Natural Areasof

Mesoamerica

Tim Roufs

University of Minnesota Duluth

http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/reference_maps/north_america.html

Physiographic Regions of Middle America

Principal Geological Provinces of Middle America

Western Sierra Madre

Central High Plateau

Coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico

Neovolcanic Axis

Southern Sierra Madre

Isthmus of Tehuantepec

Yucatán Peninsula

Mountains of northwestern

Central America

Volcanoes of El Salvador and Nicaragua

Coastal Plains of the Pacific Ocean

Coastal Plains of the Caribbean Sea

Isthmus ofCosta Rica-

Panama

Surface Geology of Middle America

Major Cultural Areas of Middle America, ca. A.D. 1500

nonagricultural areasagricultural areas

limit of high cultureslimits of

“Mesoamerican”Culture (Kirchoff, 1943)

http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anth3618/maKirchhof_handout.html#title

“Mesoamerica”(cultural)

“Middle America”(geological)

Regional Divisions of the Mesoamerican Cultural Area

Maya Highlands

MayaLowlands

Southern Periphery

SouthernVeracruz-Tobasco

Oaxaca

Central Mexico

Central Veracruz

The Huasteca

Guerrero

Western Mexicoand the

Northern Frontier

Central Highlands

Central Highlands

Valley of Mexico

Istaccihuatl and Popocatepetl

Popocatepetlhttp://members.tripod.com/~Maverickpage/imagenes/Mex15.jpg

Popocatepetl and Istaccihuatlhttp://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/kids/legends.html#mexico

http://archaeology.la.asu.edu/tm/pages2/mtm04.htm

Schematic Diagram of the Central Highland Area – Patrick F. Gallagher

The Mesa Central of Mexico

Interior Drainage and Lakes of the Central Plateau of Mexico, ca. A.D. 1500

The Northern Portion of Tulancingo Basin, Northeastern Mesa Central

A Portion of the Tarascan Sierra, Michoacan

A Portion of the Highly Dissected Mesa Del Sur, East of Oaxaca City

Northern Part of the Valley of Oaxaca

Mean Annual Precipitation, Mexico and Central America

Normal Hurricane Tracks

Vegetation

Surface Configuration of the Yucatán Penninsula

The Continental Shelf and Areas of Certain Fisheries

Miocene-Pliocene Routes of Animal Migrations

Who Were the First Americas?

Tim Roufs

University of Minnesota Duluth

Tim Roufs

University of Minnesota Duluth

http://www.pbs.org/saf/1406/

http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anth3618/mastages_handout.html

Chinampas