before the europeans came, many native american cultures existed in mexico. the earliest was the olmec culture in the south. the olmecs are famous for the large stone heads they made. on the yucatán peninsula lived the mayans. the mayans lived in city states ruled by kings. the mayans were most powerful between 200 and 900 a.d. another powerful empire belonged to teotihuacan. teotihuacan was a very large city, one of the largest at that time. after teotihuacan declined the toltecs became powerful. things made by the toltecs have been found from the southern parts of the u.s. all the way to costa rica. a famous toltec god is quetzalcoatl. the toltec culture declined too, and it was succeeded by the aztecs. the aztecs called their own empire mexico. a famous aztec king was moctezuma ii.