Central America contains agriculture.
Central America . In the Pre-Columbian era , Central America was inhabited by the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica to the north and west and the Isthmo-Colombian peoples to the south and east . El Salvador . El Salvador 's economy was historically dominated by agriculture , beginning with the indigo plant ( añil '' in Spanish ) , the most important crop during the colonial period , and followed thereafter by coffee , which by the early 20th century accounted for 90 percent of export earnings . Mesoamerica . Beginning as early as 7000 BC , the domestication of cacao , maize , beans , tomato , squash and chili , as well as the turkey and dog , caused a transition from paleo-Indian hunter-gatherer tribal grouping to the organization of sedentary agricultural villages . Pre-Columbian era . Many pre-Columbian civilizations established hallmarks which included permanent settlements , cities , agriculture , civic and monumental architecture , major earthworks , and complex societal hierarchies .