facilities.[1] The peaceful resolution of the 100-year-old border dispute was ratified by treaty on January 14, 1964, and held by both nations as a diplomatic triumph. It is evident that Ambassador Mann seized an opportunity to bolster the tattered Good Neighbor relationship with Mexico, using his skillful diplomacy to achieve a result that satisfied both his desire to rectify arguable bad faith on the part of the U.S., and his goal to advance U.S. security by removing a target for anti-American communist groups in Mexico.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, established the international boundary between the United States and Mexico along the Rio Grande, following the deepest channel of the river.[2] The Rio Grande proved to be a singularly unstable boundary line, changing course significantly along its entire length many times over relatively short periods of time. The problems this caused were manifold and resulted in a Boundary Convention in 1884, and the establishment of an International Boundary Commission in 1889. The river shifted course significantly to the south around 1864, leaving El Chamizal, a 630-acre parcel of land that had belonged to Mexico on the north (Texas) side of the Rio Grande.[3] The U.S. and Mexico both claimed sovereignty over the slice of land.

By 1911, the United States and Mexico had agreed, under the terms of prior treaties, to submit the dispute to the International Boundary Commission for binding arbitration. At the conclusion of the arbitration, the Commission found, under the terms of the treaties, the majority of the 630 acres belonged to Mexico.[4] The United States, citing a hypertechnical reading of the scope of the Commission’s authority, refused to accept the arbitral award.[5] Thus, Chamizal, became a source of strong anti-American feeling among Mexicans. “If ever there was an American position which could be counted upon to cause suspicion and distrust, altogether this was it.”[6] Every president since President William Howard Taft (1909-1913) had tried and failed to resolve the dispute.[7] “Throughout it all, it seems clear that the Chamizal conflict was always close to the surface of Mexican popular consciousness and concern.”[8] This was where the matter stood when Ambassador Mann took up his post in Mexico City in the spring of 1961.

President Kennedy’s appointment of Mann as the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico was widely celebrated in Mann’s home state of Texas as well as in Mexico. It had been said that “Mexico would not accept a Texan as the United States Ambassador.”[9] However, Mann was born and raised in the Texas border town of Laredo. He often referred to his border upbringing and was fluent in Spanish, saying he had “learned Spanish before English.”[10] He earned a law degree from Baylor University, practicing law for eight years before entering the foreign service during World War II. He rose quickly through the ranks thanks to his sharp, legal analyses, uncanny grasp of economic issues, and his command of Spanish.[11] He had already served in the State Department under Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower, with most of that experience focused on Latin America. Newspapers across Texas and Mexico ran the story, touting Mann’s reputation among Mexicans. Mann “is said to be friendly to Mexicans and is well liked by them.”[12] Another newspaper reported, “on the whole, Mexicans are unabashedly happy about the appointment…” and “in Mann’s favor are a number of long and deep personal friendships among the men who steer Mexico’s foreign policy.”[13] Mann’s public demeanor was that of a tough, blunt loner. “As one author put it, he was a man of few words who “not only didn’t have charisma, he didn’t believe in it.’”[14] However, it appears that Mann’s diplomatic strength lay in his reputation for integrity and his warmth in small groups. Ladybird Johnson, wrote in her journal that Mann “possessed a deep love of Mexico” and that he seemed “made of tough fiber, but a loveable man.”[15] He also was known for “having absolute loyalty to whoever was president.”[16] One newspaper article described him as “quiet and efficient” and said “his mode of diplomacy is personal, usually conducted at small dinner parties or in chats in his paneled office.”[17] These traits would serve him well in negotiating the Chamizal settlement.

Against the backdrop of the Cuban Revolution, Mann “regarded the containment of Mexico’s leftward drift as his central mission.”[18] Having always desired to see the United States honor its treaty obligations concerning the Chamizal and seeing the chance to strengthen U.S.-Mexican relations, Mann proposed to President Kennedy the idea of revisiting the Chamizal issue.[19] Kennedy gave Mann the go ahead to begin negotiations. Mann already had a close professional and personal relationship with Foreign Minister Manuel Tello, who was tasked by President López Mateos to negotiate for Mexico. The real challenge for Mann would be convincing El Paso and Texas that it was in America’s best interests to honor the spirit of the binding arbitration award. “Mann recognized the diplomatic importance of securing a Chamizal agreement and worked tirelessly, as one author has put it, to reach a settlement ‘palatable to his fellow Texans.’”[20] In the years that had passed since the 1911 arbitration, American citizens had built homes and businesses in Chamizal. The small tract was now home to several schools, a meat packing plant, several small businesses, and some 4,000 residents.[21] Negotiating the deal was complex, requiring the support of the City of El Paso, State of Texas, and Congress. According to Frank V. Ortiz, special assistant to Mann: he and Ambassador Mann started the process by meeting with local leaders in El Paso quietly and without publicity. El Paso leaders urged settlement, saying that without one the “future of El Paso and Juarez would be one of constant, bitter recrimination.” Mann and Ortiz next flew to Austin to meet with Governor Connally who pledged his support of the deal, but fearing a “backlash from “nationalist” Texans,” advised that the negotiations be kept confidential. Mann’s team then flew to Houston and won the support of civic leaders there. Ortiz recalls, “Ambassador Mann was so highly regarded and confidence in his judgment and his integrity was so high in Texas, that he almost alone won the support we had to have for a solution.”[22]

The agreement was formalized in the Chamizal convention, signed by Ambassador Mann and Mexican Foreign Minister Tello in Mexico City on August 29, 1963. The disparity between Mexican and American reactions to the Chamizal settlement is telling. Media coverage in Mexico was immense, while it was mentioned only in passing in U.S. papers. As one author aptly put it, “[i]n a word, what was a mundane event in the United States was to the Mexicans one of the great moments in their recent history.”[23] Although Mann and his team were able to build consensus to settle the dispute, not every Texan was happy with the result, and some wrote to Mann to express their displeasure. Mann's response to one such letter offers a glimpse of the principles that guided him: “I have no hesitation in saying to you that in my opinion when a Government or a man pledges his word it becomes a matter of honor to do what he undertook to do.”[24] Indeed, in an echo of Mann’s sentiments, one newspaper commented that the State Department wanted the Chamizal Settlement “if for no other reason than to halt the teaching in Mexican schools that the U.S. does not honor international agreements.”[25]

Why could Thomas Mann settle this issue that had long eluded others before him? According to one local official, “he understands the problems. He understands Mexico. He knows the importance, not just economically but emotionally and idealistically of the Chamizal.”[26] Ambassador Mann answered this question himself, “I felt strongly that it should be done in the broader interests of both countries. We are neighbors, and this had been a thorn in our side exploited by nationalists and Communists and everybody else for fifty years. A constant source of friction in relations we thought ought to be removed.”[27] His commitment to the Good Neighbor policy was authentic, but not without an agenda. “Although the United States yielded almost entirely to the historic Mexican contention, the Chamizal settlement was widely recognized as well worth the price.”[28] Incredibly, "to Americans it was so singularly unimportant that to this day, except for people in the vicinity of El Paso and perhaps for international lawyers and a few others, it is largely unknown.”[29] Yet, a national memorial now stands in El Paso on part of the land that was divided in the settlement to commemorate the event that best symbolizes Mexican-American friendship. Ambassador Mann retired from public service in 1966. A true citizen of the border, he was awarded the Aztec Eagle in 1968, the highest honor the Mexican government can bestow on a foreigner.[30]

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San Lorenzo Zinacantan is a municipality in the southern part of Chiapas, Mexico. The population consist of Tzotzil Maya who have ties to other highland Maya people. The name Zinacantan means “land of the bats” which comes from the Nahuatl language and the locals call themselves “Sots’leb”. The people who now reside here migrated from Guatemala around 1000-1500 BCE. Zinacantan held the monopoly for salt and harvested Quetzalcoatl feathers that mirrored corn and the feathered serpent. Salt, cacao, and coffee were mainly traded with the Aztec traders. In 1524 the Franciscans arrived and imposed Catholicism but within time both the Mayan culture and the Catholic culture emerged as one. The Mexican Revolution of 1911 ended serfdom of the Tzotzil people but many still worked in horrible conditions until the 1930’s. During the 1950’s the Federal Insituto Nacional Indigenista try to address the “Indian problem” thus, creating schools clinics, roads and agricultural programs to civilize/modernize the Indians. On January 1, 1994 NAFTA went into effect which called to an end the ejido system but the Tzotzil people had enough of it and took over San Cristobal De Las Casa and demanded an arrangement with the government. With the help of the internet light was shed on the inequality, suffering, neglect of the indigenous people.

Zinacantan has absolutely beautiful textiles. According to, Ms. Juana when girls turn 5 years old they are taught to make tortillas, wash and do chores around the house. When they turn 10 years old they begin to learn how to do embroidery, and at age 12 they make the textiles on their own and begin to sell them around the streets as a source of income to the household. Making handmade textiles ranges from 3 days to 6 months depending on the type of textile you special order. Many of the women in Zinacantan that do embroidery use the flower in their textile. The type of textile could be as simple as a solid color to a sparkly one with many colors. A lot of the textiles are now stitched on by the machine but many of the women do it traditional style, which is by hand and of course the prices on the textile will differ depending on how it was made. During 1983 and 1989 it was heard that indigenous women would pray to their gods to help them in their work. When the girls would ask the moon virgin for help with their weaving, their designs would reflect the ideas of the gods. Women worked together to increase production of their textiles and they proudly defended their roles as campesinas, mothers, shamans, and weavers. Before the business industry was developed the only source of income for the women was to sell their textiles to tourist but this did not guarantee their pay. As soon as they began to expand their work into the capitalist sector they would receive immediate pay.

The books from the Tzotzil people that survived from that time were burned by the Catholic officials in the mid-seventeenth century. Today 90% of the population is illiterate, mostly women. Less than ½ of the public school teachers speak Spanish and hardly no Tzotzil speaker has a university education. Contrary to what the government says bilingual education is non-existent. Every town has its distinctive dialect and Sna Jtz’ibajom, which was found in 1983, is house of the write which has taught men, women and children how to read and write in their native dialect. Approximately more than two thousand people have learned from there which brings up the next source of learning Tzotzil literacy, by the Protestant missionaries who also teach the native tongue. Language is their main source of identity therefore the Empowerment of Maya Women, tend to focus more on urban women and children who may be losing their ethnic identity.

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The eyes of the world were on Mexico when they became the first country in Latin America to host the Olympics in 1968. However, beneath the surface and attention of the five rings, a much larger crisis was shielded from the sight of the public. On October 2, 1968, just ten days prior to the opening ceremonies, somewhere between 300 and 400 people were murdered in a massacre against the young, peaceful protesters of Mexico City and the majority of those killed were never named, never identified and, according to some reports from the Mexican Government, never existed.

The late 1960s was a time of political and social tension, not only in the Americas, but the entire world. According to CIA documents released by the Freedom of Information Act in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the days and months prior to the attack, Mexican officials sought to end the unrest within society in preparation for the games. According to Document 70, the CIA Station in Mexico reported that peaceful protests were even stopped from happening and students were murdered without cause, stating, “a policeman pulled his pistol, evidently planning to fire over the students’ heads, but he did not raise the weapon high enough and shot and killed one student.” This is but one example of the back and forth between government entities and civilians. Even with the impending Olympics, the protesters and organizations claimed they were not using the Olympics as a way to disrupt, but rather criticized the $150 million investment, which would equal about $1 billion in today’s standards, that was being invested solely into the event rather than the struggling lower classes of Mexico.

In an interview with BBC from 2008, British journalist Robert Trevor gave his first-hand accounts to the events that transpired on that day. Trevor was in the crowd in hopes of getting a potential story in the works and said that about 3,000 people had gathered in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas. “The majority of these protesters throughout this era were educated college and high school students who sought to make a better Mexico for them and their children to grow up in. These protests never turned physical for the students. Trevor said that shots were fired from the surrounding rooftops of the apartment complexes covering all four sides of the plaza and then the whole area was swarmed with helicopters and gunships firing upon the crowd. Within the chaos and stampede, Trevor escaped to a hotel and filed his report of the events, which was published on the front page of the London Evening News. He wrote about how the police commissioner of Mexico City had held a press conference claiming that 25 people had been killed, including seven policemen. “I knew this wasn’t true because I had seen more people than that being shot,” Trevor said. Since that day, an official death toll has never been given. According to CIA Document 75 of the event, “twenty-four civilians dead, many of whom were students, and one hundred thirty-seven civilians wounded; eight soldiers.” However, according to many studies, somewhere between 300 and 400 civilians died in the events of that day. Declassified documents and research supports the idea that paramilitary forces were ordered to provoke the attack on students that day, even if it meant killing some of their own.

In the early 2000s, charges were placed upon the former president of Mexico Luis Echeverria for his role in the Tlatelolco Massacre as well as the Corpus Christi Massacre in Mexico City. Ultimately, due to the 30-year statute of limitations, the charges were dropped in 2006. No one has been held accountable for either massacres to this day. Mexico City citizens still hold a march throughout the city on the anniversary of the massacre every year.

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When one enters the Aztec exhibit at the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City there is an immediate sense of ancient power radiating from the artifacts in the room. To the left a beautiful representation of Moctezoma the Second’s plumed crown, to the right a stone sculpture of Quetzalcoatl stays resting with earthly power, and right in plain view at the back of the room on a center stage is the famous Calendar Stone like a crown jewel. There is one artifact closer to the front of the room that has just as much importance as these other masterpieces that affected the foundation of Aztec society itself before the Spanish came. This artifact is the Tizoc Stone; a three foot tall, eight foot diameter Temalácatl (round stone) covered in beautiful iconography depicting the feats of gods and a past emperor by the name of Tizoc.[1]

This stone speaks of numerous victorious campaigns lead by Lord Tizoc between his ascension to emperor in 1481 and his death in 1486. In these campaigns he captured new lands for the glory of the Aztec people, and squashed rebellions that would have squandered the honor of the kingdom. This is depicted by fourteen warriors on the side of the stone capturing gods of conquered civilizations [2].

One of these warriors is Tizoc himself, depicted with a large feathered crown and armor that is usually associated with the Warring Sun god, Huitzilopochtli. In reality, Tizoc was a horrible military ruler, which translates to him being a terrible ruler over all to the war like culture of the Aztec people. He was a terrible strategist and although he did succeed in squashing rebellions it was a long, messy process when a competent ruler would have terminated the issue with swiftness and ease. The difference between what the stone depicts and the reality of the situation is a great learning tool for historians and archaeologists alike. This is because it shows that the Aztec, like other Mesoamerican cultures, used propaganda as a means of maintaining a belief in the power of the empire.

Besides being a historical record, the stone has religious significance in the form of worshipping Huitzilopochtli. Besides the sun gods iconography on the carving of Emperor Tizoc, the top of the stone is a large sun with eight points, four of which depict the four cardinal directions, and one is used as a drain for the blood of sacrificial victims.

Sacrifice directly ties in with the worship of Huitzilopochtli, and the sacrificial ritual affiliated with the Tizoc stone is unique to the sun gods other domain of war. The victim would be the bravest warrior that the Aztecs captured on a raid. This brave warrior would then be tied to the Tizoc Stone by his ankle with rope, wearing no armor and only armed with a wooden club. He would then be attacked one at a time by fully armored Jaguar Knights wielding a macahuitl, a obsidian bladed club, and a shield. This ritual was made to be unfair for the victim to represent the struggle of battle and war [3]. The Tizoc stone opened the door for study into other potential form of ritual practiced by the Aztec.

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Teotihuacan, located in the modern day State of Mexico, was originally an empty site prior to the first century AD, but the eruption of the Xitle volcano at the end of century caused a massive migration of indigenous groups to the valley, since their ancient cities were destroyed. The migrant people who settled in the valley from the time frame of 1-150 AD, commonly referred to as the Tzacualli phase, began to build the three main constructs of Teotihuacan. These constructs were the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon and the Temple of the Feathered Serpent. The most imposing structure at the site of Teotihuacan is the Pyramid of the Sun. It is the third largest pyramid in the world at 65 meters in height, 22 meters taller than its twin construction the Pyramid of the Moon. These twin contsructs are built on the same level. It was the first main structure to be made in Teotihuacan and is responsible for the city’s growth into a trade hub and place of religious significance, similar to Cozumel.

The first of these massive edifices was the Pyramid of the Sun. The pyramid was built with the idea of three concepts: to be the physical embodiment of Tonacatepetl, temple of Tlaloc, and the religious significance of the cave beneath the structure. The concept of the Tonacatepetl, which means “mountain of significance,” comes from the Mesoamerican belief in creating massive mountain-like structures to appease the rain god and, as a result, produce rain. Tlaloc, who is the chief god of the sky and fertility, is the god to which the pyramid was constructed. The Sun pyramid is meant to honor him, while the Pyramid of the Moon is built for his wife Chalchiuhtlicue the goddess of flowing water. The cave under the pyramid is seen by the native people as a way to the “center of the universe.” Since caves hold a variety of supernatural meanings to the indigenous groups, the cave underneath the temple has a great amount of religious significance (Linda Manzanilla, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures, Teotihuacan).

The cave located under the Pyramid of the Sun was uncovered in 1971 by a group of archeologists. The cavern was naturally formed around a million years ago due to the flow of lava. The cave was found with a staircase and was a formerly decorated site of religious sacrifice, until the arrival of grave robbers. Since the corpses of victims are no longer available for dating, there are no accurate estimates at the earliest time of ritual sacrifice. The cave is a symbol to the native people of Mesoamerica as a representation of creation. In some stories, the god Quetzalcoatl retrieves the bones of man and the variations of corn from a cavern in the earth. As stated by Doris Heyden in American Antiquity, native groups believed that the god of fire, Xiuhtecuhtli, is housed in the center of the earth in a “turquoise enclosure” (Doris Heyden, American Antiquity, 131-141). In a much more general sense, the caves are also related to the homes of ancestors, a place of revival or origin, oracles, and the supernatural.

Though the structures such as the Pyramid of the Moon and the Temple of the Feathered Serpent are certainly significant, the Pyramid of the Sun and its natural cavern helped to make the city of Teotihuacan a place of religious significance. This spirituality caused the migration of the people to the site, and made the city one of the most important sites in Mesoamerica in terms of trade and pilgrimage.

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In early December of 1959, Anastas Mikoyan, the Soviet Union’s first deputy premier and one of its most formidable political figures, shouted "Viva México!" to a group of oil workers in the small Veracruz city of Poza Rica. A loud "Viva Rusia!" in reply followed. He added: "I love Mexico because no one is afraid of the word revolution." [1]

Since the beginning of the twentieth century Mexico and the Soviet Union shared a long history of class struggle and an anti-imperialist agenda. The former was the first country in the Western Hemisphere to acknowledge the latter’s statehood in 1924, Mexican communist groups campaigned to relieve hunger in the Volga region just two years prior, and President Lázaro Cárdenas and painter Frida Kahlo were among those who warmly welcomed Leon Trotsky to their home country in 1937. [2]

Yet, relations remained relatively cool until Nikita Khrushchev personally announced the shift in policy towards support of non-Communist developing countries in order to expand Soviet influence during the 21st Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in early 1959. [3] Mexico was undoubtedly one of the targets, but some questions remain. What factors created favorable conditions for the Soviet Union to identify Mexico as a potential recipient of its influence and, on the other hand, what were Mexican motivations for opening up to rapprochement with the Socialistic Block? How did the Soviet government attempt to exert its power and how did the Mexican elites respond to these advances?

Multiple factors created favorable conditions for possible cooperation between Mexico and the USSR during the era. Mexican economic prospects appeared rather dull by the end of the 1950s. No doubt, Latin America was of great importance to the US. Still, Washington’s policymakers consistently ignored the region’s frustrations regarding the lack of postwar settlement. Latin America’s exclusion from the Marshall Plan was particularly disheartening. [4] Eisenhower’s administration pursued economic policy of lower tariffs and private investments in place of inflows of public capital. US reluctance to support potentially undemocratic or corrupt regimes restricted the area’s economic growth. [5] Meanwhile, Partido Revolucionario Institucional had to underwrite further agrarian reforms and an expansion of post-World War II industrialization efforts through private foreign capital. Unequal trade terms between the US and Mexico were creating dependency on Washington and stunted the country’s progress. [6] Ideology also contributed to the ongoing neglect as Eisenhower’s administration pursued a neoliberal agenda of private industries, weak labor codes, and limited social services. [7]

In addition to lack of financial resources and the deficit in the balance of payments (the consequences of First World protectionism), Mexican mining, farming and other industrial sectors suffered from low commodity prices. [8] As the US was accounting for 70-80% of Mexico’s foreign trade turnover during the late 1950s and early 1960s, President López Mateos was seeking to reduce the country’s dependence on Washington by participating in the Latin American free trade zone, broadening business relations with Western European countries, and opening up to the possibility of cooperation with the USSR. [9] In addition, the President was able to use the Left’s defense of the principles of sovereignty and solidarity to support his strategy of diversification and internationalism. [10] These years were crucial for the shaping of a new Mexican Third World global pivot identity and its drive to actively participate in the world-wide Non-Aligned Movement. In other words, The Soviet Offensive fell on fertile Mexican grounds.

After Stalin’s death Moscow had limited political and economic relations with Latin America. Nikita Khrushchev laid a foundation for improvements by launching a Peaceful Coexistence doctrine in 1955. He personally announced the shift in policy towards support of non-Communist developing countries aiming to solidify Soviet influence on them at the 1959 twenty-first party congress. [11] The strategy encompassed the new approach to Global South, renewed focus on the world’s peripheries, and supported liberation movements. [12] The Soviets charged the Western block with “imperialism”, “cosmopolitanism”, and destruction of cultures. The objectives were to undermine US influence, to portray a favorable picture of Soviet life, and to establish connections between various institutions - all with the ultimate goal of smoothing out the path for an eventual “ascension of local communists to power”. [13]

The Russian advance in Mexico began in November 1959 with the Soviet exhibit at the capital’s Auditorio Nacional. Anastas Mikoyan arrived in Mexico City to assist the inauguration of the Soviet Exhibition of Science, Technology and Culture. Following an aggressive advertising campaign, Mikoyan and López Mateos pronounced its official opening. [14] The exposition remained open for twenty-five days and welcomed over a million of Mexican spectators. Showcases featured vehicles, industrial oil equipment, bulldozers, coal mining machines, cultural vitrines, and agricultural tools. However, the most popular display objects were the Lunik and Sputnik spacecrafts. [15] Although not without some criticisms, the exhibit notably boosted the Soviet prestige. Leaflets, press conferences, and publications supplemented propaganda efforts. The Russian blitz also consisted of Mikoyan’s touring of industrial Mexico and his multiple speeches, including one addressing the Mexican Senate. The CIA secretly reported: “His attacks on the policies and activities of the United States and of US firms in Latin America were combined with the reiteration of Soviet interest in increased trade and willingness to extend development credits to Mexico.” [16]

The Russians appeared to offer economic enticements. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade S.A. Borisov accompanied Mikoyan with the intent to sell tractors, printing machines, and other industrial goods valued at about 2.8 million Mexican pesos. [17] Economic flirtation continued through Senator Manuel Moreno Sánchez’s arrival to the USSR in May 1960 and through a discussion of trade prospects between A. A. Pavlenko and Alfredo Perera Mena (head editor of “Comercio Exterior” magazine) at the Soviet embassy in Mexico City in June 1962.

The USSR deployed its power in Latin America through technologies, symbolic systems, business, communication, and culture. Cultural pursuits were ubiquitous, and, by all accounts, the most successful. Diego Rivera underwent treatment for cancer in the Soviet Union in 1956. Over a year later, the Russians send their best artists, composers, athletes, and chess masters to Mexico. The Medical scholarship program that included Latin American countries opened in 1959. [18] Around the same time the Piatnitiskiy Folk Choir was touring across the country, two Soviet film festivals and multiple classical music performances entertained Mexican intellectuals and the general public. [19]

Soviet-Mexican relations undoubtedly went through a period of intensification during the late 1950s and early 1960s. However, Moscow’s political and economic influences on Mexico lacked momentum. The country’s strategy of differentiation did not succeed mainly due to the strong economic and financial integration and interdependence that Mexico and the US maintained throughout the mid-1960s. There is lack of documentation that proves that the US exerted direct pressure, but Mexico’s markets heavily relied on US preferential credit lines, like those granted by the Export/Import Bank or the IMF. These flows could “dry up” at any time. [20] In addition, the Mexican consumers were familiar with US products, Soviet goods were not known to the public and would have required intense advertising. [21]

Yet, there were more pragmatic reasons for the fiasco; those included logistical difficulties, underdevelopment of Soviet financial credit mechanisms, some naïveté in dealing with Mexican politicians and, most importantly, internal divisions within the Mexican political establishment and the Mexican Left.

In spite of the apparent lack of success in development of the stable political and economic ties between the two states in the late 1950s and early 1960s, diplomatic and cultural bonds solidified, and initial undertakings paved the way for more successful interactions in the following decade of the 1970s. The presidency of Gustavo Díaz Ordaz (1964–1970) was a period of cooled relations as he had turned away from the agenda of ‘independence’. [22] Moscow had to wait until 1973 to sign a bilateral commercial treaty with Mexico. [23]

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Although it has now been eradicated, smallpox, named for the pus-filled blisters that often rendered the disease-ridden individual unrecognizable, left a devastating and indelible mark on the New World. In a particularly graphic and poignant anecdote, the Cakchiquel Mayan people lamented the helplessness and inevitability of their situation, bestowed upon them by European invasions. Although this particular chronicle does not reference smallpox directly, the sentiment is representative of the ever-present vulnerability that plagued the Native populations for centuries to come:

“Great was the stench of the dead. After our fathers and grandfathers succumbed, half of the people fled to the fields. The dogs and vultures devoured the bodies. The mortality was terrible. Your grandfathers died, and with them died the son of the king and his brothers and kinsmen. So it was that we became orphans, oh, my sons! So we became when we were young. All of us were thus. We were born to die!”

This defenselessness, while pervasive, was coupled with a fiery tenacity to uplift society with scientific experimentation and humanitarianism. An excellent personification of this phenomenon is exhibited through the work of Guatemalan physician José Flores. Named the head of the Protomedicato in 1793 by the Audiencia of Guatemala, Flores possessed an impressive knowledge of the epidemiology of the smallpox virus, as well as a unique perspective of the demographics and sociocultural climate of Guatemala itself. Understanding that all populations are distinctive, Flores created a ‘local method’ of inoculation, using cantharides, or beetles capable of irritating skin and raising blisters, instead of the more intimidating lancet and scalpel tools. After the blister appeared on the body, Flores, and those following his instructions, placed a cotton string soaked in the pus of a mature smallpox vesicle in the sore, which he left for up to two days. Finally, he replaced the cotton with a desiccant, waiting for the inoculated individual to exhibit symptoms of a mild form of smallpox. The infected population, mainly children, were then escorted by city officials to a dwelling on the outskirts of town, often provoking an emotional response from the parents and elders of the area. In addition to the vaccination efforts, Flores, and the Protomedicato of 1794, implemented a three-point plan, in order to mitigate the spread of the deadly virus. Firstly, they decided to block the three major roads from Guatemala to Chiapas, Mexico, limiting the spread of travel. Secondly, they began inoculating the population immediately, targeting those not alive during the previous outbreak. Thirdly, the committee distributed an inoculation handbook, written by Dr. Flores, in order to streamline the process for those not accustomed to basic medical procedures, but required to administer the vaccine. This comprehensive manual included specific medical practices, such as the aforementioned “local technique”, and also detailed the importance of priests in the inoculation program, with Flores insisting they should act with “charity and with persuasion, speaking to the Indians in their own language, with love and fondness”. Eventually, Flores would even advocate for refashioning the vaccination process into a Catholic religious ceremony, reinforcing the hierarchical relationship of the colonizer and the colonized, and further neglecting indigenous responses and medical customs.

Despite his coercive processes of the late eighteenth century, the success of Flores’s inoculation campaign led to Spain’s Consejo de Indias desire for his medical recommendations, in order to formulate a robust empire-wide vaccination program, going into the nineteenth century. This Royal Maritime Vaccination Expedition capitalized on the newly developed Jenner vaccine, striving to implement a global humanitarian initiative. The technology of the Jenner vaccine was nothing short of revolutionary, as the mortality rate for smallpox was staggering, with estimates ranging from thirty to sixty percent in New Spain. The massive distribution effort, guided by economic potential, an Enlightened interest in science, and a genuine humanitarianism, permanently altered the global landscape of medical practices. The latter phenomenon, often touted as the most important objective, is best shown through the following quote, spoken by Dr. Flores:

“This ... is the crowning moment of my glory; because it provides me the most happy opportunity to promote an easy and safe method to eradicate smallpox, and forever liberate the inhabitants of those lands from the most frightening contagions. I ask you then to listen indulgently [to] the first fruits of a medical physician who burns for love for his homeland [patria], all of America, [and] all of humanity.”

Altruistism was also present in the mind of Edward Jenner, evidenced by his resounding hope that the “practice of producing cowpox in human beings will spread over the world”. This custom, while seemingly unconventional, was tested by Jenner on May 14, 1796. Noticing the absence of smallpox amongst milkmaids, Jenner theorized that their frequent exposure to cowpox protected them from the far more serious disease. He then tested this theory on eight-year-old James Phillips, vaccinating him with cowpox, and six weeks later, inoculating him with matter from a smallpox vesicle. When the smallpox virus did not develop, Jenner’s theory was proven correct, and the demand for cowpox grew exponentially, as the news of the groundbreaking discovery spread and enthusiasm soared. The majority of the world was astonished by his breakthrough, but Jenner was not without his critics. The noble intentions throughout the creation and distribution of the vaccine, were met with both ethical and logistical difficulties.

From the very inception of the Jenner vaccine, ethical questions arose, often for two interconnected reasons. Various opponents of Jenner believed that the entire vaccination process was immoral and sacrilegious, stating that infecting healthy people with “repugnant and dirty material” from an animal was unacceptable. Additionally, even though the experiment was a success, it was morally problematic to conduct a medical study on a live human, without possessing a deep understanding of immunity, antibodies, and the disease itself. Furthermore, transporting and maintaining a steady supply of cowpox was a logistical nightmare, and many countries were forced to rely on the transmission of foreign lymph fluid. In his previously mentioned official report to the Spanish Empire, Dr. José Flores suggested a two-part expedition, with ships carrying both a “sufficient” number of young boys and cattle infected with cowpox, and a quantity of vaccine material sealed between glass slides. The leaders of the Royal Maritime Vaccination Expedition agreed with Dr. Flores’s strategy, and they instructed physicians to take non-immune boys from the Casa de Niños Expósitos in Madrid on the voyage, in order to maintain a live supply of the virus. The struggle to preserve cowpox lymph plagued Guatemalan society, and in the absence of naturally occurring cowpox, the Audiencia supported the introduction of human smallpox into animals, hoping the same anti-smallpox properties would occur. Ultimately, establishing a reliable domestic supply of cowpox would depend on keeping animals, such as cattle, ewes, horses, and mules sick, so that workers could continuously extract the infectious material. While this practice would certainly be unethical by twenty-first-century standards, medical officials of the time considered it a microcosm of scientific experimentation and advancement:

“This little can of smallpox will garner much interest, namely, that the [human] smallpox pus from Ciudad Real will be injected into ewes, thereby sowing the vaccine, because we have not had the good luck to locate [cowpox] among the cows or sheep in this vicinity, nor further away, no matter how much we rushed our efforts. Immediately we intend to conduct original experiments, found on so perfect an analogy, thus it seems success is guaranteed.”

The published material and correspondence of this era further proved the lack of ethical standards or misgivings amongst the scientific community, in regard to both the animal and human experimentation. After the formal introduction of the smallpox vaccine into Guatemalan society, the promotion of these trials became government sponsored, as well as propagandized in Gazeta de Guatemala. The end result, hoped to be the eradication of the destructive disease that decimated populations globally, justified the use of extraordinary means, including arm-to-arm transfer of vaccination, forced animal inoculation, and doctoral self-experimentation. Unfortunately, those with little power, such as foundlings, the poor, and racial minorities were the primary subject of testing and vaccine maintenance, as both violated ideas of bodily integrity.

Today, in the age of another global pandemic, those with little societal power are still experiencing unproportionate effects of the disease, albeit in different ways. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights recently highlighted the “rising disparities in how COVID-19 is affecting communities, and the major disproportionate impact it is having on racial and ethnic minorities”. However, the humanitarian and enlightenment efforts of past centuries have persevered, as well. Specifically, the members of the NGO Wuqu’ Kawoq/Maya Health Alliance have created radio programs in twenty different Mayan languages, in order to inform the rural populations of Guatemala that are sheltered in place and separated from the world due to a lack of internet access. Additionally, scientists, still benefiting from Edward Jenner’s breakthrough, continue to use animals in the experimentation process, utilizing mice, hamsters, ferrets, and monkeys to test the safety of a potential vaccine. This effort, much like those of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, is credited with being the pinnacle of benevolence and scientific advancement. Yet, a rising number of critics point to animal testing as an archaic and unacceptable sacrifice. A German organization, Doctors Against Animal Experiments, has spoken out against animal testing in the midst of the COVID-19 era, stating that animal experiments have “poor predictivity for human medicine”, and that there are better methods, such as “organ-chips and lung organoids” available. Although these two approaches are underfunded and under researched, the comprehensive plan to phase out animal-based testing in the Netherlands shows the growing possibility of an innovative world, devoid of controversial and systematic animal exploitation. Ultimately, the science, ethics, and logistics of the Royal Maritime Vaccination Expedition continue to inform and influence society today, but we must continue to grow and mature in relation to these phenomena, leaving the following generations a more sustainable humanity than we received.

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On a hot, June day of 1963, a large flatbed truck drives through the metropolitan area of Houston, Texas carrying cargo in a steel cage. Within the unbreakable enclosure resides not a living creature, but a nearly nine-foot tall basalt monolith from the jungles of Mexico. The monument, representing the head of an ancient Olmec ruler or deity, attracts the attention of many Houstonians as it embarks on its temporary home. According to the Houston Chronicle, the colossal Olmec head from the San Lorenzo archaeological site in Veracruz, Mexico, named San Lorenzo Head no. 2, overlooked downtown Houston. Head 2, positioned in front of Cullinan Hall of the Houston Fine Arts Museum, remained on display as part of the art exhibition, "The Olmec Tradition," from June 18 to August 25 of 1963. [1]

What unique characteristics did this colossal head offer to its visitors? What distinguished Head 2 from the other Olmec heads? To better understand this, a proper narrative of Head 2 requires a necessary contextualization. The mentioned context must feature a brief explanation of the monument’s “discovery” by Matthew Stirling, who introduced Head 2 into twentieth-century modern history. Additionally, the narrative must explore the monument’s quest from San Lorenzo to Houston, organized by James Johnson Sweeney, the Director of the Houston Fine Arts Museum. Through Stirling’s “discovery” and the great efforts accomplished by Sweeney, San Lorenzo Head 2 represented more than an ancient artifact; it symbolized the American appreciation of Pre-Columbian art and culture during the 1960s.

In 1945, archaeologist Matthew Stirling and his wife traveled to the Mexican state of Veracruz. The modern state of Veracruz was established in the Olmec region along the Gulf of Mexico. What remains of the Olmec in this specific part of Veracruz lies within three archaeological sites: San Lorenzo, Tenochtitlán, and Potrero Nuevo. Archaeologists often refer to these sites as San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán. In his 1955 paper to the Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin, titled “Stone Monuments of Río Chiquito, Veracruz, Mexico,” he recounted his first encounter with Head 2. A local village of indigenous people guided the Stirlings to the many Olmec monuments remaining in San Lorenzo. David Grove, author of "Discovering the Olmecs," states that Head 2 was the first of two heads Stirling observed and recorded. Due to the second head’s larger size, Stirling ultimately named it “’San Lorenzo Colossal Head 1,’ and the head seen earlier in the day, although found first, ‘Colossal Head 2’”. [2] Stirling left Head 2 in a 10-foot deep hole and drew a map in his notes to where the head rested.

The astonishing and unique appearance of San Lorenzo Head 2 distinguishes itself among the other discovered Olmec heads. Stirling offers a first-hand account report of the monument in situ. He found the head mostly buried underneath the trail from San Lorenzo to Tenochtitlán with only a small portion exposed to the surface. The head’s height measured 2.7 meters (8’10”) with a width of 1.9 meters (6’3”). He explained that the head lacked significant damage; nevertheless, it presented distinctive evidence of erosion. Long-term erosion caused the head to lose many of its detailed facial features. The specific eroded facial features are visible on the head’s left side, which faced upwards. The right side of the head, which laid completely buried in the soil, presented minimal signs of erosion and remained relatively untouched. Like the right side of the head, he explained that the earth perfectly preserved the rear segments of Head 2.

In his writings, Stirling made interesting conclusions regarding the positions of the San Lorenzo heads. He stated, “the San Lorenzo monuments appear all to have been intentionally overthrown and many of them cast into the ravines.” [3] He concluded that the monuments were later moved by the more recent indigenous people who currently occupied the San Lorenzo region. Could the disposal of these heads signify political or religious purposes? Amber VanDerwarker’s "Farming, Hunting, and Fishing in the Olmec World" provides context regarding Gulf lowland Olmec people. As part of the Gulf lowland Olmec groups, the people of San Lorenzo thrived during the Early (1400-1000 BCE) and Middle (1000-400 BCE) Formative periods. VanDerwarker illustrates the social and political construct present in the architecture of San Lorenzo. She states that the site offered “extensive mound-building and monument construction, symbols of the power wielded by regional leaders,” to which this assertion supports contextualization of an Olmec ruler or deity. [4]

Interested in the expansion of Pre-Columbian Mexican art throughout the United States, James Johnson Sweeney became fascinated in Stirling’s 1945 excursion to Mexico. As the director of the Houston Fine Arts Museum, he provided background regarding the acquisition of Head 2 in the art catalog titled "The Olmec Tradition," named after the exhibit. The relatively close proximity made the task of transporting the massive head successful. The board of directors accounted for Houston’s growing Hispanic population when considering a Mesoamerican art display. Sweeny desired an exhibition of the earliest Mesoamerican culture, which led him to the appreciation of colossal Olmec heads. With the assistance of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, Thomas Mann, a US ambassador to Mexico, met with Dr. Eusebio Dávalos Hurtado, the Director of Mexico’s National Institute of History and Anthropology (INAH). When Mann asked about Mexico loaning an Olmec head to Houston, Dávalos asked, “why not bring out the only known remaining head which is still in the jungle on the island of San Lorenzo?” [5] His advice influenced Sweeney to embark upon a quest into the Veracruz jungles.

In June of 1962, Sweeney arranged a flight to Mexico, where he would then board a private helicopter to San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan to film a documentary. With the local pilot having never heard of San Lorenzo, Sweeney relied on the 1945-1946 field notes of Matthew Stirling to guide him to the last colossal head, specifically Stirling’s map of the head’s location. The map guided Sweeney to multiple villages in the San Lorenzo region. Finally, Sweeney and the pilot circled the helicopter around the space where the villagers believed the head resided. Once both men spotted the head from the sky, the pilot landed the helicopter for Sweeny to get a closer look. The gentlemen failed to find the head on foot. The helicopter returned to the sky and hovered over Head 2 until Sweeney could reach it. The massive head rested on its side in the 10-foot deep hole that Stirling and his team had excavated years before. [6]

After many dilemmas, Sweeney finally removed the head from its home in the summer of 1963. The only way to safely transport the head from Mexico to Houston was by ship. However, Sweeney and his team of engineers, provided by the Consejo Nacional Turismo, needed to move the monument out of the jungle first. The absence of roads forced locals to clear a path for the sole purpose of transporting the head out of the jungle. With the help from machetes and bulldozers, the team crafted a suitable road for a large flatbed truck to approach the head’s resting place. The bulldozer flattened the ground around the resting spot of Head 2. With the proper tools, the men used the bulldozer to drag the head onto the flatbed. The truck experienced many issues along the newly constructed road, such as getting stuck in the thick mud and in two flowing streams. [7]

After a long trek, the head arrived in the more urban areas of Mexico, which made the delivery of Head 2 much easier for all parties involved. The truck entered the first real road in Ojapa and continued to the coastal town of Coatzacoalcos, where it eventually shipped to Houston. The crane aboard the ship transferred Head 2 onto yet another flatbed truck. The monument, now encased in a steel cage for its own protection, slowly moved through the metropolitan streets of Houston. The museum prepared a new resting area for the head in front of Cullinan Hall during its visit in Houston, where it would remain there until its return to Mexico. Head 2 would transfer to the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. [8]

The summer of 1963 lay witness to Houstonians connecting with rulers of Pre-Columbian Americas. Head 2 and its accompanying artifacts showcased to Houstonians the significance of Olmec culture. The Olmec Tradition presented art that represented the history of Mexico, and in turn early North American history. Influential in its time, this exhibition would pave the way for recognition of the Hispanic population in Houston through the expression of ancient and modern art.

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José Antonio Migangos met with the Mexican consul, Buenaventura Vivó, in Havana on March 12, 1849. He represented 135 other Yucatec Maya men, women, and children forced to sign labor contracts for their alleged involvement in the Caste War. The agreements were in Spanish, a language most of them did not understand, with harsh punishment conditions, little pay, and a ten-year term. Both Yucatecan and Spanish officials notarized these agreements, effectively endorsing a secret slave trade. Throughout Mexican colonial and national history, other Mexicans and Mexico’s government have abused Yucatec Mayas. They were not given equal representation within the government while having heavy tax burdens. Not only did they suffer from unfair tax burdens, but they also suffered racial prejudice. The elites of Mexico referred to Mayas and all natives as degenerate races. As a result, Mexico felt justified in their treatment of Mayas, even in selling problem Mayas into slavery in Cuba, while slavery was illegal in Mexico itself. [1] [2]

Yucatec Maya's anger at the mistreatment they suffered eventually erupted into the violence of the Caste War in 1847. The rebellion was successful for a few years until the state almost destroyed it in 1853. A group of rebels called the Cruzob (people of the cross) successfully maintained the insurrection forming a breakaway state called Chan Santa Cruz. The Cruzob were able to carry on as an independent entity within Yucatán for nearly fifty years. Chan Santa Cruz collapsed due to issues with leadership leading to the occupation of the town by the Mexican army on May 4, 1901. Without the Speaking Cross oracle, the Caste War would have ended much sooner. [3] [4]

The Caste War did not arise from a world polarized between Mayas and other Mexicans. Many of the batabs (local Mayan leaders) willingly acted as middlemen between Mayas and the regional government. They collected taxes, enforced behavioral standards, and punished people who failed to live up to expectations. Racial discrimination was a factor in the Caste War, but it was the elite Yucatecans' attempt to control labor, taxes, and politics that caused local discontent. Mayas did not want to enrich the Yucatecan elite by being exploited. One thorn in Maya flesh was the obventions, occasional donations to the church, that they were required to pay. The church would sentence Mayas to forced labor for local landowners if they failed to meet their donation requirements. They were taxed heavily by the state and received little in return. The state also worked Mayas to death, and due to their status, they had few opportunities to improve their situation. The batabs and local elections provided no help, so resentment boiled over into violence. [5] [6]

The Caste War began on June 30, 1847, when Cecilio Chi attacked Tepich. The war went well at first. The rebels gained large swaths of territory, and many Mayas rallied to the cause, but Maya leaders were unable to get along. Yucatán, with foreign aid, took advantage of the lack of leadership and was able to defeat most of the rebels by 1853. The government was also aided by former Maya rebels who traded peace for freedom from tax obligations and the ability to govern themselves. They were known as pacíficos (peaceful Mayas). It seemed the Caste War was over, but the Cruzob rallied around their leaders, and the war continued for nearly 50 more years. [7] [8]

The government was beaten back by the followers of Juan de la Cruz (John of the Cross). Cruz founded the Speaking Cross religion in October or November of 1850 after he had a vision that told him to rally Mayas to the way of the cross. He called himself Jesucristo (Jesus Christ) and blended elements of Catholicism and traditional Maya beliefs in the new religion. His followers were promised immunity from bullets by the Speaking Cross. He exhorted Mayas to drive the whites out and reclaim Maya land in sermons he left at the shrine of the holy cross in Chan Santa Cruz. Juan was the first prophet of the new religion, and José María Barrera was his general. Cruz's identity is not known, but his message was used by Barrera to inspire the Mayas to continue fighting. Cruz's followers helped the Mayas recover from the defeats they suffered in the early 1850s. When Barrera died on December 31, 1852, Juan de La Cruz disappeared, and Venancio Puc took control of the oracle. [9]

It is not clear when Puc established himself as leader of the rebel state, but he was in complete control by 1857. He added discipline to the government of Chan Santa Cruz, which was able to control a large part of Yucatán's Caribbean coast. The rebels captured the old Spanish fort in Bacalar in 1858 under Puc's leadership. Puc cleared the enemies from the border of Chan Santa Cruz and established an independent state. He made one critical error in December of 1863. He underestimated his generals' attachment to the prisoners captured by the rebels over the years. He decided to round up all the captives in Chan Santa Cruz and have them executed as a precursor to an attack on Tekax. General José Dionisio Zapata and José Leandro Santos objected to the executions and overthrew Puc. Puc had been using trickery to make the cross speak and manipulate the people of Chan Santa Cruz. The generals exposed José Nah as the speaker of the cross and executed him, Puc and Puc's priest, Sanchez. The Speaking Cross spoke audibly no more. [10] [11] [12]

The death of Puc was the beginning of the end for Chan Santa Cruz. Assassins killed Puc's executioners, then Bernadino Cen, Crescenio Poot, and Bonifacio Novelo took the reins of the state. They maintained what Puc had assembled, but in 1875 Poot and Cen loyalists fought each other leading Cen to flee the territory. The pattern of infighting repeated itself and, since the active phase of the war ended in the 1870s, Mayas had less reason to bind themselves to the cause. When Porfirio Díaz became president, the state was effectively gone. England ended its diplomatic relationship with Chan Santa Cruz, and the territory shrank over time. When the Mexican Army rolled into town on May 4, 1901, Chan Santa Cruz had already defeated itself. [13] [14]

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After touring many opulent cathedrals in Mexico, the Church and Hospital of Jesús Nazareno seemed unusually plain. There were no frescos covering the walls, no grand carved marble alters, or organ pipes spanning the width of the church. Just a plain white ceiling and walls with an unusual stylistic depiction of the Virgin Mary. There were a few of the local faithful in attendance, but this was not a hot spot tourist destination. In fact, you wouldn’t even know that the bones of the most detested man in the history of the Americas were concealed behind the alter walls. The only thing memorializing this most controversial man was a small red placard that read ... Hernán Cortés.

The Church and Hospital are supposedly located at the spot where Hernán Cortés and Moctezuma II met for the first time in 1519. This location served as the opening of the causeway leading from Tenochtitlan to Iztapalapa. After the Conquest, Cortés ordered that a hospital be built to tend to Aztec soldiers wounded fighting with the Spanish.[1]

In his last will, Cortés clearly stated that he wanted the hospital to be built for the sons of the Aztec warriors who had perished in battle during the Conquest of Tenochtitlan. This was not an institution for wounded Spanish soldiers. It was built many years after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire.[2]

While small, hidden and vertically unknown to most of the world, this spot had a huge impact on making the Montezuma and Cortez moment in history come alive for me. Cortez’s remains will forever be entombed at the site that changed the course of Mesoamerican history, and no one even knows that they’re there.

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During the Classic period, Palenque was one of the most important Maya cities. Archeologists have uncovered some of Palenque’s greatest secrets, including two sarcophagi, that contribute to Palenque's continued importance. A sarcophagus discovered in 1952 belonged to King Pakal, Palenque’s most significant ruler. The slab-crypt lid contains volumes of information on Palenque. Another surprise was the discovery of the sarcophagus in the neighboring temple, belonging to the mysterious Red Queen. Unlike Pakal’s encrypted funerary box, this one has no writing that would give archeologists an indication of who this noblewoman may have been. This discovery was the beginning of a still ongoing search of the her identity. When Pakal’s sarcophagus was found in the Temple of Inscriptions in 1952 it was a rare moment for Mesoamerican archeologists. Sarcophagi burials in the New World are very uncommon, and there have only been four discovered in the Mayan world to date.

What makes the sarcophagi discoveries even more valuable besides being rare is that they are also two of the richest burial chambers in Mesoamerica; one of them belonging to a female. Within her stone case were pieces of jade, pearl, shell, and obsidian jewelry and figurines, as well as an elaborate jade and malachite death mask. Trying to unearth who this honored woman was is difficult not only because of decomposition and lack of epigraphs, but because Palenque, as a part of its extraordinary history, has had several noteworthy heroines.

In 1994, inside Temple XIII, archeologists Fanny Lopez and Arnoldo Gonzalez, discovered passageways that lead to this sarcophagus. When opened, the entire contents was stained a bright red from the cinnabar matter that enlaced the whole box. Cinnabar was only used for the families of the highest social status. The bright red powder gave the Red Queen her nickname. Due to the proximity of Pakal’s sarcophagus, and the almost identical burial style, historians are certain this woman was of significance to the him. Scholars and researchers first narrowed the options to three exceptional females: Yohl ik Naal, true queen of Palenque and grandmother to Pakal; Sak K’uk, mother of Pakal and provisional ruler of Palenque; or Tz’akbu Ajaw, wife of Pakal and mother to his three sons (two of whom would become rulers). Yohl ik Naal lead Palenque in battle against Calakmul and began to rebuild her city to its former glory. Based on the ceramics within the sarcophagus and the age of two skeletons of the sacrificial victims (c. 650-700 AD), it is unlikely that the Red Queen is Pakal’s grandmother, who died in AD 604. Although her remains may have been reburied in this temple, the skeleton was too intact for this to be likely.

The next theory, Pakal’s mother, was also a likely answer, but DNA has proved otherwise. Biological archeologists, such as Vera Tiesler, were able to extract and compare the DNA of Pakal to the DNA of the Red Queen to prove the two were not related. That leaves the wife of Pakal, Lady Tz’akbu Ajaw. Dental analysis proves the Red Queen was not native to Palenque, like Pakal’s wife who was part of a marriage alliance. Osteoporosis was detected in the skeleton, which would have been caused from late childbirth; Tz’akbu Ajaw gave birth to her last son when she was thirty-eight years old. Facial reconstruction based on both the deformed skull and the funerary mask has allowed researchers to match the face of the Red queen to Pakal’s wife based on the realistic iconography Palenque Mayans left behind. The most obvious answer seems to be that the Red Queen was Pakal’s wife, Lady Tz’akbu Ajaw, mother to two royal heirs of Palenque. There is one determining piece of evidence missing: the DNA of one of her sons that archeologists are hoping to find in another sarcophagus.

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We arrived in the morning and there is a strange kind of quiet in the plaza. The sounds of the modern world do not dwell here. The sun is shining and beating down on the unprepared in the quiet of the morning. Even this far in from the coast you can still taste the salt in the air. That was my first impressions of Edzná.

The site of Edzná is not like Chichén Itza or Palenque with crowds of tourists and venders filling the walkways. It is a site that is sees fewer tourists. That morning it was occupied by no more than six others when we arrived. You can hear the birds in the trees and the breeze of the wind. The elevated roads or “sacbe” that lead into the central plaza are empty of traffic. Except for the occasional squirrel or iguana who now make this their home.

Edzná is a large ancient Maya city in the Mexican state of Campeche, about 50 km south of Campeche City. Edzná means “House of Itzás”, which tells us that Edzná was founded by the family that later established the ancient city of Chichén Itzá. While the site of Edzná feels vast with its wide-open spaces it is quite a bit smaller than some. It was 25 km² at its height with a population of 25,000 roughly half the size of Cobá. The Maya city was occupied from the Middle Classic to the Late Classic period (500 to 900 CE), but not completely abandoned until the 1400s. Many archaeologists today are still unsure as to why they left.

The Stelas placed at the front of the site reveal some of the history of Edzná. The signage on these stelas are provided by INAH but do not include the English translation, so having a friend that can read Spanish or great cell service might be required. The signs for the buildings do have an English translation however, so even if you don’t know Spanish or Maya you‘ll still be okay.

The types of architecture used at this site varied over the centuries, for the Maya built upon what was already made from the previous generation. The Petén, Chenes, Puuc and Post Classic styles can be seen here but as with many ancient sites it also displays features that are unique to itself. Atop the Gran Acropolis is the Cinco Pisos an enormous five story temple that has a wind comb and two other large range buildings called the Temple of the North and the Temple of the Moon on each side creating a wide plaza. Cinco Pisos is on the eastern side of the Acropolis and the first thing you see when you reach the top of the stairs.

There are many more things to see at Edzná and this is a site where you won’t be rushed by the crowds. The rich Mesoamerican history of this site connects the past to the present and leaves mysteries for future generations to solve.

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