other areas, which were all cultivated with good results (for example, tomato and gourds.)". (Teresa Rojas Rabiela. 2001).[1]
The Preclassical period represented a millenary effort from our Old Grandfathers, not only to humanize themselves, but also to humanize the world around them; because human beings, according to ancient Mexicans, are the beginning and the end of creation, and are responsible for its preservation and development towards perfection.
This philosophical element is very important in order to understand the cultures of ancient Mexico. Indeed, while other civilizations seek to dominate, exploit and transform nature, ranking themselves at the apex of universal creation; for ancient Mexicans the objective of human beings was to support the god’s creative project and to humanize the world, while considering the planet as their "beloved mother" Tonatzin.
"Man is the measure of all things," said the Greek, giving people a sort of dominion over the world; "Kill and eat", God says to man in the New Testament. Thus, the two aspects of western culture, the Hellenistic and the Judeo-Christian, allotted man, for his subsistence, dominion over everything and the authority to destroy it.
Morally, far above such concept, the ancient Mesoamerican native, as attested by their images and texts, proclaimed their own idea: man is the beginning of the world’s creation and is responsible for its surroundings. Thus is our culture constituted, of which we are exclusive heirs today.
Let us, therefore, understand its origins and accomplishments, in order to know what we are; and what we ought to become.
(Bonifaz Nuño 1992)
While it is assumed that the Old Grandparents started agricultural practices and hybridized corn in the sixth Millennium BCE, actually, the first cultural forms appeared, called Olmec by scholars, about 1500 years BCE,
 | This page was originally published in Spanish, and is translated by Wikisource editors. It does not use the proofread page system traditionally; it is used to verify translation. Proofreading and validation must be done by editors who are fluent in both the original and the translated language. Follow the interwiki link under In other languages to view this page in Spanish. |  |
____________________
- ↑ Rojas Rabiela, Teresa (undated): " Mesoamerican Hydraulic Systems in the New Spain Transition"; http://eh.net/XIIICongress/cd/papers/17RojasRabiela261.pdf
