section_path: History/Pre-Columbian
section_name: Pre-Columbian
paragraph_text: Pre-Columbian
  
  As early as the Maya civilization, the Gulf of Mexico was used as a trade route off the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula and present-day Veracruz.
  
  As early as the Maya civilization, the Gulf of Mexico was used as a trade route off the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula and present-day Veracruz.