THE PRE-HISPANIC ERA

Studies of the way in which America came to be populated generally speak of a process that had its beginning some 40,000 years ago. The classic scenario involves the migration of people across a land bridge between eastern Russian and Alaska that now lies submerged beneath the Bering Strait.

The first people on American soil were hunters, living in small, mobile groups of just a few families. Their way of life was nomadic, dictated by the movement of the great herds that represented their principal means of subsistence.

Then, around 7,500 BC, the climate changed dramatically, and people began to depend more on plants for their food, adopting a more settled lifestyle as they became tied to the land.

In the area now covered by the state of Guanajuato, the first settlements were to be found in the southwest, close to the Lerma and Coroneo rivers. In the area of Chupicuaro, meaning roughly "Place of abundant grain, medicinal plants and creepers", a new culture developed which shared some features with the other cultures of Meso-America.

Though nothing remains of the Chupicuaro people's frail mud and grass dwellings, archeologists believe the population was numerous.

Their economy was agricultural, and they lived mainly on a diet of maize complemented by chili and tomatoes.

Among their handiwork, their skill with ceramics stands out, leaving a collection of clay figurines that forms their principal contribution to the Meso-American world. The Chupicuaro's work was of three main types: brown clay decorated with geometrical forms; cream-colored, polished objects, and those with polychromatic decoration.

Studies of Chupicuaro figures show that they wore garments resembling pants, which they held up with belts, and that they probably wore sandals. They adorned themselves with necklaces, bracelets and earrings, and headdresses decorated with interlacing strips of ornamented cloth. They parted their hair in the center, coming down to a fringe at the front, women coloring it red or black, while the men favored white.

Another interesting aspect of Chupicuaro life is shown by the tendency to provide their figurines with musical instruments. It seems that our ancestors enjoyed the sound of flutes, whistles and ocarinas, played to the accompaniment of rattles and scrapers made of split bones.

One of the cultures that had a powerful influence on the Chupicuaros and many other Meso-American peoples was the Teotihuacan civilization.

The people of Teotihuacan perfected agriculture, arms manufacture and a complex system of social organization. The government was theocratic, controlled by a small number of priests, who were feared and respected by the people as representing the only link between mortals and the gods. The Teotihuacan people worshipped many gods, the chief among these being Tlaloc, the god of rain and lord of the forces of nature: the sea, sky, clouds and lightning. Other gods included Quetzalcoatl (Plumed Serpent), Huehueteotl, the fire god, Xochipilli, the goddess of the spring, flowers and love, and Centeotl and Xilonen, the maize gods, to name just a few.

From around the year 700 to approximately 900 the power of Teotihuacan gradually waned and the inhabitants started to migrate to other areas. With the demise of theocratic rule, other civilizations came to the fore, most notably those of the Toltecs and Chichimecs. Although the Toltecs never managed to create anything superior to the Teotihuacan culture, they at least equaled it with the quality of their sculpture and also contributed new elements with their advances in the fields of metallurgy and goldsmithing. The Chichimecs were a very different culture from the Toltecs. With radically different customs and a social structure principally geared for war, they unleashed a series of violent conflicts that brought about the Toltecs' downfall.

After the disintegration of Toltec civilization, Guanajuato fell into the hands of various groupings of Chichimec hunter-gatherers, such as the Pames, Gaumares, Guachichils and Zacatecs. The Gauchichils - whose name means "head painted red" in the Mexica tongue - were the foremost power among the Chichimecs. Their territory, known as the Guachilchila, stretched from Saltillo in the north as far as San Felipe at its southern extent, running from the western Sierra Madre Mountains to the point now occupied by the town of Zacatecas. Its center was "Gran Tunal" (present-day San Luis Potosi), noted for the profusion of cactuses and mesquite trees that provided the Gauchichils' staple diet.

The Chichimecs' lifestyle and language varied from tribe to tribe, but they shared a nomadic existence dominated by the need to pursue their food wherever it might take them. Their preferred places for setting up camp were generally tree-shaded spots on rocky slopes. Here, sheltered by the forest, but with the advantage of height on their side, the Chichimecs could be sure to know in advance of any potential enemies. During the winter, or in time of war, they constructed villages consisting of around 15 huts arranged in a half-moon formation.

The Chichimecs made objects of wicker, cane and similar materials and also worked and polished hard stones such as silica and obsidian. They also wove fiber baskets in which to store their food, which they ate from turtle shells.