Middle American Indian summary

Middle American Indian, Any member of any of the indigenous peoples inhabiting the area from northern Mexico to Nicaragua. The mountain chain that forms the physical spine of Middle America crumples the face of the land into a multitude of valleys and microenvironments, and the result is a mosaic of peoples and cultures about which it is difficult to generalize. The Indians of Middle America are descended from Asian forebears who crossed the Bering Strait and moved southward, ultimately establishing the Mayan and Aztec empires. Contemporary Indian culture in Middle America is a blend of indigenous elements, the culture of the Spanish who invaded, and the historical precipitate of the centuries since the conquest. The basis of subsistence is maize (corn), cultivated in small plots, but there is a myriad of crafts and artisans, and communities tend to be economically specialized. Today, population increase, the expansion of physical and cultural communication, industrialization, urbanization, and the power struggle between factions of the left and right are the basic forces that influence the lives of the Indians of Middle America.