The land that today is known as Mexico has been inhabited for thousands of years. This book provides a historical survey of the major pre-Columbian civilizations, such as the Olmec, Maya, Toltec, and Aztecs. It examines how the population of Mexico was changed by the arrival of Spanish conquistadores in the 16th century, and their subsequent three centuries of rule over the country. And it provides demographic and cultural information about the more than 118 million people who live in Mexico today.