Mexican inventions and discoveries are objects, processes or techniques invented or discovered, partially or entirely, by a person from Mexico. These also include concepts or practices introduced by

Mexican people Mexicans ( es, mexicanos) are the citizens of the United Mexican States. The most spoken language by Mexicans is Spanish language, Spanish, but some may also speak languages from 68 different Languages of Mexico, Indigenous linguistic groups ...

and their indigenous ancestors. Some of the objects, processes or techniques developed in the Pre-Columbian era were also invented or discovered independently in other cultures. This list shows only inventions and discoveries first introduced in present-day Mexican territory, or those that vary significantly in concept, figure, or use.

Pre-Hispanic

Musical instruments

* Tlapitzalli *

Ocarina The ocarina is a wind musical instrument; it is a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body. It is traditionally made from c ...

Teponaztli A teponaztli is a type of slit drum used in central Mexico by the Aztecs and related cultures. Structure Teponaztli are made of hollow hardwood logs, often fire-hardened. Like most slit drums, teponaztlis have two slits on their topside, cut ...

Huehuetl The huēhuētl is a percussion instrument from Mexico, used by the Aztecs and other cultures. It is an upright tubular drum made from a wooden body opened at the bottom that stands on three legs cut from its base, with skin stretched over the top ...

* Hom * Carimba

Art

* Painting –

Classic period Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of prehispanic Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian (first human habitation until 3500 BCE); the Archaic (before 2600 BCE), the Preclassic or Formative (2500 BCE – ...

Maya paintings, found in the archaeological sites of

Cacaxtla Cacaxtla () is an archaeological site located near the southern border of the Mexican state of Tlaxcala. It was a sprawling palace containing vibrantly colored murals painted in unmistakable Maya style. The nearby site of Xochitecatl was a more ...

and Bonampak, are some of the most refined paintings ever to come out of the ancient Americas. Besides the Maya, other indigenous civilizations were also known for their wall paintings, including the Aztec, who developed the art of

sand painting Sandpainting is the art of pouring coloured sands, and powdered pigments from minerals or crystals, or pigments from other natural or synthetic sources onto a surface to make a fixed or unfixed sand painting. Unfixed sand paintings have a long es ...

. * Pottery – many indigenous American cultures and peoples independently invented and then refined pottery in the Americas into fine works of art, as well for utilitarian usage. The Moche and Maya were some of the best potters from the ancient Americas, and their work still inspires awe amongst us for the level of artistry, creativity, and sophistication, which such highly prized works of arts involved. Many other indigenous American cultures also developed their own pottery styles during the pre-Columbian time periods and continued to refine their artwork into the modern era.

Calendrics

* Xiuhpōhualli:One of several calendars used by the Aztec, it consisted of 365 days and held great importance for religious rituals and agricultural practices. * Mesoamerican calendars Monolito de la Piedra del Sol

* Almanacs – Almanacs were invented independently by the

Maya peoples The Maya peoples () are an ethnolinguistic group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today's Maya are generally descended from people ...

. Their culture arose, and presumably began using almanacs, around 3,500 years ago, while Europeans are known to have created written almanacs only after 1150 CE. Almanacs are books containing meteorological and astronomical information, which the Maya used in various aspects of their life.

Engineering

* Aqueducts:The

Aztecs The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

constructed complex, dual-pipe aqueducts to supply their vast city of Tenochtitlan. * Canals:the Aztecs constructed great canals used for transporting food, cargo, and relaying people to the chinampas (floating gardens used for growing food) in their great metropolis of Tenochtitlan.Walker, C. 1980, p. 162. *

Causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

:the Aztec built many giant causeways that connected the mainland to their capital city of Tenochtitlan, located in the heart of the

Aztec Empire The Aztec Empire or the Triple Alliance ( nci, Ēxcān Tlahtōlōyān, Help:IPA/Nahuatl, �jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ was an alliance of three Nahua peoples, Nahua altepetl, city-states: , , and . These three city-states ruled ...

. The causeways served as arteries used for transporting food, goods, people, captive warriors, and wastes during the heyday of the Aztec Empire in the 14th century to the 16th century.Coe, M. 2008, p. 193. * Dams – the Aztec in Tenochtitlan constructed great dams during the heyday of the Aztec Empire. Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec empire, was first built on a small island that was located in the western section of Lake Texcoco in 1325 CE. The Aztec created various large artificial islands around the small island using a system that was similar to building the chinampas (floating gardens in the lake that was used to grow food for the cities' population). To provide drinking water to the cities' population of over a quarter of a million inhabitants, the Aztec built a system of dams that separated the salty waters of the lake from the rainwater that was accumulated during periods of heavy rains. The Aztec also used the dam to control the level of water in the lake and prevent their city from being flooded during times of heavy rains. To prevent flooding, the Aztec constructed an inner system of channels that helped to control the water level and held the level steady during flooding and periods of intense rains.

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...

, and the other Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

s, destroyed these engineering marvels that the Aztec had developed during the previous 200 years. *

Palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

s:indigenous American civilizations such as the Olmecs, Mayans, Zapotecs, Aztecs, Mixtecs, Moche, Toltecs, Inca, Chimú, Nazca and many more built elaborate palaces. The Mayan palace in Palenque is one of the best examples of Mayan palace architecture. The Palenque Palace Aqueduct Beautiful

* Pyramids:advanced civilizations in Mexico, such as the Toltecs, Olmecs, Zapotecs, Aztecs, Mayans, Mixtecs, developed their own myriad styles of pyramids, usually step pyramid, which served for ceremonial/religious and administrative functions. In Mesoamerica, the largest pyramid in the world— The Great Pyramid of Cholula—began to be constructed by the inhabitants of Cholula in the 3rd century BCE. In the Andean regions, the Moches, and some ancient Peruvians also constructed gigantic pyramids as well without any influence from Old World civilizations. * Planned city construction:Ancient cities in Mexico–such as Teotihuacan and the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan–incorporated planned city design, including streets laid out in a grid pattern. Toilet in Teotihuacan

* Plumbing:The Maya have been found to be the earliest inventors of plumbing in Mesoamerica, with the earliest example of a pressurized water system being constructed in 750 CE—or earlier. This pressurized water system was located in the Maya site of Palenque, where public baths and toilets were accessible to the residents of the ancient city. * Wheel and axle:Mesoamericans invented wheels but only used these as toys. The oldest wheeled figure to have been uncovered in Mesoamerica is a crowned, dog-like figure in Tres Zapotes, Veracruz, dated ca. 100–200 CE. The most common examples of the Mesoamerican wheel and axle are Aztec clay wheeled toys. The Observation Tower

Observatories An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...

:Mesoamerican astronomers constructed towers to observe the movements of the planets and other astronomical features and events. Although culture groups throughout the world have observed the planets and stars and recorded their movements, the stone structures of the Mesoamerican and Andean culture groups are significant because they show the emphasis these early astronomers placed on making clear and accurate observations. The most notable example of Maya astronomical observatories is Caracol, in Chichén Itzá. In 1975, archaeoastronomers Anthony F. Aveni and Horst Hartung surveyed the site and suggested that ancient Maya astronomers used the structure to observe the planet Venus. The Maya, as well as other Mesoamerican culture groups, used Venus to set times for ceremonies and as a divination tool.

Metal production

* Metallurgy in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica:The emergence of metallurgy in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica occurred relatively late in the region's history, with distinctive works of metal apparent in West Mexico by roughly AD 800, and perhaps as early as AD 600. Metallurgical techniques likely diffused northward from regions in

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

or South America via maritime trade routes; recipients of these metallurgical technologies apparently exploited a wide range of material, including alloys of copper- silver, copper- arsenic, copper- tin and copper-arsenic-tin.

Games and entertainment

* Patolli * Balloons: Invented by the Olmec. * Spinning top:Known from Mesoamerican times. A device used as a toy and made out of wood.

Food preparation

peanut butter Peanut butter is a food paste or spread made from ground, dry-roasted peanuts. It commonly contains additional ingredients that modify the taste or texture, such as salt, sweeteners, or emulsifiers. Peanut butter is consumed in many countri ...

Salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

* Tomato sauce * taco * Pozole * Burrito * Atole * tortillas * tamales *

Nopales Nopal (from the Nahuatl word for the pads of the plant) is a common name in Spanish for ''Opuntia'' cacti (commonly referred to in English as ''prickly pear''), as well as for its pads. There are about 114 known species in Mexico, where it is ...

* Chapulines *

Popcorn Popcorn (also called popped corn, popcorns or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated; the same names also refer to the foodstuff produced by the expansion. A popcorn kernel's strong hull contains the se ...

: First invented by the Zapotec and later introduced to

by the Aztec * Guacamole: The name comes from an Aztec dialect via Nahuatl āhuacamolli ːwakaˈmolːi which literally translates to ''avocado puree''. * Chocolate: Believed to have been invented by the Olmec from cocoa beans, both the Mayan and the Aztec drank it hot, thus creating the hot chocolate. Spices being ground (8265483071)

* Molcajete * Metate * Comal * Molinillo *

Tortilla press A tortilla press is a traditional device with a pair of flat round surfaces of about 8-inch plus to crush balls of corn dough in order to obtain round corn tortillas or flour tortillas. Tortillas are pressed out between sheets of plastic or corn l ...

Petate A petate is a bedroll used in Central America and Mexico. Its name comes from the Náhuatl word ''petlatl'' . The petate is woven from the fibers of the Palm of petate (''Leucothrinax morrisii''). The Royal Spanish Academy defines it as a bed. ...

Crops and cultivation

* Chia seed Seed of chia (Salvia hispanica)Salvia hispanica profile

Guava Guava () is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, the ...

* Rubus *

Sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Convolvulus, bindweed or morning glory family (biology), family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a r ...

(possibly) *

Papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus ''Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...

* Cocoa bean *

sunflower seed The sunflower seed is the seed of the sunflower ('' Helianthus annuus''). There are three types of commonly used sunflower seeds: linoleic (most common), high oleic, and sunflower oil seeds. Each variety has its own unique levels of monounsat ...

* Squash * Beans * Pachyrhizus erosus Criollo avocados de Oaxaca

* Avocado * Chaya * Chili pepper *

Potatoes The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...

* Tomatoes * Yuca *

Corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

: First cultivated by the Olmec and Maya. Chinampa

* Vanilla: the Totonac are believed to had been the first to extract vanilla from the pods of vanilla orchids and use it as a flavor enhancer. * Cotton * Sisal production invented by the Maya. * Tobacco * Bottle gourds – the ancient Mexicans learned to first cultivate bottle gourds around 8,000 BCE. Indigenous peoples grew bottle gourds for use as bowls, scoops, colanders, ladles, spoons, canteens, and dippers. Larger gourds were used as cooking vessels. *

Chinampa Chinampa ( nah, chināmitl ) is a technique used in Mesoamerican agriculture which relies on small, rectangular areas of fertile arable land to grow crops on the shallow lake beds in the Valley of Mexico. They are built up on wetlands of a lake o ...

: Invented in central Mexico around 600 CE

Livestock

* Turkey (bird):Approximately 2,000 years ago, ancient Mesoamericans domesticated the turkey during the Late Preclassic period—from 300 BCE to 100 CE.

Fashion

* Huipil * Umbrellas:independent of the ancient Chinese (who had also invented the umbrellas on their own), the Maya and the Inca had invented circular umbrellas, which were made from bird feathers. * Hand Fan:The Aztecs developed circular handheld fans made of feathers and other materials that served as a status symbol, and were used for warfare activities.

Dog breeds

*''xochiocoyotl'' (

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...

), ''xoloitzcuintli'' (known as xolo or Mexican hairless), *

chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places *Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mun ...

Body armor

Bulletproof vest A bulletproof vest, also known as a ballistic vest or a bullet-resistant vest, is an item of body armor that helps absorb the impact and reduce or stop penetration to the torso from firearm-fired projectiles and fragmentation from explosions. T ...

Ichcahuipilli The ichcahuipilli, known in Spanish as ''escaupil'' was a Mesoamerican military soft body armor, similar to the European gambeson, which was commonly used by the Aztecs and the Tlaxcalans. It was constructed of densely packed, unspun cotton stitch ...

, was a military armor used by various Mesoamerican cultures. It consisted of a layered cotton shirt, at least 2 inches thick, hardened with

brine Brine is a high-concentration solution of salt (NaCl) in water (H2O). In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawater, on the lower end of that of solutions used for br ...

and other substances. It was originally intended to protect the wearer against projectiles and other weaponry, such as spears, arrows, and obsidian swords, but later was discovered to be capable of stopping musket shots.Phillips, Charles "The Complete Illustrated History of the Aztec & Maya: The Definitive Chronicle of the Ancient Peoples of Central America & Mexico – Including the Aztec, Maya, Olmec, Mixtec, Toltec & Zapotec" 2015.

Dentistry

* Tooth transplantion: First practiced by the Maya.

Medication

* Antispasmodic medication, invented by the Aztecs. * Ephedra:the Aztecs used ephedra in order to treat common colds. Unlike the Chinese version of the ephedra, the New World ephedra that was used by the indigenous Americans contained milder alkaloids. * Antibiotics: The Aztecs developed antibiotic treatments by cultivating fungi on tortillas.

Math

*The ancient Mexicans also developed complex arithmetic functions and operations such as additions, subtractions, divisions, and multiplications. The development of mathematics by the Mexicans assisted them in making sense of the universe, cosmos, astronomy, architecture, and pre-Columbian calendars that were so essential in maintaining a connection between them and the gods and heavens. * Abacus – The Aztec and Maya of Mesoamerica performed arithmetic operations using an abacus. It served as a more accurate and faster alternative to a written solution or relying on memory. Archaeologistshe have recorded the Mesoamerican abacus, or Nepohualtzintzin, as being present in Mesoamerica from at least between 900 and 1000 CE.

Sports

* Rubber ball: Before 1600 BCE by the Olmec for uncertain purposes and later used by the Mayan and Aztec for ball games. * Mesoamerican ballgame: Played differently by the Mayan and the Aztec, it is believed to be one of the first ball games, if not the first. *

Pelota purépecha Pelota purépecha (Spanish language, Spanish for "Purépecha ball"), called ''Uárukua Ch'anakua'' ( "a game with sticks") in the Purépecha language, is an Sport in Mexico, Indigenous Mexican sport similar to those in the hockey family. A common va ...

Pelota mixteca ''Pelota mixteca'' ("Mixtec-style ball") is a team sport similar to a net-less tennis game. The players wear sturdy, elaborately decorated gloves affixed to a heavy flat striking surface, using them to strike a small solid ball. The game has roots ...

* Xhupa Porrazo: A form of wrestling and martial arts training developed by the Zapotec people. It is still practiced today mainly in Oaxaca Mexico. * Boxing: The Maya practiced a form boxing in which they wore

conch Conch () is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point at both ends). In North Am ...

shells as gloves and wooden helmets. *

Gladiatorial combat A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

: The Aztecs practiced a form of gladiatorial rite that served as an spectator sport and holy ritual.

Behavioral products

* Chewing gum ancient Aztecs used chile as a base for making a gum-like substance and to stick objects together in everyday use. Women, in particular, used this type of gum as a mouth freshener. * Tobacco smoking *

Smoking pipe A smoking pipe is used to inhale the smoke of a burning substance; most common is a tobacco pipe, which can also accommodate almost any other substance. Pipes are commonly made from briar, heather, corn, meerschaum, clay, cherry, glass, porcela ...

:indigenous Americans invented the smoking pipe and in particular the ceremonial pipe a type of tobacco pipe. This was an unknown concept to Europeans and the idea was adopted by them and was shortly thereafter brought to the Chinese.

Chemical

*Processing of

rubber latex Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, a ...

as rubber: Although vulcanization with heat or sulfur was neither known nor practised, mesoamerican peoples used the juice of the morning glory vine to similarly cross-link raw rubber and make it usable.

Social

Mayan numerals 0-19 & 2 vertical examples

Universal education Universal access to education is the ability of all people to have equal opportunity in education, regardless of their social class, race, gender, sexuality, ethnic background or physical and mental disabilities. The term is used both in colleg ...

: The Aztecs were the first civilization known to have introduced compulsory education for both boys and girls.

Commerce

* Tianguis: the open air market, considered to have been a direct influence on today's flea market.

Alcoholic beverages

* Pulque *

Agave wine Agave Wine originates from Mexico. It is a fortified wine made from fermented blue agave, and fortified by being blended with blanco tequila. It is similar to tequila, in that it is harvested from the same plant. Although the two alcoholic beve ...

– This wine is made from the same plant, blue agave, as is tequila, but with a lower alcohol content.

Health and hygiene

* Sauna: The temazcal was the first ever

sweat lodge A sweat lodge is a low profile hut, typically dome-shaped or oblong, and made with natural materials. The structure is the ''lodge'', and the ceremony performed within the structure may be called by some cultures a purification ceremony or simply ...

, used by many cultures in Mesoamerica.

Astronomy

*Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Maya and Aztec, were able to accurately predict astronomical events, like eclipses, hundreds of years into the future.

Colonial

Industrial

*Automated cigarette machine: invented by Juan Nepomuceno Adorno in 1846. * Ballcock: Invented by José Antonio de Alzate y Ramírez in 1790. *

Flattop grill A flattop grill is a cooking appliance that resembles a griddle but performs differently because the heating element is circular rather than straight (side to side). This heating technology creates an extremely hot and even cooking surface, as h ...

: originated in 19th century Mexico and Central America.

Economy

*Coin

lathe A lathe () is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, and turning, with tools that are applied to the workpiece to c ...

:Developed in 1774 by

José Damián Ortiz de Castro José Damián Ortiz de Castro (1750–1793) was an 18th-century Novohispanic architect who carried out many construction works in Mexico City, such as the towers of the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral The Metropolitan Cathedral of the ...

. * Real de a 8, also known as "Spanish American peso", "Spanish dollar" or "piece of eight", considered to be the first world currency, which also gave the origin of the dollar or peso sign ($), was a Spanish/Mexican invention, it was first used in

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...

before being widely used in the whole

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

, parts of Europe and the Far East. It also provided the model for the currency that the United States adopted in 1792 and the larger coins of the new Spanish American republics such as the

Mexican peso The Mexican peso (Currency symbol, symbol: $; ISO 4217, code: MXN) is the currency of Mexico. Modern peso and dollar currencies have a common origin in the 16th–19th century Spanish dollar, most continuing to use dollar sign, its sign, "$". ...

and the Philippine peso in Southeast Asia.

Food

Dinner at Friendlys restaurant quesedillas

* Cajeta * Chile relleno * Enchilada * Mole sauce * Champurrado *

Quesadilla A quesadilla (; ; Mexican diminutive of ''quesada'') is a Mexican cuisine, Mexican dish consisting of a tortilla that is filled primarily with cheese, and sometimes meats, spices, and other fillings, and then cooked on a griddle or stove. Trad ...

Music and musical instruments

Pirekua ''Pirekua'' (Purépecha) is a song form of the Purépecha (Michoacán, Mexico). The singer of a ''pirekua'', a ''pirériecha'', may be male or female, solo or accompanied, and ''pirekua'' may be performed instrumentally. ''Pirériechas'' act as so ...

* Corridos * Ranchera *

Mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...

: originated in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

. * Vihuela, a five string musical instrument.

Alcoholic beverages

* Mezcal. * Rompope, an alcoholic beverage made with eggs, milk, and vanilla flavouring, originated in the convents of

Puebla de los Ángeles Puebla de Zaragoza (; nah, Cuetlaxcoapan), formally Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza, formerly Puebla de los Ángeles during colonial times, or known in English simply as Puebla, is the seat of Puebla Municipality. It is the capital and largest city ...

. * Tequila.

Sports

Lienzo charro A ''lienzo charro'' is an arena where charros hold the events of '' charreada'', ''coleadero'' and jaripeo Jaripeo () refers to a form of bull riding practiced mainly in central and southern Mexico. It developed in the 16th century and origin ...

* Charreada *

Rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...

* Jaripeo *

Lucha Libre Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...

* Baseball: First played in 1847 in Mazatlan

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is d ...

Fashion

* Sombrero.

Ranching and farming

Hacienda An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or ''finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards), ...

, Spanish/Mexican invention.

Chemical

* Patio process: For removal of silver from ore. *

Vanadium Vanadium is a chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable transition metal. The elemental metal is rarely found in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an oxide layer ( pas ...

: A chemical element discovered by Spanish chemist

Andrés Manuel del Río Andrés Manuel del Río y Fernández (10 November 1764 – 23 March 1849) was a Spanish– Mexican scientist, naturalist and engineer who discovered compounds of ''vanadium'' in 1801. He proposed that the element be given the name ''panchromium' ...

. * Ursolic acid: Discovered by Dr. Leopoldo del Rio de la Losa in 1841.

Modern

Construction and civil engineering

* Translucent concrete (ILum): developed by students Joel Sosa Gutierrez and Sergio Galvan in 2005.

* Tridilosa: invented by civil engineer Heberto Castillo. * Anti-graffiti coating (Deletum 3000): developed in the early 2000s at UNAM’s Applied Physics and Advanced Technology Centre in Querétaro Mexico. * Earthquake Resistant Foundations: invented by engineer Manuel González Flores in 1945. * Continuous-flow intersections were first invented by Mexican engineer Francisco Mier. *

Breakwater (structure) A breakwater is a permanent structure constructed at a coastal area to protect against tides, currents, waves, and storm surges. Part of a coastal management system, breakwaters are installed to minimize erosion, and to protect anchorages, h ...

: engineer Mauricio Porras developed a way to build docks and wave breakers using bags filled with sand or concrete and arranging them in 6' by 19' configurations in 1996. Thus creating a cheaper more material effective way of building these structures.

Chemical

Sponge iron reaction The sponge iron reaction (SIR) is a chemical process based on redox cycling of an iron-based contact mass, the first cycle is a conversion step between iron metal (Fe) and wuestite (FeO), the second cycle is a conversion step between wuestite (FeO) ...

(HYL process): created by Hylsa (now Ternium) of Mexico in 1957. * Solid rain (Lluvia sólida): invented by chemical engineer Sergio Jesús Rico Velasco, it consist of a farming additive that cuts down on irrigation needs by employing

hydrogel A hydrogel is a crosslinked hydrophilic polymer that does not dissolve in water. They are highly absorbent yet maintain well defined structures. These properties underpin several applications, especially in the biomedical area. Many hydrogels ar ...

Antidotes

*Scorpion antivenom, developed by Alejandro Alagón Cano in 1994. *

Coralmyn Coralmyn, also called Polyvalent Anti-coral Fabotherapic, is a polyclonal antivenom F(ab')2 used to treat venomous bites in mammals from the eastern coral snake and the Texas coral snake ''Micrurus tener'', commonly known as the Texas coral ...

, one of several antivenoms created by the

Instituto Bioclon The Instituto Bioclon S.A. de C.V. (Bioclon Institute) was formed in 1990 to research and develop F(ab’)2 antivenoms. On May 6, 2015 they received approval from the FDA to commercialize Anavip becoming their second drug approved by the FDA aft ...

Pharmaceutical

*Synthesized

Norethisterone Norethisterone, also known as norethindrone and sold under many brand names, is a progestin medication used in birth control pills, menopausal hormone therapy, and for the treatment of gynecological disorders. The medication is available in both ...

: This achievement by Luis E. Miramontes allowed the development of the first three Combined oral contraceptive pill, better known as the "morning after pill". He is sometimes referred to as "the Father of the Pill".

Automotive

DINA S.A. DINA (''Diesel Nacional, S.A. de C.V'', in English: ''National Diesel'') is a Mexican bus and truck manufacturer based in Ciudad Sahagún, Hidalgo, Mexico. It was created by the federal government of Mexico in 1951 as Diesel Nacional, S.A., and ...

Ecovía Ecovía is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon that began operations in January 2014. Overview As of 2014 Ecovía consists of a single route that runs 30 kilometers serving three different municipalities of the Monterrey ...

* Inferno exotic car * Ecovia car * Zacua MX3 Mastretta-MXT-lg

* Mastretta MXT car *

VUHL VUHL is a manufacturer of high performance automobiles, headquartered in Mexico. The company was founded by brothers Guillermo and Iker Echeverria. Products The company's only product to date is the VUHL 05, a road-legal lightweight supercar. The ...

car * Lowrider

Transport

Dynamic braking Dynamic braking is the use of an electric traction motor as a generator when slowing a vehicle such as an electric or diesel-electric locomotive. It is termed " rheostatic" if the generated electrical power is dissipated as heat in brake grid r ...

:invented by

Victor Leaton Ochoa The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

in 1908. *

Jetpack A jet pack, rocket belt, or rocket pack is a device worn on the back which uses jets of gas or liquid to propel the wearer through the air. The concept has been present in science fiction for almost a century and became widespread in the 1960s. ...

:Invented by pilot & inventor Juan Manuel Lozano Gallegos.

Aviation

* Hélice Anáhuac (Propeller Anáhuac): invented by engineer Juan Guillermo Villasana López in 1915. * Villasana Series H (TNCA H)

Firearms

Zaragoza Corla In 1956, brothers ''José'' and ''Andrés'', Zaragoza founded the ''Zaragoza Arms Factory'' in Mexico City, near Mexico City International Airport. The first weapon made by this outfit was a single-shot rifle .22 caliber. Later, they started manu ...

Trejo pistol Trejo Pistol is a term used to refer to a series of handguns produced in Mexico by Industrias Trejo de Zacatlán S.A., previously called Armas Trejo S.A. and of which, one of its variants, the Trejo Modelo 1 "TIPO RÁFAGA", is considered the smalle ...

Obregón pistol The Obregón is a Mexican designed semi-automatic pistol designed in the mid-1930s by the mechanical engineer Alejandro Obregón. It uses the same .45 caliber ammunition as the Colt 1911 and it resembles the 1911 in overall appearance, frame size ...

* Mendoza RM2 * Mendoza HM-3 *

Mendoza C-1934 The Mendoza C-1934 was a light machine gun similar to the M1918 BAR manufactured in Mexico. It was chambered in 7 mm calibre and had a 20-round magazine fed from the top. Rafael Mendoza produced machine guns for the Mexican Army beginning in ...

FX-05 Xiuhcoatl The FX-05 ''Xiuhcoatl'' ("Fire Serpent", literally "Turquoise-Serpent" in Classical Nahuatl,) is a Mexican assault rifle, designed and built by the ''Dirección General de Industria Militar del Ejército'' (General Directorate of Military Industr ...

rifle * M1908 rifle: The world's first gas-operated semi-automatic rifle. It was used for a short time by the Germans in World War I. * Saint-Chamond-Mondragón. * Mexican Mauser Model 1954 *

Mexican Mauser Model 1936 The Mauser Model 1936 was a Mauser bolt-action rifle designed in Mexico. Chambered in 7×57mm Mauser, it mixed features from the Gewehr 98 with others from the M1903 Springfield. Design The Model 1936 was of Mexican design. Externally, it was ...

Military technology

* DN-V Bufalo *

Sierra class corvette The ''Sierra''-class corvettes are corvettes of the Mexican Navy intended mainly for interception of drug smugglers, exclusive economic zone (EEZ) patrol, and countering terrorism. The class comprises four ships with the lead ship ARM ''Sierra'' ...

Durango class The ''Durango'' class is an offshore patrol vessel Ship class, class in service with the Mexican Navy. The ''Durango'' class, comprising four ships, was designed and constructed in Mexico in 1999–2000. The class entered service in 2000 and is ...

* Oaxaca class *

Hydra Technologies Ehécatl The S4 Ehécatl is an unmanned aerial vehicle developed and manufactured by Hydra Technologies of Mexico which, except for its infrared thermal sensor system, is the first of its type to be completely designed and manufactured in Mexico. It is nam ...

Hydra Technologies Gavilán The E1 Gavilán ('Sparrowhawk' in English) is an unmanned electrical-surveillance airplane designed and manufactured by the Mexican firm Hydra Technologies of Mexico. The aircraft is a remotely controlled unmanned aerial vehicle. The Gavilán ...

* Oaxaca PE-210A Pegasus

Music and musical instruments

Quebradita The ''quebradita'' (Spanish: "Little break", referring to the breaking of a wild horse and a female dancer's back bends) is a Mexican dance style. It is usually performed to a Regional Mexican song, specifically a lyrical charanga or instrumental ...

Sonido 13 Sonido 13 is a theory of microtonal music created by the Mexican composer Julián Carrillo around 1900 and described by Nicolas Slonimsky as "the field of sounds smaller than the twelve semitones of the tempered scale." Carrillo developed this th ...

: Developed around 1900 by

Julián Carrillo Julián Carrillo Trujillo (January 28, 1875 – September 9, 1965) was a Mexican composer,Camp, Roderic Ai (1995). "Carrillo (Flores), Nabor" on ''Mexican Political Biographies, 1935–1993: Third Edition'', p. 121. . conductor, violi ...

, his theories have been used to analyse conscience altering techniques by investigator Robert Alan Monroe, and even using sound as health treatment. *

Son mexicano Son mexicano () is a style of Mexican folk music and dance that encompasses various regional genres, all of which are called ''son''. The term son literally means "sound" in Spanish, and is also applied to other unrelated genres, most notably so ...

* Banda music *

Guitarrón mexicano The guitarrón mexicano (the Spanish name of a "big Mexican guitar", the suffix ''-ón'' being a Spanish augmentative) or Mexican guitarrón is a very large, deep-bodied Mexican six-string acoustic bass played traditionally in Mariachi group ...

Guitarra panzona The guitarra panzona, guitarra túa or guitarra blanca is a Mexican guitar with six strings and deep body. This guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's b ...

Art

Alebrije Alebrijes () are brightly colored Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical (fantasy/mythical) creatures. Description The monos de madera or alebrijes as they are called in Spanish were originally created by carver Manuel Jimenez but soon becam ...

:invented in the 1930s by '' cartonero'' Pedro Linares.

Food

Flamin' Hot Cheetos Cheetos (formerly styled as Chee-tos until 1998) is a crunchy corn puff snack brand made by Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo. Fritos creator Charles Elmer Doolin invented Cheetos in 1948, and began national distribution in the U.S. The initia ...

:invented by then janitor

Richard Montañez Richard Montañez is an American businessman, motivational speaker, and author. After dropping out of school, he was hired by Frito-Lay as a janitor and went on to become an executive in the company. He is best known for his claim of inventing ...

. * Fritos: Invented in 1932 by Gustavo Holguín, he sold the recipe for fritos to the company Highland park confectionery for $100. *

Snow cone Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

* Japanese peanuts: by Japanese immigrant Yoshigei Nakatani in 1945 * Nachos: By

Ignacio Anaya Ignacio Anaya García (15 August 1895 – 9 November 1975) was a Mexican maître d' who invented the popular Tex-Mex dish nachos at the Victory Club restaurant a couple miles from the border of Texas in Mexico in 1943. After nachos grew in p ...

. Nacho is short for Ignacio. *

Caesar salad A Caesar salad (also spelled Cesar and Cesare) is a green salad of romaine lettuce and croutons dressed with lemon juice (or lime juice), olive oil, egg, Worcestershire sauce, anchovies, garlic, Dijon mustard, Parmesan cheese, and black pepper ...

Games and celebration

*Maratón board game:invented by Sergio Etchart Sabbath in 1985. * piñata * Three-card Monte

Dog breeds

* Chamuco (a Mexican word which means "devil") or Mexican Pitbull: The breed was developed in central Mexico in the 1970s. *

Calupoh The Calupoh is a canine breed native to Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west ...

Alcoholic beverages

* Margarita * Kahlúa

Modern technologies

* mousepad:invented by Armando M Fernandez. * instabook: developed in 1997 by Victor Celorio. *Early

color television Color television or Colour television is a television transmission technology that includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improves on the monochrome or black-and-white t ...

: Guillermo González Camarena made one of the earliest successful color television transmission systems in 1934. Although not the one used today, Nasa used it in 1979 for a series of projects including

voyager I ''Voyager 1'' is a space probe launched by NASA on September 5, 1977, as part of the Voyager program to study the outer Solar System and interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. Launched 16 days after its twin ''Voyager 2'', ''Voyag ...

. *AcceleGlove: invented by José Hernández-Rebollar. It is an electronic glove that translates hand movements from the American Sign Language into spoken and written words. *

GNOME A gnome is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its characte ...

: developed by Miguel de Icaza and

Federico Mena A gnome is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its characte ...

. * X-ray microscope: developed by

Paul Kirkpatrick Paul H. Kirkpatrick (July 21, 1894 – December 26, 1992) was co-inventor of the X-ray reflection microscope, and the imaging technique he and his graduate student Albert Baez developed is still used, particularly in astronomy to take X-ray pictur ...

and

Albert Baez Albert Vinicio Báez (; November 15, 1912 – March 20, 2007) was a Mexican-American physicist and the father of singers Joan Baez and Mimi Fariña, and an uncle of John C. Baez. He made important contributions to the early development of X- ...

. *Mochila de seguridad (security backpack): developed by primary school student Juan David Hernandez Rojas in response to the growing violence in his home town of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, his invention consists of a backpack lined up with bullet proofed material, security lights, an alarm, and a GPS tracking device that can be connected to the wearers' families phones. * Solid-state melanin battery: developed by scientist Arturo Solis Herrera, it consists of a solar battery that does not need to be recharged or reloaded. * Optical ranked-order filtering using threshold decomposition:developed by Dr. Ellen Ochoa. * Electronuclear Reactor: developed by Luis Walter Alvarez.

Survailance technologies

3D Robotics 3DR is an American company headquartered in Berkeley, California that makes enterprise drone software for construction, engineering, and mining firms, along with government agencies. Prior to 2016, the company designed and marketed commercial a ...

:Founded in 2009 by Chris Anderson and Jordi Muñoz.

Communications

Morelos Satellite System The ''Morelos'' satellites are a series of Mexican communications satellites. The first two operated between 1985 and 1998 and provided telephony, data, and television services over the territory of the Mexican Republic and adjacent areas. ...

Sports

* Padel *

Metallic silhouette shooting Metallic silhouette shooting is a group of target shooting disciplines that involves shooting at steel targets representing game animals at varying distances, seeking to knock the metal target over. Metallic silhouette is shot with large bore rif ...

Frontenis Frontenis is a sport that is played in a 30 meter pelota court using racquets (a tennis racquet or a similar frontenis racquet) and rubber balls. It can be played in pairs or singles, but only pairs frontenis is played in international competit ...

* Ulama

Political

* '' Recurso de amparo'' (Writ of protection) idea, which was fundamental in the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human rights * Election ink: Developed by Filiberto Vázquez Dávila.

Industrial

Tortilla machine {{unreferenced, date=December 2017 A tortilla machine, called in Spanish máquina tortilladora, is a machine for processing corn dough (masa) into corn tortilla In North America, a corn tortilla or just tortilla (, ) is a type of thin, unleave ...

Created by Everardo Rodríguez Arce and Luis Romero in 1904 and produced 16,000 tortillas a day In 1947.

Medical

Assisted ventilation Mechanical ventilation, assisted ventilation or intermittent mandatory ventilation (IMV), is the medical term for using a machine called a ventilator to fully or partially provide artificial ventilation. Mechanical ventilation helps move air i ...

or Mechanical ventilation device (Gätsi ventilator) developed by Dydetec in 2020 to cope in the COVID-19 pandemic * EVA bra: Developed in 2017 by student Julian Rios Cantu at

Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) ( en, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education), also known as Tecnológico de Monterrey or just Tec, is a secular and coeducational private university based in ...

. * Probionics S.A. de C.V: founded in 2008 by Luis Armando Bravo Castillo, his company produces prosthetic limbs at %90 less cost than other companies. * VITACOR UVAD artificial heart: Developed by Dr. Emilio Sacristan Rock. *Method for predicting fetal membrane rupture based on pro-matrix metalloproteinase-9 (pro-mmp-9): Developed by Biochemist Felipe Vadillo-Ortega. *Diagnostic methods to detect invasive amoebiasis: Developed by Dr. María del Socorro Flores González. * Catalytic nanomedicine: A new field in antitumor treatment using supported platinum nanoparticles:Developed by solid-state chemist

Tessy María López Goerne Tessy María López Goerne (born October 22, 1961) is a Mexican solid-state chemist, professor, researcher, academic, and popular science communicator. She has specialized in the fields of nanotechnology and nanomedicine, as well as being a pione ...

. *

Typhus vaccine Typhus vaccines are vaccines developed to protect against typhus. As of 2020 they are not commercially available. One typhus vaccine consisted of formaldehyde-inactivated ''Rickettsia prowazekii''. Two doses were injected subcutaneously four we ...

: Developed by Dr. Maximiliano Ruiz Castañeda in 1940.

Discoveries

* Alcubierre drive a theory in which a spacecraft could achieve possible faster-than-light travel Proposed by Mexican theoretical physicist

Miguel Alcubierre Miguel Alcubierre Moya (born March 28, 1964) is a Mexican theoretical physicist. Alcubierre is known for the proposed Alcubierre drive, a speculative warp drive by which a spacecraft could achieve faster-than-light travel. Personal life Alcubie ...

. *

Mexianthus ''Mexianthus'' is a genus of Mexican flowering plants in the tribe Eupatorieae within the family Asteraceae.D.J.N.Hind & H.E.Robinson. 2007. Tribe Eupatorieae In: ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' vol.VIII. (Joachim W.Kadereit & Char ...

: One of many plant species discovered and classified by botanist

Ynes Mexia Ynés Enriquetta Julietta Mexía (May 24, 1870 – July 12, 1938) was a Mexican-American botanist notable for her extensive collection of novel specimens of flora and plants originating from sites in Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. She discovered a ...

. *Intensity of cosmic rays related to latitude and earth's magnetic field:Discovered by Dr.Manuel Sandoval Vallarta and physicist Georges Lemaître. *Recombinant DNA molecule:discovered by Lydia Villa-Komaroff. *Herbig–Haro objects, discovered by Mexican Guillermo Haro and American George Herbig *Ozone depletion: Mario J. Molina together with F. Sherwood Rowland discovered the chlorofluorocarbon, CFCs role in the Ozone hole. They were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. *

: discovered in 1801 by Andres Manuel del Rio *Birth control pill Developed by Luis E. Miramontes in Tepic, Mexico in 1951.
Vision learning *Labocania, Huehuecanauhtlus, Acantholipan.

References

{{Inventions Lists of inventions or discoveries, Mexican Mexican inventions, Mexico history-related lists, Inventions and discoveries