Zoque (people)
The Zoque are a Mexican people who live mainly in the mountainous and wooded north (Selva Zoque) of the state of Chiapas ; There are also splinter groups in the neighboring regions of the states of Tabasco , Veracruz and Oaxaca . The language is also called Zoque .
history
The origins of the Zoque are unknown; it is believed that they have been resident in their current settlement areas for more than 2000 years; However, there were no larger political units. There are linguistic and probably genetic relationships with the Mixe people . Some researchers suspect that - like the mixes - they could be descendants of the Olmecs . In the late 15th century, the area was conquered by the Aztecs . The tribal name is mentioned for the first time in Spanish reports from the 1520s. Today there are around 60,000 people who speak Zoque; they are rather at the lower end of the social order.
economy
Traditionally, the Zoque - unlike the Maya - lived mainly in whitewashed mud-brick houses; they were and are mainly self-sufficient farmers who grow corn , beans, chilli, pumpkins, etc. More recently, coffee , cocoa , bananas and guavas have also been cultivated, but these are mostly exchanged or sold in markets. Meanwhile, numerous Zoque also live as cheap day laborers in the cities.
Culture
There are no stone residential or cult buildings in the settlement areas of the Zoque. The Malpasito ruins on the northern edge of the Selva Zoque are mostly attributed to the Maya, despite the lack of steles, inscriptions or sculptures.