1. The Origins of Civilization Up until about 12,000 years ago, all humans were hunter-gatherers: that is, they lived by hunting wild game, fishing, and gathering fruits and berries. They lived in small bands, following a mobile lifestyle as they followed animal herds and moved to where more plants could be found. They owned only […]
Pre-Columbian civilizations
Aztec Civilization
Geography: the Aztec homeland The origins of Aztec civilization lay in the large mountain-rimmed Valley of Mexico. This was a huge basin whose floor was some 2,500 feet above sea level and surrounded by high mountains reaching up to 6,000 feet. Much of the land was unsuitable for farming, but by intensive and innovative agriculture what […]
Latin America: the Colonial Era
European background: Spain and Portugal The Reconquista In Medieval times, Spain and Portugal experienced a quite different history from the rest of Europe, as most of their territory had been conquered by Muslim armies in the early Middle Ages. The centuries-long Christian Reconquista of these lost territories lasted for the rest of the medieval period. The Reconquista was […]
Pre-Columbian Civilizations of America
The Two Heartlands of Pre-Columbian civilization Two regions in particular of America developed great Pre-Columbian civilizations. Central America produced several major Pre-Columbian civilizations, including the Olmec (fl. c. 1500-500 BCE), the Maya (c. 100-1000 CE) and the Aztec. In South America, the Pacific coast and Andes highlands of Peru, and later Ecuador, Columbia and western […]
The Maya civilization
The Maya Civilization
Inca Empire
The Incas conquered a huge empire in ancient South America, starting in Peru and expanding into Ecuador, Bolivia, Chia and Argentine, just before the Spanish conquest