Cardiac remodeling in patients with Marfan syndrome: impact of gender and vasodilator therapy

One of the principal core areas for the development of social complexity in the Americas, prior to European intervention, was the indigenous culture area of Mesoamerica. Within this geographic territory, spanning approximately 950,000 km2 of tropical mountains, valleys, and lowland plains, middle-range societies emerged between 1800 and 900 BCE and cities and states between 900 and 250 BCE. In this entry, I trace the development and expansion of sociopolitical complexity from 1800 BCE to the arrival of the Spanish in CE 1519. Examination of Mesoamerica's archaeological record demonstrates that indigenous peoples defied traditional European models for non-Western societies that rely on Eurocentric concepts contrasting a democratic West with an Oriental Other. Specifically, in the case of Mesoamerica, I show that cooperation and collective action were key political strategies in the development of complexity in this culture area, resulting in political formations comparable with pre-modern and contemporary European republics. Among the most interesting cases are San José Mogote, Monte Albán, El Mirador, Nixtun-Ch'ich', and Teotihuacan, among many others.