As early as 13,000 B.C. small bands of hunter-gatherers roamed the mountains and plains of what is now Mexico, but it was not until around 7,000 B.C. that rudimentary farming allowed settlement in small villages and gave leisure for such skills as pottery making and weaving. Progress from that point was, historically speaking, rapid and by 2000 B.C. the stage was set for the first true civilization.
      For the next three and a half millennia group after group occupied the limelight for brief periods only to be pushed aside in turn by brash newcomers.....
More....