What is Mesoamerican chronology?
Looking at the [[history]] of [[pre-Columbian]] [[Mesoamerica]] one can see some rather different periods between the first humans and the early Colonial period (which followed the [[Spanish colonization of the Americas]]) in the end. ==Overview== === Paleo-Indian period === The '''Paleo-Indian''' (not so often '''''[[Lithic stage|Lithic]]''''') period or era begins with the first signs of human presence in the region and leads to [[agriculture]] and other practices (e.g. [[pottery]], permanent settlements) characteristic of proto-[[civilization]]s. In Mesoamerica, the end of this phase was about 8,000 BC. It was a period of [[hunter-gatherer]]s. === Archaic Era === c. 8,000 BCE - 2,000 BCE In this time [[agriculture]] and permanent villages developed in the region. Late in this era, people used [[pottery]] and started [[weaving]] with a [[loom]]. === Preclassic Era or Formative Period=== c. 2,000 BCE - 200 CE Nation-states developed and with them the first large scale ceremonial [[architecture]] and [[city|cities]]. That were the [[Olmec]] civilization, the early [[Zapotec civilization|Zapotec]], [[Monte Alto Culture]] in [[Guatemala]]'s Pacifc lowlands, and [[Maya civilization]]. === Classic Era === c. mid 2nd century - early 10th century [[Teotihuacan]] grows to a [[metropolis]] and its empire dominates Mesoamerica. During this time the cities of the [[Maya civilization|Maya]] southern lowlands, such as [[Tikal]], [[Palenque]], and [[Copán]] have their greatest era. The Classic Era ended earlier in Central Mexico, with the fall of Teotihuacan around the 7th century, than it did in the Maya area, which continued for centuries more. Around this time, many southern lowland sites (most notably in [[Tikal]]) experienced a short period of limited decline, called the '''Middle Classic Hiatus'''. The later period of Maya's continued growth is sometimes known as the '''Florescent Era'''. === Postclassic Era === 10th century - 16th century. Many of the great nations and cities of the Classic Era collapsed,