The Ancient Americas

The ancient Americas tell a story of diversity and change—not progress.

When archaeologists look at different cultures from around the world, they find that many societies create similar solutions to common problems. Some societies become more complex by creating larger communities with more kinds of social relationships. Others adjust to problems in simpler ways. Neither response—complex or simple—is necessarily better or worse.

The continents we now call the Americas, home today to nearly one billion people, are a rich tapestry of societies and cultures that interact, overlap, learn from one another, and sometimes melt together. Yet all still retain their connections to the past, carrying on unique traditions and employing a variety of approaches to modern life.

Cultural diversity in the Americas is not a result of European influence.

This grand diversity began long before Europeans arrived on American shores. For thousands of years, the Americas were filled with a rich mosaic of peoples—from hunting and gathering groups that thrived for millennia to empires that lasted only a few decades. Come meet some of the many peoples who lived in the ancient Americas. Explore their world—and discover their enduring contributions to our lives today.

To begin your journey through the story of ancient American life, select from the descriptions below. Each section highlights a specific way of life—a shared solution—showing several examples from different times and places in the Americas.

	Ice Age Americans Find out how the earliest Americans arrived on the continent, and discover what it was like to live in an Ice Age world. Meet the ancient Clovis people and view the sophisticated spear points they created to take down mammoths and other giant mammals.
	Innovative Hunters and Gatherers: Witness the growth of cultural diversity in the Americas as people spread out across the continents. Meet four unique societies—from California, Peru, the eastern United States, and Mexico—that ingeniously adapted their hunting and gathering techniques to new environments and new opportunities.
	Farming Villagers: Discover the pros and cons of community living when humans made the transition from roving hunters to settled farmers. Meet Ancestral Puebloan peoples of the Southwest U.S. and find out how maize sustained their communities and village life inspired their art forms.
	Powerful Leaders: Learn why communities first began yielding power to make some decisions to leaders and discover the benefits these societies gained. Meet Colombian, Hopewell, and Mississippian societies and examine how their leaders established trade networks that brought in exotic imported goods of gold and other precious materials.
	Rulers and Citizens: Get the scoop on how some leaders acquired more power, becoming rulers with elaborate governments. Meet five fascinating societies—the Zapotec, Maya, city of Teotihuacan, Moche, and Wari—and find out how their rulers used religion, the economy, and the military to maintain their power.
	Empire Builders: Explore the ways in which rulers became emperors, controlling a vast diversity of ethnic groups in far-flung territories. Meet the Aztec and the Inca and find out how they maintained control over their vast territories through taxation, communication, military might, and control of a centralized religion.
	Living Descendents: Meet the many contemporary Indigenous peoples of the Americas who draw on their past as they live in the present and prepare new generations for the future.

Continue to Ice Age Americans. >>