What is "aridoamerica"

Aridoamerica is term coined in 1988 to denote a cultural region spanning the northern and central regions of Mexico and small parts of the Southwest United States. Mesoamerica lies to the south and east, and Oasisamerica to the north. These cultural regions overlap each other.

Unlike Mesoamerica, Aridoamerica has a dry, arid climate and geography. Because of the hard conditions, the precolumbian people in this region had cultures and subsistence patterns distinct from their Mesoamerican neighbors. The region has only to of annual precipitation. The sparse rainfall feeds seasonal creeks and waterholes.