Huastec civilization

Late Postclassic Huastec temple at Castillo de Teayo

Classic period sculpture in the Museum of Anthropology in Xalapa, Veracruz

Approximate routes and dates of the proto-Huastec and other Maya-speaking groups

Map of the Huastec region on the Gulf coast of Mexico

The Huastec civilization (sometimes spelled Huaxtec or Wastek) was a pre-Columbian civilization of Mesoamerica, occupying a territory on the Gulf coast of Mexico that included the northern portion of Veracruz state, and neighbouring regions of the states of Hidalgo, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, and Tamaulipas.^[1] The Huastec people were an early offshoot of the Maya peoples that migrated northwards.^[2]

Surviving remains from the Huastec civilization include several large archaeological sites, a well-preserved temple, and a large amount of stone sculpture. By the Late Postclassic (c. AD 1200–1521), the Huastecs had developed metallurgy and were producing copper alloys. The Aztec Empire conquered the Huastec region around the 15th century, and probably demanded tribute payments.