The Great Chichimeca Landscape: Pre-Hispanic Natural Resources Use

Abstract

Chichimeca is a generic term referring to hundreds of different semi-nomadic nations that inhabited the northern region of the current Mexican territory since pre-Hispanic times. Colonisers perceived them as wild barbarians and that image has persisted into the current day. However, we argue that the Chichimeca clearly used the natural resources of the region in a skilful and creative manner and were able to survive where others perished. The objective of the present work is to analyse the relationships between the Chichimeca and their environment that contributed towards shaping the landscape encountered by the Spaniards in the sixteenth century. Although the Chichimeca used various natural resources, their organisation, lifestyle and adaptation capacity did not appear to surpass the carrying capacity of the ecosystems that they inhabited.