Huastec people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (Approximately 66,000 (INAH)–150,000 (Ethnologue 1990)) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Mexico (San Luis Potosí: Veracruz: Tamaulipas) | |
| Languages | |
| Wastek, Spanish | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholicism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Maya peoples |
The Huastec /ˈwɑːstɛk/ or Téenek (contraction of Te' Inik, "people from here"; also known as Huaxtec, Wastek or Huastecos), are an indigenous people of Mexico, living in the La Huasteca region including the states of Hidalgo, Veracruz, San Luis Potosí and Tamaulipas concentrated along the route of the Pánuco River and along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
There are approximately 66,000 Huastec speakers today, of which two-thirds are in San Luis Potosí and one-third in Veracruz, although their population was probably much higher, as much as half a million, when the Spanish arrived in 1529.
The ancient Huastec civilization is one of the pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures. Judging from archaeological remains, they are thought to date back to approximately the 10th century BCE, although their most productive period of civilization is usually considered to be the Postclassic era between the fall of Teotihuacan and the rise of the Aztec Empire. The Pre-Columbian Huastecs constructed temples on step-pyramids, carved independently standing sculptures, and produced elaborately painted pottery. They were admired for their abilities as musicians by other Mesoamerican peoples.
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