The ecological diversity of Precolumbian Mesoamerica inevitably led to the production and gathering of different crops and other products by different peoples. As a result, each group traded with the other groups and the various peoples of Mesoamerican culture developed cohesive interrelationships which would not have otherwise developed. Each group needed the other groups and these mutual needs bound diverse groups from diverse ecological and geographical roots. Coe writes of the interrelatedness of Mesoamerican groups through agricultural diversity (Coe, 1993, pp. 166-168) and through industry and trade. For example, the dry Yucatan provided salt, cacao came from well-watered regions, Alta Verapaz had quetzal feathers, the Central Area provided flint, obsidian came from the Highlands, and jade was provided by the peoples along the Motagu River (Coe, 1993, 168-169).
Bernal (1975) supports this finding, noting that "Long caravans moved from one end to the other of Mesoamerica to exchange products with those of the tropical regions. In this way the influence of the great city of the high plain was disseminated all the way to Central America" (p. 47). This exchange of crops, minerals, man-made products and ideas "between different peoples . . . indicates an era of peace and prosperity" (Bernal, 1975, p. 47). Meggers (1963) also concludes that "local environmental situations" favor certain regional developments or advantages (such as the domestication of maize and manioc) which are then exploited in trade with areas of different ecologies, resulting in cultural exchange and cohesion (p. 143).
4. The development of Mesoamerican culture was in large part based on the relationships among cosmology, religion, the ecology and agriculture. Mesoamerican cosmology saw the universe as a well-ordered entity with a specific beginning and end and dominated by multi-faceted animalistic gods (Coe, 1993, pp. 174-175), indicating belief both in...