BobRingReflections

For years, I’ve studied and written about ancient civilizations in the southwestern U.S. and nearby northern Mexico.  It seems I’m always referring to “more advanced” civilizations to the south in central Mexico and central America.  So, I thought it was about time that I found out what those advanced civilizations were and what made them “advanced.” Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in North America that extends from approximately central Mexico south and east through Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica.   Geographically, Mesoamerica consists of two strongly contrasted regions: highlands and lowlands. The Mexican highlands are formed mainly by two  Sierra Madre  mountain ranges that sweep down on the east and west. Lying across them in central Mexico is a string of volcanoes stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific.   The high valleys and landlocked basins of Mexico were important