The Valley of Mexico has been inhabited by many tribes over thousands of years. The oldest remains of a human corpse (approx. 10,0000 BC) were found, next to those of a mammoth, in Tepéxpan, north of the Valley of Mexico.

One of the earliest settlements was found at Tlatilco (1500 BC - 500 BC), where a number of figurines, zoomorphic vases and other figures were found in about 340 tombs. Other sites from about that period are: El Arbolillo, Zacatenco and Cuicuilco . At the site of Cuicuilco (300BC-150AD) a cylindrical shaped structure has been found underneath lava from the Xitle volcano that is known as the pyramid of Cuicuilco.

Also in the Valley of Teotihuacán (northeast of the Valley of Mexico) small agricultural settlements emerged. In about 400 BC the first public structures appeared, and the city grew rapidly. By 200 BC the city stretched out over 22,5 square kilometers and had a population of about 45,000 inhabitants. The metropolis Teotihuacán began to dominate other cultures, cities and settlements. Their influence reached as far as the Maya city of Tikal, where Stela 31 relates the arrival of a Teotihuacán lord called Siyah K’ak’ on January 31, 378 AD) . After 650 AD the city fell into decline and a period of decentralisation began.

Later, the role of Teotihuacán was taken over by the Toltecs, who were probably emmigrants from the north. The Toltecs settled in the Valley of Mexico around 900 AD where they built their capital of Tula. In the ceremonial center of Tula they built pyramids, rooms and ballcourts. The site is characterized by the great stone warrior figures known as Atlantes, similar to those found in the ancient site of Tihuanacu (Peru).
Among the Toltecs war became increasingly important. Professional soldiers appeared who were organised in different military orders such as the Eagle, Jaguar and Coyote order. Friezes depict wars and sacrifices, and we see the first appearance of a tzompantli (skull-rack) and the chacmool (statues used offering stone).
Around the year 1170 Tula was ransacked and partially destroyed. Nevertheless, the influence of the Toltecs lived on, for instance in Chichén Itzá, where the architecture and religious representations bear an extraordinary resemblance to those of the Toltec capital.

It was not until the 13th Century when the Mexica, whose principal god Huizilopochtli had sent them on a pilgimage from Aztlán to the south, arrived in the Valley of Mexico. Led by the priest Tenoch, they fought against the more established tribes to secure their own place on the banks of the lakes. Around 1299 they settled at Chapultepec, but they were defeated by the Acohuas. They moved on and in 1325 on an island in the middle of the Lake, they finally saw the sign which had been predicted by Huitzilopochtli: an eagle, seated on a prickly pear cactus, devouring a snake. This was the place where their pilgrimage came to an end and where they built their capital Mexico-Tenochtitlán.

The intense activity of the Mexica and their contacts with numerous local peoples led to their rapid assimilation of knowledge and cultural expression.
Over a period of only two hundred years they were able to conquer surrounding tribes, build an extraordinary city, and spread their presence to such distant lands as the Soconusco (southern Chiapas).
They enlarged the small island by means of small floating plots of land known as chinanmpas. This way numerous small canals were created that connected a great number of houses, palaces, temples, a zoo, plazas, markets and aqueducts. The city sustained an intense relationship with the rest of the valley via the enormous causeways with their network of bridges and dams. All this infrastructure supported a social and political organization centered around the Calpulli (productive communities) located at the main cardinal points: Azacoalco (northeast), Zoquiapan (southeast), Moyotla (southwest) and Cuepopan (northwest).

The Roots of the city - mexicocity.com

The Pre-Classic or Formative Period - mexconnect.com

The Toltecs - Mexico for kids

Mexicas/Aztecs - An interesting post of our own Xolotl

The name Oaxaca comes from Huaxyacac, which is Nahuatl for "the place of the seed pots". The central valley of Oaxaca is a mountain highland, encompassing 3,375 square kilometers (1,303 square miles) at an elevation of approximately 1,550 meters (5,115 feet).
A central ridge system divides the valley in three separate, smaller valleys: the Tlacolula Valley, extending 50 km east; the Etla Valley, reaching 40 km north; and the Zimatlan Valley, which stretches a full 100 km south to Miahuatlan, where the land rises before dropping to the lowlands of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.

The people first lived in small settlements nestled among the pristine fertility of land and sea. In their mountain enclaves and fertile valleys, the people planted corn, beans and chocolate, tomatoes, chiles, squash, pumpkin and gourds. There were pineapples, avocados and zapotes (fruit bearing tree, see for further description: Black Sapote).

Primary sources of meat were the tepezcuintle (Agouti paca, a rodent), the turkey (which was domesticated), fowl, deer, wild boar, armadillo and iguana. Fishing was an important occupation in the coastal areas where the fruits of the sea were diverse and abundant.

In the forests they hunted the plumes of the legendary quetzal. From nopal (a kind of cactus), they harvested the cochineal (tiny insect) from which they made the most precious red dye. From the rocks of the lonely Pacific coves, with infinite delicacy, they gathered small snails which were made to secrete their unique majestic purple dye, carefully returning them in order to preserve them for the next perilous visit.

The stately palm provided coconuts, its leaves were used to thatch the houses that were built from its slender limbs, they were used to make sleeping mats, floor coverings, baskets and hats. Skins from the tigrillo (little tiger cat), jaguar, deer and boar were used to keep out the cold of the mountain nights and for ceremonial dress.

The cotton native to the region, both the white and the naturally brown coyuchi (now called 'ecological'), was spun into thread using a slender rod called a malacate, then handwoven on a backstrap loom into fine fabric, gleaming white, or with colorful designs.

The bountiful maguey provided the thorn with which to embroider and sew the garments, ixtle fiber for mecates (ropes), hamacas and other coarse fabrics. The leaves were used to make the first fermentation, pulque and the distillate mezcal.

Thousands of plants and herbs were utilized for medicines.

Gold and silver were fashioned into exquisite adornments. Beautiful objects, for decoration and for everyday use, were elaborated from alabaster, turquoise, jadeite, marble, onyx and stone. Blessed with a tremendous variety of native clays, talented hands formed vessels and figures.

Commercial trade routes passed through from the north to the Mayan lands, Central and South America. Much of the trade was barter. Depending on the era, shells, gold, silver, feathers and dyes constituted legal tender. All travel was on foot or by sea. Men and women transported goods by foot on their heads or by means of tumplines (burden straps).

Villages were basically extended family groups with a patriarchal form of communal authority. As the population grew, the political organization became more complex and sophisticated. Of the sixteen ethnias, two continued to expand in numbers and territory: the Zapotecs and the Mixtecs.

The Zapotecs had no legends of migration, but believed themselves to have been born directly from rocks, trees, and jaguars. A priestly hierarchy regulated religious rites, which sometimes included human sacrifice. The Zapotecs worshipped their ancestors, and believed in the underworld. In art, architecture, hieroglyphics, mathematics, and calendar the Zapotecs seemed to have cultural affinities with the Olmecs and later with the Toltecs. They used the same bar and dot system of numerals as the Maya.

Within the state of Oaxaca, across from the Atoyac stream, lies a series of large hills. The largest of these hills, reaching nearly 400 metres above sea level, is where the Zapotecs around 500 AD started to built the ceremonial centre, which is now known as Monte Alban. Monte Alban, "White Mountains" in Spanish, was formerly called Danibaan (Sacred Mountain).Other important sites that were built were Mitla, Lambityeco, Dainzu, Yagul, Zaachila and Guiéngola.

The name "Mixtec" comes from the Nahuatl "Mishtekall", which means “cloud people”, those who lived in Mixtlan, or “cloud land”, that is, in the high mountain regions. The name they call themselves is Ñuu-savi, or “people of the rain”. They originally inhabited the area covered today by northwestern Oaxaca, eastern Guerrero, and southern Puebla.

In the eighth century the important cities of Tilantongo and Coixtlahuaca were founded. In the former was born one of the greatest Mixtec rulers, Eight Deer Tiger Claw (1011-1063), who brought all of the Mixtec centers under his rule. From Coixtlahuaca the Mixtec conquest spread into the southern territory, subjugating and displacing the Zapotecs in Monte Alban, Mitla, Yagul and other centers thus influencing the language and customs.

Much is known about the history of the Mixtec from the pictorial history books known as codices. Four of the best known are the Bodley, Nuttal, Selden and Vienna Codices. They reveal such things as the calendar cycle of feasts, ritual sacrifice, the cult of the dead and a royal genealogy starting in 692 AD.

The Mixtecs were also superb goldsmiths, potters, and carvers. The most famous collection of Mixtec artifacts was found in tomb seven at the Monte Alban archaeological site in Oaxaca.

From 1000 to 1300 AD, the Mixtecs were pushed southward by the Toltecs and Chichimecs (or barbarians as the Aztec/Mexicas were called). They got to the Oaxaca valley, where they clashed with the Zapotecs who abandoned Monte Alban and moved to centers farther south, such as Yagul and Lambityeco. A semi-alliance was brought about between the two groups when the Zapotec king married a Mixtec princess in 1280. The alliance couldn't hold back the Aztecs who invaded under Axayacatl in the middle of the fifteenth century. They did succeed in turning back the Aztecs under Ahuitzotl at Guiengola, and the last Zaachila king, Cocijo-eza, married Ahuitzotl’s daughter, thereby bringing about a lasting alliance and peace. The son of this marriage, Cocijo-pij, was the last Zapotec ruler. He died in 1563, long after the Spaniards had taken over the Oaxaca region.