[NTRODUCTION 



Geography and Natural Environment. 

 Unfortunately the terms "Mexico and ( Central America " 



are not mutually exclusive. Central America is a natu- 

 ral division comprised between the Isthmus of Tehuan- 

 tepec and the Isthmus of Panama. Mexico is a political 

 division that includes several 

 states in ('(Mitral America, 

 namely. Chiapas, Tabasco, 

 Campeche, Yucatan, and the 

 territory of Quintana Roo. 

 The ancient high cultures of 

 Mexico hardly extended as far 

 north as the Tropic of Can- 

 cer and the region beyond 

 this is of slight interest to 

 as. Positions south of Mexico 

 will often be referred to the 

 areas of the modern political 

 units although these have no 

 immediate relation to pre- 

 Spanish conditions. These 



political units are: Guatemala, British Honduras, Hon- 

 duras, Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. 



Although lying within the tropics, the territory ex- 

 tending from the Isthmus of Panama to ( '(Mitral Mexico 

 exhibits great extremes of climate and topography and 

 hence of plant and animal life. The year is everywhere 

 divided into a wet and a dry season but the relative 

 duration of each depends upon land form and altitude. 

 The coast of the Pacific i- considerably drier than that 

 of the Atlantic. Three climatic zone- are generally 

 gnized, namely, the Tierra c<ili<nt< Hot Land), 

 Tierra T<m[>ln<ln Temperate Land), and Tierra Fria 



13 



Fig. 1. The Circa t Snow- 

 storm of 1447 shown in the 

 Pictographic Record of the 



AzteOS called ( SodeZ Tcllcri- 



ano Remensis. 



