Ancient Pre-Columbian Civilizations of the Americas
The American Continent Before European Contact
The American continent has a very ancient history of settlement dating back more than 20,000 years. When Europeans arrived, the people who inhabited the land had already developed thriving civilizations and created great empires, such as the Inca and the Aztec.
These societies primarily used stone as a basic material and lived off agriculture and livestock. They did not use the wheel, nor did they have draft animals. When Columbus arrived in America, he believed he had reached India; therefore, he called the territories the Indies and their inhabitants Indians. These indigenous cultures are known as pre-Columbian, referring to the period before the arrival of Columbus.
Major Pre-Columbian Civilizations
The Mayan Civilization
The Maya extended across the southern peninsula of Central America between the 5th and 15th centuries. They were farmers who lived mainly on the cultivation of corn and were organized into independent city-states. They possessed great knowledge of astronomy and developed a hieroglyphic writing system. They built beautiful temples and palaces in the Yucatán Peninsula. By the arrival of the Spaniards, this civilization had almost disappeared.
The Aztec Empire
The Aztecs were located in the Valley of Mexico between the year 1200 and the arrival of the Spaniards in 1519. They were a warlike people who conquered a great empire with its capital at Tenochtitlan, extending through central and southern Mexico. Religious and political power was concentrated in the hands of an emperor. Agriculture and trade were the main economic activities, and they also developed a flourishing urban civilization with important cities. They built major temples in the form of stepped pyramids, similar to those of the Maya.
The Inca Empire
The Inca civilization developed in South America between the years 1100 and 1532, when it was conquered by the Spaniards. The Incas created an empire centered in the Cuzco area, extending north to Quito and south to Chile. The population exceeded 12 million inhabitants. They were farmers and were ruled by an emperor known as the Inca. In the heart of the Andes, they built impressive stone fortresses, such as Machu Picchu.