Mesoamerica is an area that includes central Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and portions of Honduras and Nicaragua.
From about 1200 B.C. to A.D. 1500, the region was home to many of the greatest Indian civilizations, including the Olmec, Maya, Toltec, and Aztec. As a cultural area, Mesoamerica is defined by a mosaic of cultural traits developed and shared by its indigenous cultures.
Mesoamerica is one of only five regions of the world where writing was independently developed.
