| History by time period | |
| Prehistory | 200000 BCE - 3500 BCE and later |
| *Three-age system | Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age |
| Ancient history | 3500 BCE - 476 CE |
| *Pre-Columbian | 14,000 B. History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology Stone Age Paleolithic See also Paleolithic, Recent African Origin, Early Homo sapiens, Early human migrations "Paleolithic" The three-age system refers to the Periodization of Human Prehistory into three consecutive Time periods named for their respective The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric time period during which Humans widely used stone for toolmaking The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man. "Ancient" redirects here For other uses see Ancient_(disambiguation. P. - 1492 CE and later |
| *Classical Antiquity | 7th century BCE - 476 CE |
| Middle Ages | 476 - 1517 |
| Modern history | 15th century - present |
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents. Classical antiquity (also the classical era or classical period) is a broad term for a long period of cultural History centered on the Mediterranean The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also modern times) is the period of history that followed the Middle Ages between c The archaeology of the Americas is the study of the Archaeology of North America, Central America (or Mesoamerica) South America The history of the Americas is the collective history of North and South America, including Central America and the Caribbean. The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America While technically referring to the era before Christopher Columbus, in practice the term usually includes the history of American indigenous cultures until they were conquered or significantly influenced by Europeans, even if this happened decades or even centuries after Columbus' initial landing. Christopher Columbus (1451 &ndash May 20 1506 was an Italian Navigator, colonizer For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States.
Pre-Columbian is used especially often in the context of the great indigenous civilizations of the Americas, such as those of Mesoamerica (the Aztec and Maya) and the Andes (Inca, Moche, Chibcha, Cañaris). This list of pre-Columbian civilizations includes those Civilizations and Cultures of The Americas which flourished prior to the European colonization Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Mesoamérica is a Region extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua, defined Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political The Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican Civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the Pre-Columbian Americas The Andes form the world's longest exposed Mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. The Inca Empire (or Inka Empire) was the largest empire in Pre-Columbian America. The Moche civilization (alternately the Mochica culture Early Chimu Pre-Chimu Proto-Chimu etc Chibcha, also known as Muisca or Mosca, is "officially" an extinct Chibchan language of Colombia, formerly spoken by
Many pre-Columbian civilizations established characteristics and hallmarks which included permanent or urban settlements, agriculture, civic and monumental architecture, and complex societal hierarchies. A Civilization is a society in which large numbers of people share a variety of common elements Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture In Anthropology and Archaeology, a complex society is a social formation that is otherwise described as a formative or developed State (i Some of these civilizations had long faded by the time of the first permanent European arrivals (c. late 15th - early 16th centuries), and are known only through archaeological investigations. Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos Others were contemporary with this period, and are also known from historical accounts of the time. A few, such as the Maya, had their own written records. However, most Europeans of the time largely viewed such texts as heretical, and much was destroyed in Christian pyres. Only a few hidden documents remain today, leaving modern historians with glimpses of ancient culture and knowledge.
According to both indigenous American and European accounts and documents, American civilizations at the time of European encounter possessed many impressive accomplishments. For instance, the Aztecs built one of the most impressive cities in the world, Tenochtitlan, the ancient site of Mexico City, with an estimated population of 200,000. Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political There are some towns in Mexico which are spelled "Tenochtitlán" like San Lorenzo Mexico City (in Spanish: Ciudad de México, México DF, México or simply Méjico) is the Capital city of Mexico American civilizations also displayed impressive accomplishments in astronomy and mathematics.
Where they persist, the societies and cultures which are descended from these civilizations may now be substantively different in form from that of the original. However, many of these peoples and their descendants still uphold various traditions and practices which relate back to these earlier times, even if combined with those that were more recently adopted.
Contents |
Origins
Asiatic migration
Asian nomads are thought to have entered the Americas via the Bering Land Bridge (Beringia), now the Bering Strait and possibly along the Northwest coast. There are several popular models of migration to the New World proposed by the anthropological community The Bering land bridge was a Land bridge roughly 1000 miles (1600 km north to south at its greatest extent which joined present-day Alaska and eastern Siberia The Bering Strait (Берингов пролив Beringov proliv) is a sea Strait between Cape Dezhnev, Russia, the easternmost point (169°43' Genetic evidence found in Amerindians' maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) supports the theory of multiple genetic founding populations migrating from Asia, although it does not rule out a single migration. Mitochondrial DNA ( mtDNA) is the DNA located in Organelles called mitochondria. Over the course of millennia, people spread throughout North and South America. Exactly when the first group of people migrated into the Americas is the subject of much debate. One of the earliest identifiable cultures was the Clovis culture, with sites dating from some 13,000 years ago. The Clovis culture (sometimes referred to as the Llano culture) is a Prehistoric Paleoindian culture that first appears in the archaeological However, older sites dating back to 20,000 years ago have been claimed, and some genetic studies estimate the colonization of the Americas dates from between 40,000 to 13,000 years ago. Also, multiple waves of immigration have been suggested. [1] [2]
In any case, artifacts have been found in both North and South America which have been dated to at least 14,000 B. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a Radiocarbon dating is a Radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring Radioisotope Carbon-14 (14C to determine the age of P. [1], and humans are thought to have reached Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America by this time. Cabo de Hornos redirects here for the Chilean commune see Cabo de Hornos Chile. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a Most scholars agree that the Inuit and related peoples arrived separately and at a much later date, probably during the first millennium CE, moving across the ice from Siberia into Alaska. Inuit (plural the singular Inuk, means "man" or "person" is a general term for a group of culturally similar Indigenous peoples inhabiting The first millennium is a period of time that commenced on January 1, 1, and ended on December 31, 1000, of the Julian calendar. Siberia (Сиби́рь Sibir) is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving Alaska ( Аляска Alyaska) is a state in the United States of America, in the northwest of the North American continent
Prehistory
After the migration or migrations, it was several thousand years before the first complex civilizations arose, at the earliest emerging 5000 BCE. The inhabitants of the Americas were hunter-gatherers, and even after the emergence of advanced civilizations, such societies covered most of the continents' area until the 18th century. A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary subsistence method involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild Foraging and Hunting Numerous archaeological cultures can be identified with some of the classifications including Early Paleo-Indian Period, Late Paleo-Indian Period, Archaic Period, Early Woodland Period, Middle Woodland Period and Late Woodland Period. In addition to its usual meaning in Social science, in Archaeology, the term culture is also used in reference to several related concepts unique to
Agricultural development
Early inhabitants of the Americas developed agriculture, developing and breeding maize (corn) from ears 2-5 cm in length to the current size we are familiar with today. Maize (ˈmeɪz ( Zea mays L. ssp mays) known as corn in some countries is a cereal grain domesticated in Mesoamerica Potatoes, tomatos, tomatillos (a husked green tomato), pumpkins, chili peppers, squash, beans, pineapple, sweet potatoes, the grains quinoa and amaranth, chocolate, vanilla, onion, peanuts, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, papaya, and avocados were among other plants grown by natives. The potato is a Starchy Tuberous crop Vegetable from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae The tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum, syn Lycopersicon lycopersicum) is a herbaceous usually sprawling plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family The tomatillo ( Physalis philadelphica) is a Plant of the Solanaceae ( Nightshade) family bearing small spherical and green or Pumpkin is a Gourd -like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae (which also includes gourds The chili pepper, chilli pepper, or chili, is the fruit of the plants from the Genus Capsicum, which are members of the nightshade Bean is a common name for large plant Seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae (formerly Leguminosae used for human food or animal Pineapple ( Ananas comosus) is the common name for an edible Tropical Plant and also its Fruit It is native to the southern part of Brazil The sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas) is a Dicotyledonous plant which belongs to the family Convolvulaceae For the town with a similar name see Quinua Peru. "Quinoa" is also a title of a 1992 music album by Tangerine Dream. Amaranthus, collectively known as amaranth or pigweed, is a cosmopolitan genus of herbs Chocolate ( pronounced or /-ˈələt/ comprises a number of raw and processed foods that are produced from the seed of the tropical Cacao tree Vanilla is a Flavoring derived from Orchids of the genus Vanilla native to Mexico. Organicsalsajpg||thumb|right|Onions used in salsa.]]Cooked onions in frying pan The peanut, or Groundnut ( Arachis hypogaea) is a species in the Legume family Fabaceae native to South America, Mexico Garden strawberries are a common variety of strawberry cultivated worldwide The raspberry (plural raspberries) is the edible Fruit of a multitude of plant species in the subgenus Idaeobatus of the genus Rubus Blueberries are Flowering plants in the genus Vaccinium, sect The BlackBerry is a Wireless Handheld device introduced in 1999 as a two-way pager The papaya (from Carib via Spanish) is the Fruit of the Plant Carica papaya, in the genus Carica. The avocado ( Persea americana) (from Nahuatl āhuacatl) also known as aguacate ( Spanish) butter pear or Over two-thirds of all food crops grown worldwide are native to the Americas.
While not as widespread as in other areas of the world (Asia, Africa, Europe), native Americans did have livestock. Livestock is the term used to refer (singularly or plurally to a Domesticated Animal intentionally reared in an agricultural setting to produce such as Food In Mexico as well as Central America, natives had domesticated deer which was used for meat and possibly even milk. A deer is a Ruminant Mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. Andean societies had llamas and alpacas for the same reasons, as well as for beasts of burden. The llama ( Lama glama) is a South American Camelid, widely used as a Pack animal by the Incas and other natives of the Andes The Alpaca ( Vicugna pacos) is a domesticated species of South American Camelid. Guinea pigs were raised for meat in the Andes. The Guinea pig (also commonly called the cavy after its scientific name Cavia porcellus) is a species of Rodent belonging to the family Caviidae The Andes form the world's longest exposed Mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. Iguanas were another source of meat in Mexico, Central, and northern South America. Iguana is a Genus of Lizard native to tropical areas of Central and South America and the Caribbean first described by Austrian
By the 15th century, maize had been transmitted from Mexico and was being farmed in the Mississippi embayment and as far as the East Coast of the United States and as far north as southern Canada. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. The Mississippi embayment is a physiographic feature in the south-central United States, part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. The East Coast of the United States, also known as the "Eastern Seaboard" or "Atlantic Seaboard" refers to the easternmost coastal states in the central and northern Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Potatoes were utilized by the Inca, and chocolate was used by the Aztec. Chocolate ( pronounced or /-ˈələt/ comprises a number of raw and processed foods that are produced from the seed of the tropical Cacao tree
North America
When the Europeans arrived, many natives of North America were semi-nomadic tribes of hunter-gatherers; others were sedentary and agricultural civilizations. For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. Many formed new tribes or confederations in response to European colonization. A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally consists of a Social group existing before the development of or outside of States Many anthropologists use Well-known groups included the Huron, Apache, Cherokee, Sioux, Delaware, Algonquin, Choctaw, Mohegan, Iroquois (which included Mohawk, Oneida, Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga and later the Tuscarora tribe), and Inuit. "Huron" redirects here For other uses see Huron (disambiguation. The Cherokee (ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ a-ni-yv-wi-ya, in the Cherokee language) are a people native to North America, who at the time of European contact Sioux (pronounced SUE are a Native American and First Nations people Delaware ( is a state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The Algonquins (or Algonkins) are an aboriginal North American people speaking Algonquin, an Anishinaabe language. The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States ( Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana) The Mohegan tribe is an Algonquian-speaking tribe that lives in eastern upper Thames valley Connecticut The Iroquois Confederacy (also known as the "League of Peace and Power" the "Five Nations" the "Six Nations" or the "People of the Longhouse Mohawk ( Kanienkeh, Kanienkehaka or Kanien’Kahake, meaning "People of the Flint" are an indigenous people of North America The Oneida ( Onyota'aka or Onayotekaono, meaning the People of the Upright Stone or standing stone, Thwahrù•nęˀ in Tuscarora The Seneca are a group of indigenous people native to North America. The Cayuga nation ( Guyohkohnyo or the People of the Great Swamp) was one of the five original constituents of the Haudenosaunee ( Iroquois) a confederacy The Onondaga ( Onöñda'gega' or the People of the Hills) are one of the original five constituent nations of the Iroquois ( Haudenosaunee) Confederacy The Tuscarora ("hemp gatherers" are an American Indian tribe with members in New York, Canada, and North Carolina. Inuit (plural the singular Inuk, means "man" or "person" is a general term for a group of culturally similar Indigenous peoples inhabiting Although not as technologically advanced as the Mesoamerican civilizations further south, there were extensive pre-Columbian sedentary societies in what is now the United States of America. The Iroquois League of Nations or "People of the Long House" was a politically advanced and unique social structure that was at the very least inspirational if not directly influential on the later development of the democratic United States government, a departure from the strong monarchies from which the Europeans came. The Iroquois Confederacy (also known as the "League of Peace and Power" the "Five Nations" the "Six Nations" or the "People of the Longhouse
Mississippian Culture
The Mississippian culture dominated much of the area along the Mississippi River in Pre-Columbian history. The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to One of the distinguishing features of this culture was the construction of large earthen mounds, leading to the nickname the Moundbuilders. Mound Builder is a general term referring to the American Indians who constructed various styles of earthen Mounds for burial residential and ceremonial purposes They grew maize and other crops intensively, participated in an extensive trade network, and had a complex stratified society. The Mississippians first appeared around 1000 CE, following and developing out of the less agriculturally intensive and less centralized Woodland period. The culture reached its peak in c. 1200-1400, and in most places it seems to have been in decline before the arrival of the Europeans.
The largest site of this people, Cahokia — located near modern East St. Louis, Illinois — may have reached a population of over 20,000. East St Louis is a city located in St Clair County Illinois, USA directly across the Mississippi River from St At its peak, between the 12th and 13th centuries, Cahokia was the most populous city in North America, although far larger cities were constructed in Mesoamerica and South America. Monk's Mound, the major ceremonial center of Cahokia, remains the largest earthen construction of the prehistoric New World. Monk's Mound is the largest Pre-Columbian earthwork in America north of Mesoamerica. The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth specifically the Americas and Australia.
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is the region extending from central Mexico south to the northwestern border of Costa Rica that gave rise to a group of stratified, culturally related agrarian civilizations spanning an approximately 3,000-year period before the European discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus. Yaxchilan (also sometimes historically referred to by the names Menché and City Lorillard) is an ancient Maya city located on the Usumacinta River Tula is a town of 28432 (2005 census in the southwestern part of the state of Hidalgo in central Mexico, some 100 km to the north-northwest of Mexico City Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Mesoamérica is a Region extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua, defined Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( Spanish: Costa Rica or República de Costa Rica,) is a Country in Mesoamerican is the adjective generally used to refer to that group of pre-Columbian cultures. This refers to an environmental area occupied by an assortment of ancient cultures that shared religious beliefs, art, architecture, and technology in the Americas for more than three thousand years.
Between 1800 and 300 BCE, complex cultures began to form in Mesoamerica. Some matured into advanced pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations such as the: Olmec, Teotihuacan, Maya, Zapotec, Mixtec, Huastec, Purepecha, Toltec and Mexica (Aztecs), which flourished for nearly 4,000 years before first contact with Europeans. The Olmec were an ancient Pre-Columbian people living in the Tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in what are roughly the modern-day states Teotihuacan is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the Pre-Columbian Americas The Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican Civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the Pre-Columbian Americas The Zapotec civilization was an indigenous Pre-Columbian civilization that flourished in the Valley of Oaxaca of southern Mesoamerica. The Mixtec (or Mixteca) are an indigenous Mesoamerican people inhabiting the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Guerrero and Puebla This article is about the Huastec people whose native language Wastek (Huastec is a Mayan language The Tarascan state was a state in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, roughly covering the geographic area of the present day Mexican state of Michoacán Toltec-style Vessel 1jpg|thumb|250px|right|A rather expressive orange-ware clay vessel in the Toltec style Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political
These indigenous civilizations are credited with many inventions in: building pyramid-temples, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, writing, highly accurate calendars, fine arts, intensive agriculture, engineering, an abacus calculator, a complex theology, and the wheel. A pyramid is a Building where the upper surfaces are triangular and converge on one point Mathematics is the body of Knowledge and Academic discipline that studies such concepts as Quantity, Structure, Space and Astronomy (from the Greek words astron (ἄστρον "star" and nomos (νόμος "law" is the scientific study The word Calendar consist of two words 1 Cal ( in Pashto means Year in Hindi and Persian is Sal- also means Year Engineering is the Discipline and Profession of applying technical and scientific Knowledge and An abacus, also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool used primarily by Asians for performing arithmetic processes Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective A wheel is a circular device that is capable of rotating on its axis facilitating movement or transportation whilst supporting a load ( Mass) or performing labour in machines However, without any draft animals, the wheel was used only as a toy. They also used native copper and gold for metalworking. Copper (ˈkɒpɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol Cu (cuprum and Atomic number 29 Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79
Archaic inscriptions on rocks and rock walls all over northern Mexico (especially in the state of Nuevo León) demonstrate an early propensity for counting in Mexico. Nuevo León ( Spanish for "New León " after the former kingdom in Spain) is a state located in northeastern Mexico. The counting system was one of the most complex in the world, with a base 20 number system. The vigesimal or base - numeral system is based on twenty (in the same way in which the ordinary decimal numeral system is based on ten These very early and ancient count-markings were associated with astronomical events and underscore the influence that astronomical activities had upon Mexican natives before the arrival of Europeans. In fact, many of the later Mexican based civilizations carefully built their cities and ceremonial centers according to specific astronomical events.
The biggest Mesoamerican cities such as Teotihuacan, Tenochtitlan, and Cholula were among the largest in the world. Teotihuacan is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the Pre-Columbian Americas There are some towns in Mexico which are spelled "Tenochtitlán" like San Lorenzo These cities grew as centers of commerce, ideas, ceremonies, and theology, and they radiated influence outwards onto neighboring cultures in central Mexico.
While many city-states, kingdoms, and empires competed with one another for power and prestige, Mesoamerica can be said to have had five major civilizations: The Olmec, Teotihuacan, the Toltec, the Mexica and the Maya. These civilizations (with the exception of the politically fragmented Maya) extended their reach across Mexico — and beyond — like no others. They consolidated power and distributed influence in matters of trade, art, politics, technology, and theology. Other regional power players made economic and political alliances with these four civilizations over the span of 4,000 years. Many made war with them, but almost all peoples found themselves within these five spheres of influence.
Olmec civilization
The earliest known civilization is the Olmec. The Olmec were an ancient Pre-Columbian people living in the Tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in what are roughly the modern-day states This civilization established the cultural blueprint by which all succeeding indigenous civilizations would follow in Mexico. Olmec civilization began with the production of pottery in abundance, around 2300 BCE. Between 1800 and 1500 BCE, the Olmec consolidated power into chiefdoms which established their capital at a site today known as San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, near the coast in southeast Veracruz. A chiefdom is a type of complex society of varying degrees of centralization that is led by an individual known as a chief. San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán (or San Lorenzo) is the collective name for three related Archaeological sites -- San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán and Potrero Nuevo -- located Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave is one of the 31 states that constitute the republic of Mexico. The Olmec influence extended across Mexico, into Central America, and along the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish: Golfo de México) is the ninth largest Body of water in the world They transformed many peoples' thinking toward a new way of government, pyramid-temples, writing, astronomy, art, mathematics, economics, and religion. Their achievements paved the way for the later greatness of the Maya civilization in the east and the civilizations to the west in central Mexico.
Teotihuacan civilization
The decline of the Olmec resulted in a power vacuum in Mexico. Teotihuacan is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the Pre-Columbian Americas Emerging from that vacuum was Teotihuacan, first settled in 300 BCE. By 150 CE, Teotihuacan had risen to become the first true metropolis of what is now called North America. A metropolis (from the Greek μήτηρ mētēr meaning 'mother' and πόλις pólis meaning 'city/town' is a big City, in most cases with Teotihuacan established a new economic and political order never before seen in Mexico. Its influence stretched across Mexico into Central America, founding new dynasties in the Maya cities of Tikal, Copan, and Kaminaljuyú. Tikal (or Tik’al, according to the more current orthography is the largest of the ancient ruined cities of the Mayan civilization. The Pre-Columbian city today known as Copán is a locale in extreme western Honduras, in the Copán Department, near to the Guatemalan border Kaminaljuyu is a Pre-Columbian site of the Maya civilization. Teotihuacan's influence over the Maya civilization cannot be understated: it transformed political power, artistic depictions, and the nature of economics. Within the city of Teotihuacan was a diverse and cosmopolitan population. Most of the regional ethnicities of Mexico were represented in the city, such as Zapotecs from the Oaxaca region. The Zapotec civilization was an indigenous Pre-Columbian civilization that flourished in the Valley of Oaxaca of southern Mesoamerica. They lived in apartment communities where they worked their trades and contributed to the city's economic and cultural prowess. By 500 CE, Teotihuacan had become the largest city in the world. Teotihuacan's economic pull impacted areas in northern Mexico as well. It was a city whose monumental architecture reflected a monumental new era in Mexican civilization, declining in political power about 650 CE—but lasting in cultural influence for the better part of a millennium, to around 950 CE.
Maya civilization
Contemporary with Teotihuacan's greatness was the greatness of the Maya civilization. Uxmal ( Yucatec Maya: Óoxmáal is a large Pre-Columbian ruined city of the Maya civilization in the state of Yucatán, Mexico. The Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican Civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the Pre-Columbian Americas The period between 250 CE and 650 CE was a time of intense flourishing of Maya civilized accomplishments. While the many Maya city-states never achieved political unity on the order of the central Mexican civilizations, they exerted a tremendous intellectual influence upon Mexico and Central America. The Maya built some of the most elaborate cities on the continent, and made innovations in mathematics, astronomy, and calendrics. The Mayans also evolved the only true written system native to the Americas using pictographs and syllabic elements in the form of texts and codices inscribed on stone, pottery, wood, or highly perishable books made from bark paper. TEXT is the band founded by Kristofer Steen David Sandström Fredrik Bäckström and Jon F Brännström A codex ( Latin for block of wood, Book; plural codices) is a book in the format used for modern books with separate pages normally
Aztec/Mexica civilization
With the decline of the Toltec civilization came political fragmentation in the Valley of Mexico. Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political Valley of Mexico is a highland Plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with the present-day Distrito Federal and the eastern half of the State Into this new political game of contenders to the Toltec throne stepped outsiders: the Mexica. They were also a proud desert people, one of seven groups who formerly called themselves "Azteca", in memory of Aztlán, but they changed their name after years of migrating. Aztlán ( from Nahuatl Aztlān) is the Legendary ancestral home of the Nahua peoples, one of the main cultural groups in Mesoamerica Since they were not from the Valley of Mexico, they were initially seen as crude and unrefined in the ways of Nahua civilization. Through cunning political maneuvers and ferocious fighting skills, they managed to become the rulers of Mexico as the head of the 'Triple Alliance' (which included two other "Aztec" cities, Texcoco and Tlacopan).
Latecomers to Mexico's central plateau, the Mexica thought of themselves as heirs of the civilizations that had preceded them. For them, highly-civilized arts, sculpture, architecture, engraving, feather-mosiac work, and the invention of the calendar were because of the former inhabitants of Tula, the Toltecs.
The Mexica-Aztecs were the rulers of much of central Mexico by about 1400 (while Yaquis, Coras and Apaches commanded sizable regions of northern desert), having subjugated most of the other regional states by the 1470s. At their peak, 300,000 Mexica presided over a wealthy tribute-empire comprising about 10 million people (almost half of Mexico's 24 million people). The modern name "Mexico" comes from their name.
Their capital, Tenochtitlan, is the site of modern-day Mexico City. There are some towns in Mexico which are spelled "Tenochtitlán" like San Lorenzo Mexico City (in Spanish: Ciudad de México, México DF, México or simply Méjico) is the Capital city of Mexico At its peak, it was one of the largest cities in the world with population estimates of 300,000. The market established there was the largest ever seen by the conquistadors when they arrived. This article is about the Spanish explorer soldiers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuriesfor other uses see Conquistador (disambiguation A Conquistador
South America
By the first millennium, South America’s vast rainforests, mountains, plains and coasts were the home of tens of millions of people. Some groups formed permanent settlements. Among those groups were the Chibchas (or "Muiscas" or "Muyscas"), Valdivia and the Tairona. The Chibchas of Colombia, Valdivia of Ecuador, the Quechuas of Peru and the Aymaras of Bolivia were the 4 most important sedentary Amerindian groups in South America. Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Ecuador topics. Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. The Republic of Bolivia (República de Bolivia) named after Simón Bolívar, is a Landlocked country in central South America. In the last two thousand years, there may have been contact with Polynesians across the South Pacific Ocean, as shown by the spread of the sweet potato through some areas of the Pacific, but there is no genetic legacy of human contact. Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a Subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions The sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas) is a Dicotyledonous plant which belongs to the family Convolvulaceae
Norte Chico
On the northern coast of present-day Peru, Norte Chico was a cluster of large-scale urban settlements with emerged around 3000 BCE (contemporary with urbanism's rise in Mesopotamia) and declined around 1800 BCE. The Norte Chico civilization (also Caral or Caral-Supe civilization) was a complex Pre-Columbian society that included as many as 30 major population centers Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding Caral, in the Supe valley, is one of the largest and best studied sites. This article is about the archaeological site For the civilization it belonged to see Norte Chico civilization Caral is a large settlement
Valdivia
The Valdivia culture was concentrated on the coast of Ecuador. The Valdivia culture is one of the oldest settled cultures recorded in the Americas Their existence was recently discovered by Archeological findings. Their culture is the oldest in the Americas, spanning from 3500 to 1800 BCE. The Valdivia lived in a community that built its houses in a circle or oval around a central plaza, and were sedentary people that lived off farming and fishing, though occasionally they went hunting for deer. From the remains that have been found, it has been determined that Valdivians cultivated maize, kidney beans, squash, cassava, hot peppers and cotton plants, the latter of which was used to make clothing. Valdivian pottery initially was rough and practical, but it became splendid, delicate and large over time. They generally used red and gray colors; and the polished dark red pottery is characteristic of the Valdivia period. In their ceramics and stone works, the Valdivia culture shows a progression from the most simple to much more complicated works.
Cañaris
The Cañaris were the indigenous natives of today's Ecuadorian province of Cañar, and Azuay. They were an elaborate civilization with advanced architecture, and religious belief. Most of their remains were burned, and destroyed by attacks from the Inca. Their old city was replaced twice, first by the Incan city of Tomipamba, and later by the Colonial city of Cuenca. Cuenca (full name Santa Ana de los cuatro ríos de Cuenca) is the third largest city in Ecuador in terms of population and is the capital of the Azuay The city was also believed to be the site of El Dorado, the city of gold from the mythology of Colombia. (see Cuenca) The Cañaris were most notable to have repelled the Incan invasion with fierce resistance for many years until they fell to Tupac Yupanqui. Many of their descendents are still present in Cañar with the majority not having mixed, and reserved from becoming Mestizos.
Chavín
The Chavín, a South American preliterate civilization, established a trade network and developed agriculture by 900 BCE, according to some estimates and archeological finds. The Chavín were an early Civilization that existed in present-day Peru. Artifacts were found at a site called Chavín in modern Peru at an elevation of 3,177 meters. The Chavín civilization spanned from 900 to 300 BCE.
Chibchas
The Chibcha linguistic communities were the most numerous, the most territorially extended and the most socio-economically developed of the pre-Hispanic Colombians. Chibcha, also known as Muisca or Mosca, is "officially" an extinct Chibchan language of Colombia, formerly spoken by By the 3rd century, the Chibchas had established their civilization in the northern Andes. The Andes form the world's longest exposed Mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. At one point, the Chibchas occupied part of what is now Panama, and the high plains of the Eastern Sierra of Colombia. Panama, officially the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. The areas that they occupied were the Departments of Santander (North and South), Boyacá and Cundinamarca, which were also the areas where the first farms and first industries were developed, and where the independence movement originated. They are currently the richest areas in Colombia. They represented the most populous zone between the Mayan and Inca empires. Next to the Quechua of Peru and the Aymara in Bolivia, the Chibchas of the eastern and north-eastern Highlands of Colombia were the most striking of the sedentary indigenous peoples in South America. Sedentary lifestyle is a medical Neologism used to denote a type of Lifestyle most commonly found in modern (particularly Western) cultures In the Oriental Andes, the Chibchas were composed of several tribes who spoke the same language (Chibchan). Among them: Muiscas, Guanes, Laches, Cofan and Chitareros. The Cofán ( A’i) people are an indigenous people native to Napo Province northeast Ecuador and southern Colombia, between
Moche
The Moche thrived on the north coast of Peru 1,500–2,000 years ago. The Moche civilization (alternately the Mochica culture Early Chimu Pre-Chimu Proto-Chimu etc The heritage of the Moche comes down to us through their elaborate burials, recently excavated by UCLA's Christopher Donnan in association with the National Geographic Society. The University of California Los Angeles (generally known as UCLA) is a public research university located in Westwood Los Angeles, California, United Overview The NGS's historical mission is "to increase and diffuse geographic knowledge while promoting the conservation of the world's cultural historical and natural
As skilled artisans, the Moche were a technologically advanced people who traded with faraway peoples, like the Maya. Almost everything we know about the Moche comes from their ceramic pottery with carvings of their daily lives. The Larco Museum of Lima, Peru has an extensive collection of these ceramics. The Larco Museum (Museo Larco is located in the Pueblo Libre District in Lima, Peru. Lima is the Capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers on a coast overlooking Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. We know from these records that they practiced human sacrifice, had blood-drinking rituals, and that their religion incorporated non-procreative sexual practices (such as fellatio). Human sacrifice is the act of Homicide (the Killing of one or several Human beings in the context of a Religious ritual ( ritual killing Fellatio, also called fellation, is Oral sex performed upon the Penis.
Inca Empire
Holding their capital at the great cougar-shaped city of Cusco, the Inca civilization dominated the Andes region from 1438 to 1533. The Inca Empire (or Inka Empire) was the largest empire in Pre-Columbian America. The cougar ( Puma concolor) also puma, mountain lion, or panther, depending on region is a Mammal of the Felidae family ||} Cusco (also spelled Cuzco, and in the local Quechua language as Qusqu 'qos Known as Tawantin suyu, or "the land of the four regions," in Quechua, the Inca civilization was highly distinct and developed. Quechua ( Runa Simi) is a Native American language of South America. Inca rule extended to nearly a hundred linguistic or ethnic communities, some 9 to 14 million people connected by a 25,000 kilometer road system. Among the many roads and trails constructed in pre-Columbian South America, the Inca road system, or Qhapaq Ñan was the most extensive Cities were built with precise, unmatched stonework, constructed over many levels of mountain terrain. Terrace farming was a useful form of agriculture. In Agriculture, a terrace is a leveled section of a Hilly cultivated area designed as a method of Soil conservation to slow or prevent the rapid There is evidence of excellent metalwork and even successful brain surgery in Inca civilization. Neurosurgery is the surgical discipline focused on treating those central, Peripheral nervous system and spinal column diseases amenable to surgical
References
- Sorenson, John L. and Johannessen, Carl L. (2006) "Biological Evidence for Pre-Columbian Transoceanic Voyages. " In: Contact and Exchange in the Ancient World. Ed. Victor H. Mair. University of Hawai'i Press. Pp. 238-297. ISBN-13: ISBN 978-0-8248-2884-4; ISBN-10: ISBN 0-8248-2884-4
- Wright, Ronald. (2005) "Stolen Continents: 500 Years of Conquest and Resistance in the Americas. " Mariner Books. ISBN-10: 0618492402; ISBN-13: 978-0618492404
- Mann, Charles. (2006) "1491" A survey of civilization, agronomy, architecture, politics, etc in the pre-Columbian Americas.
- Fernández-Armesto, Felipe. (1987). Before Columbus: Exploration and Colonisation from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, 1229-1492. Macmillan Education Ltd. Hampshire and London. ISBN 0-333-40382-7; ISBN 0-333-40383-5 (pbk).
- T G Schurr, S W Ballinger, Y Y Gan, J A Hodge, D A Merriwether, D N Lawrence, W C Knowler, K M Weiss, and D C Wallace. "mitochondrial DNAs have rare Asian mutations at high frequencies, suggesting they derived from four primary maternal lineages.". American Journal of Human Genetics. 1990 March; 46(3): 613–623.
- M D Brown, S H Hosseini, A Torroni, H J Bandelt, J C Allen, T G Schurr, R Scozzari, F Cruciani, and D C Wallace "haplogroup X: An ancient link between Europe/Western Asia and North America?". American Journal of Human Genetics. 1998 December; 63(6): 1852–1861.
External links
See also
- List of pre-Columbian civilizations
- Pre-Inca cultures in Peru
- Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact
- Pre-Columbian population
- Columbian Exchange
Dictionary
pre-Columbian
-adjective
- Referring to the cultures of the American continent before the European influence, specifically to the era before the continent was visited by Christopher Columbus.
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