One of the great cultural milestones that marked the Middle Preclassic period is the development of the first writing system, by either the Maya, the Olmec, or the Zapotec. Along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico between 1200 B.C.E. So many of the Olmec figurines and sculptures contain representations of the were-jaguar, that, according to José María Covarrubias, they could be forerunners of the worship of the rain god, or maybe a predecessor of the future Tezcatlipoca in his manifestation as Tepeyolohtli, the "Heart of the Mountain". [17] Although the Spanish colonial system imposed many changes on Mesoamerican peoples, they did not force the acquisition of Spanish and Mesoamerican languages continued to flourish to the present day.

According to this second hypothesis, Zoque tribes emigrated toward the south after the fall of the major population centers of the Gulf plains.

The fall of Tenochtitlan marked the beginning of the three-hundred-year colonial period and the imposition of Spanish rule. Meanwhile, in the Southern Highlands, Kaminal Juyú continued its growth until 1200. It is thought that these were able to flourish due to the decline of Teotihuacan, though events may have occurred in the opposite order: the cities of Cacaxtla, Xochicalco, Teotenango, and El Tajín may have first increased in power and then were able to economically strangle Teotihuacan, trapped as it was in the center of the valley without access to trade routes. The Caral Supe were located along the coast of central Peru. The capital is also known for its astronomical observatory Building J and Los Danzantes, a stunning carved record of captive and slain warriors and kings. Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of prehispanic Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian (first human habitation – 3500 BCE), the Archaic (before 2600 BCE), the Preclassic or Formative (2500 BCE – 250 CE), the Classic (250–900 CE), and the Postclassic (900–1521 CE), Colonial (1521–1821), and Postcolonial (1821–present).

Some authors hold that the early development of pottery in this area is related to the ties between South America and the coastal peoples of Mexico. South America has a history that has a wide range of human cultures and forms of civilization.

The physical remains of all these cultures lay dormant for centuries, until science and curiosity demanded their exploration.

Centuries later, long after Teotihuacan was abandoned c. 700 CE, cities of the Postclassic era followed the style of Teotihuacan construction, especially Tula, Tenochtitlan, and Chichén Itzá.

During this period of growth, it attracted the vast majority of those then living in the Valley of Mexico.