Huaxtecs

Huaxtecs, an historical people of Mexico, who occupy the northern parts of the province of Vera Cruz between the sea and the Sierra Madre. The Huaxtecs are the northernmost branch of the Maya family, separated by numerous intervening nations from the kindred peoples of Yucatan. At the time of the Spanish conquest (1520) they had already been settled from time immemorial in their present domain, which, according to some authorities, is the cradle of the Maya race. Their language is still spoken in Vera Cruz and San Luis Potosi, while the Totonac, another member of the same Maya family, is current in Puebla and in the southern districts of Vera Cruz. A Mexican writer describes the Huaxtecs as a powerful and wealthy people, who wore gold ornaments in their ears and lips, inserted sharp chips of white stone in the nostrils, and carried little round mirrors at their girdles.