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Where did Mesoamerican Indian peoples traditionally live?

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Map of Mesoamerica showing the geographic distribution of various Indigenous peoples, with regions labeled for groups such as the Maya, Nahua, Zapotec, Mixtec, Otomi, Mazahua, Huastec, Tarasco, and others across present-day Mexico and parts of Central America. Boundaries indicate the approximate areas inhabited by each group. — Mesoamerican Indian Distribution of Meso-American Indians.

Mesoamerican Indian peoples traditionally inhabited the region known as Mesoamerica, which extends from central and southern Mexico through Central America, including all of Guatemala and Belize, and parts of Honduras and El Salvador.123

Geographically, this area is characterized by two distinct environments:

Highlands: These include the high valleys and landlocked basins of Mexico, formed by the Sierra Madre mountain ranges, as well as the volcanic Chiapas-Guatemala highlands. These regions served as major centers for urban development and intensive agriculture, such as irrigation and chinampas.14
Lowlands: These are primarily coastal areas, including the littoral plains along the Gulf of Mexico and the Yucatán Peninsula, which served as the homeland for Maya peoples. Agriculture here often utilized slash-and-burn techniques.14

At the time of the Spanish conquest, various groups occupied specific territories within these regions, such as the Aztec in the Mesa Central, and the Mixtec and Zapotec in Oaxaca.45