Cotton was a very important development for the ancient Mesoamericans, since it paved the road for later textile industries. The earliest remains are from the Tehuacan Valley and date to 3500-2300 B.C.E. But much of its history remains unknown. Perhaps it was derived from another cotton species cultivated near the coast of Ecuador and Peru, but then the question becomes where did the Peruvian/Ecuadorian cotton species originate? Because it was a hybrid of a local plant with one from south Asia, it is possible that the ancient Peruvians had trans-Pacific contact with Asia. This should not be so surprising as they were semi-nomadic fishermen and accomplished sailors.

The above-described period is known as the El Riego phase and extended from 7000 B.C.E. to 5000 B.C.E. Humans who lived during this period were usually part-time agriculturalists for whom farming was a supplement to their nomadic, hunting lifestyle. Basket-making also developed. A species of squash known as calabash or bottle gourd became widely used near the end of this phase as storage containers, and were often decorated.

By 5050 B.C.E., the staple crop of Mesoamerica emerged in the central highlands of Mexico, maize. However, there is much controversy over its origin. Some archaeologists and paleobotanists think that is diverged from a closely related grass called teosinte, while others argue that teosinte was a hybrid of early domesticated maize and another grass. Still others opine that the transition from teosinte to maize was the result of an enormous sexual transmutation.

In the tropical lowlands of the Gulf of Mexico, manioc and cassava played an equally important role in peoples’ lives. The moisture-filled environment was excellent for cultivation root crops that were rich in starch. The earliest traces of manioc date back to 3400 B.C.E. At the Santa Luisa site near the Gulf of Mexico, metates and manos — tools necessary in the preparation of maize — were not discovered, indicating that maize was not cultivated there.

In any case, maize was a very important advance as it heralded forth the Abejas phase (3400-2300 B.C.E.), which was characterized by foot processing instruments and stone containers. This implies an increasing shift toward sedentism, as such bulky objects would not have been practical in a life constantly on the move. Eventually, this led to the Purron phase (2300-1500 B.C.E.), distinguished by the beginning of pottery. Over time, domestication of animals started to replace hunting. By 2500 B.C.E., humans domesticated the llama and alpaca, both of the family Camelidae.

The end of the Archaic period in 2000 B.C.E. saw the beginning of a purely agricultural lifestyle in Mesoamerica. Agriculture is distinguished from cultivation mainly by the utilization of farming as the sole subsistence method. In the forthcoming centuries, Mesoamerica would witness a large number of ingenious agricultural innovations, build regulated and well-maintained food storage facilities, upon which they would create a thriving civilization whose legacy is still with us today.

       

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