means (Place of sour cactus) as noted in the Mendoza Codex. The Mayan name for the area was Zaklohpakab. The area was originally defined as far south as the Tilapa River in what is now Guatemala, but when the final border between Mexico and Guatemala was set in 1882, the Suchiate became the southern boundary. Mokaya culture The earliest population of Soconusco region were the coastal Chantuto peoples, going back to 5500 BC. This was the oldest Mesoamerican culture discovered to date. In what is now the municipality of Mazatán, another culture arose. The culture is called Mokaya (people of the corn in Mixe-Zoque) and it is dated to about 4,000 years ago when cacao and ballcourts appear. It is thought that migrations out of this area east gave rise to the Olmec civilization. A later, but also important Mesoamerican culture, was centered on the site of Izapa, considered the most important on the Chiapas coast. It dates to about 1500 BC and is classified as Mixe-Zoque but it is also considered to be the link between the older Olmec civilization and the later Mayan ones. The site was important for about 1000 years as a civil and religious structure. While most of its ruins now consist of earthen mounds, its importance lies in the information which has been gathered from its steles and other sculpted stone works. Izapa is considered to be where the Mesoamerican ceremonial 260-day calendar was developed. Before the Aztecs, the area was a restless tribute region of Tehuantepec, with the dominant ethnicity being Mame (Modern linguistic corrected to "Mam" in Guatemala because a Spanish word that is vulgar). Tapachultec language was an old language in the area that became extinct in 1930s. Aztec conquest In 1486, Aztec emperor Ahuitzotl conquered it; the area was then required to send cotton clothing, bird feathers, jaguar skins, and cacao as tributes. However, rebellions against the Aztecs continued with Moctezuma Xocoyotzin sending troops to pacify the area in 1502 and 1505. Spanish Conquest The first Spanish arrived in the area in 1522. According to chronicler Bernal Díaz del Castillo the area had a native population of about 15,000 inhabitants although other estimates have put that number as high as 75,000 in the 1520s. Pedro de Alvarado is credited with the conquest of the Soconusco as he headed down into Central America from the Spanish stronghold in southern Veracruz in