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Olmec: By about 1500 BC the Olmec people in Mexico were living in small villages. The Olmec lived on the humid southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, where they built temples and giant statues. They also traded carved stones like jade and obsidian with other cultures in eastern Mexico.

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Olmec: By about 1500 BC the Olmec people in Mexico were living in small villages. The Olmec lived on the humid southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, where they built temples and giant statues. They also traded carved stones like jade and obsidian with other cultures in eastern Mexico.

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A few hundred years later, the Maya built on the achievements of the Olmec. Between about AD 250 and 900, the Maya built large cities in Mexico and Central America. They built stone temples to worship their gods. They studied the stars and developed a detailed calendar. They also kept written records that scholars still study to learn about Mayan history. However, scholars do not fully understand why the Mayan civilization suddenly collapsed sometime after 900.

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Aztec: After the decline of the Mayan civilization, people called the Aztecs moved to central Mexico from the north. In 1325 they built their capital on an island in a lake. Known as Tenochtitlán (tay-nawch-teet-LAHN), this capital grew into one of the largest and most impressive cities of its time.

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Aztec: After the decline of the Mayan civilization, people called the Aztecs moved to central Mexico from the north. In 1325 they built their capital on an island in a lake. Known as Tenochtitlán (tay-nawch-teet-LAHN), this capital grew into one of the largest and most impressive cities of its time.

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In 1519 Hernan Cortes, a Spanish soldier, arrived in Mexico with about 600 mens.

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In 1519 Hernan Cortes, a Spanish soldier, arrived in Mexico with about 600 mens.

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These conquistadors , or conquerors, gained allies from other tribes in the region. They also had guns and horses, which the Aztecs had never seen before. The new weapons terrified the Aztecs and gave the Spanish an advantage

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Spain ruled Mexico for almost 300 years before the people of Mexico demanded independence. The revolt against Spanish rule was led by a Catholic priest named Miguel Hidalgo. In 1810 he gave a famous speech calling for the common people to rise up against the Spanish. Hidalgo was killed in 1811, but fighting continued until Mexico won its independence in 1821.

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Fifteen years after Mexico gained its independence, a large area, Texas, broke away. Eventually, Texas joined the United States. When the Republic of Texas joined the United States, Mexico protested. In response, American forces deliberately moved into territory that both Mexico and Texas claimed. Mexican forces asked them to leave. But when the Americans stayed, Mexican forces attacked General Taylor’s American troops. As a result, Mexico and the United States fought over Texas and the location of their shared border. At the end of the Mexican-American War, Mexico lost nearly half its territory to the United States.

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After the conquest, Spanish and American Indian peoples and cultures mixed. This mixing formed a new Mexican identity. Spaniards called people of mixed European and Indian ancestry mestizos (me-STEE-zohs). When Africans were brought to America as slaves, they added to this mix of peoples.

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Mexicans celebrate Day of the Dead on November 1 and 2. These dates are similar to the dates that the Catholic Church honors the dead with All Saints' Day and All Souls’ Day. The holiday also reflects native customs and beliefs about hopes of life after death.