5 ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE PURÉPECHAS - HISTORY - 2024

The most important economic activities of the Purépecha from their origin were hunting and gathering, agriculture, fishing, handicrafts and commerce. The Purépechas or Tarascos are an indigenous people of Mexico, who dedicated themselves especially to hunting turtles, but also to gathering and building Pyramids.

Its diversified economy extended to the cultivation of corn and the elaboration of fine artisan works with wood, metals and fabrics. Currently, its population is dedicated mainly to forestry, combined with an incipient livestock and textile industry.

The remittances sent by the population that emigrated to the United States, Canada and Greenland since the 1940s, has allowed these pre-Columbian people to improve their income and public infrastructure.

Main economic activities of the Purépechas

Hunting and gathering

Since the origin of their culture in 1200 AD, the Purépecha people based their livelihood on hunting sea turtles, which together with corn provided their daily food.

The turtle sanctuaries that came to spawn on the beaches of Michoacán, facilitated the task of the indigenous people.

They also hunted rabbits, deer, iguanas, snakes, quails, ducks, armadillos, and wild boars, whose meat was part of their daily diet, as well as the wild fruits that they collected in the lake mountains.

The Agriculture

The Purepecha sowed white, blue, and purple corn; they also grew beans, squash, tobacco, and chili.

Corn became so important in the economy and life of this Mesoamerican people that it was used in commerce as a currency to buy and sell.

Fishing

The Tarascos or Purépechas were very good fishermen, as their culture developed precisely in the territory currently occupied by the state of Michoacán - which means a fishing village.

Likewise, in some areas of the states of Jalisco, Guerrero and Guanajuato.

With their canoes they fished various species in the sea, rivers and lakes, among them trout, white fish and charales for which they used nets and hooks.

Crafts

Among the varied artisanal production of this semi-nomadic town, pottery, textiles, painting and goldsmithing stand out. This ancient town is famous for the manufacture of spectacular and colorful mosaics.

Likewise, the Purépecha were the only ones who skillfully worked bronze, but also gold and copper.

Bronze was used in the design and production of tools for hunting and fishing, such as spears and hooks, and the planter stick and metal-tipped coa for agriculture.

Commerce

Despite not having many raw materials, this culture used trade with other Mesoamerican and Andean tribes across the Pacific to make up for this deficiency and prop up its economy.

It is said that they learned and perfected their metallurgical techniques thanks to trade with the tribes of Central America and the Andes, to whom they sold ornaments of gold, copper and bronze, as well as fabrics and ceramics made with colored feathers.

The period of greatest splendor of the Tarascan Empire was between 1200 AD until 1600 AD, when the Spanish arrived in Mexican territory.

The Perúpechas were great architects and builders of circular temples and stepped pyramids in the shape of T. They had a monarchical and theocratic government.

References

1. Los Puré- National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples. Document. Taken from cdi.gob.mx
2. The Purépechas. PDF. Taken from j.orellana.free.fr
3. -After the sea turtles on the beaches of Michoacán. 09-13-2017. Taken from mexicodesconocido.com.mx
4. Food of the ancient Tarascan inhabitants. Taken from tsirijurhiata.blogspot.com.