Nicaragua: North Central and Pacific Regions (original) (raw)

2001, Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America/ An Encyclopedia, ed. Evans & Webster

The north central and northern Pacific coastal regions of Nicaragua form part of a land bridge, with depressions or low-elevation passages across the isthmus via the Nicaraguan Rift which have facilitated the movement of fauna, flora, material culture, people, and ideas. In addition, the extremely fertile volcanic soils of the Pacific Coast allowed for dense concentrations of indigenous settlement in pre-Hispanic times. The prehistory of these areas is rich, dynamic, and complex: extensive areas were sometimes integrated into the Greater Nicoya subarea, and the arrival of Mesoamerican groups, beginning around A.O. 800 (Chorotega groups, followed by Nahuaspeaking Pipil and Nicarao), certainly caused displacements and disruptions as well as introducing new cultural institutions. This archaeological region comprises two major ecological regions in Nicaragua: the Central Highlands and the Pacific Region. It does not include Lake Nicaragua or the southern sector of Lake Managua, the i~lands ofZapatera and Ometepe, and the Isthmus of Rivas, which are discussed in the article on Greater Nicoya (see "Nicoya, Greater, and Guanacaste Region''). Pre-Hispanic Nicaragua provided a vast array of wild resources that were used, and sometimes domesticated, by its early inhabitants. Coastal, riverine, lacustrine, and upland habitats all occur in the Pacific and north central regions. Agriculture, combined with fishing, hunting, and gathering when possible, was the main subsistence activity. Maize (Zea mays) as well as root crops, beans, calabashes, and peppers were cultivated. Important fruit trees included a number of Spondias species, mammees (Mammea americana), zapote (Calocarpum sapota), nance {Byrsonima crassifolia), papaya {Carica papaya), guava (Psidium guajava), guanabana {Annona muricata), and avocado {Persea americana). Economically and/or ceremonially importa!Jt crops included cotton, cacao, tobacco, and coca as well as copal incense, a variety of dye plants, the balsam tree (Myroxylon balsamum}, the wild fig (Ficus spp.) and the kapok tree or ceiba {Ceiba pentandra). Only the mute dog and the Nicaragua: North Central and Pacific Regions 513 Laraine A. Fletcher, "Nicaragua: North Central and Pacific Regions". Pages 513- 517.