Peoples
- Olmec: Topic Page
The culture of ancient Mexican natives inhabiting the tropical coastal plain of the contemporary states of Veracruz and Tabasco, between 1300 and 400 B.C. MORE - Zapotec: Topic PageIndigenous people of Mexico, primarily in S Oaxaca and on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. MORE
- Maya civilization: Topic Page
One of the great cultures of mesoamerica, Maya civilization extended throughout southern mexico and northern Central America. MORE - Aztec: Topic PageMember of an American Indian people who migrated south into the valley of Mexico in about 1168. MORE
- Inca: Topic PagePre-Columbian empire, W South America. MORE
- Pre-Columbian CivilizationsFrom Africa and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History
Despite some technological limitations, a few Native American civilizations had achieved a high level of development before the arrival of European explorers. MORE - Mound Builders: Topic PageName given to those people who built mounds in a large area from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico and from the Mississippi River to the Appalachian Mts. MORE
Books
Encyclopedia of North American Indians, Houghton MifflinWritten by contemporary authorities, the volume features many Native American contributors - including eminent writers, tribal elders, scholars, and activists - with voices as distinct as their subjects, offering a deeper and more informed appreciation of American Indian life, past and present.
Encyclopedia of Mexico: History, Society & CulturePresents a processual view of Mexican history, society and culture from ancient civilizations to the present day.
Canada's Diverse Peoples: A Reference SourcebookIn this comprehensive reference, Historian J.M. Bumsted takes readers on a chronological tour of Canada's ethnic history.
Publisher Collection Titles
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World Mythology: Handbook of Native American MythologyPopular Hopi kachina dolls and awesome totem poles are but two of the aspects of the sophisticated, seldom-examined network of mythologies explored in this fascinating volume.
World Mythology: Handbook of Inca MythologyThe first introduction to the Incas and their myths aimed at students and general readers, bringing together a wealth of information into one convenient resource.
Culture
- Native American AgricultureFrom Encyclopedia of North American Indians
Before the Christian era many Indian cultural groups of North America cultivated plants of Mesoamerican and indigenous origin. By a.d. 1000 corn (maize), beans, and squash were their most important cultivated food plants. - Native American ArchitectureFrom Encyclopedia of North American Indians
Indian architectural traditions reflected the diversity of tribal economic patterns, social organizations, historical experiences, religious systems, and worldviews. - Mesoamerican ReligionFrom Encyclopedia of Mexico: History, Society & Culture
Important Mesoamerican religious themes: cosmic topography, power-filled inhabitants, calendrically determined transformation, and sacrifice. - Mayan LiteratureFrom Concise Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature
The Maya were the only people of America's high cultures who developed a glyph-writ language (a partly ideographic, partly phonetic mode of writing) capable of recording events. - QuipuFrom Iberia and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History
Quipu is an Andean mnemonic device consisting of primary and secondary cords (spun of llama or alpaca wool) of various colors on which are several types of variously spaced knots.
Places
- MesoamericaFrom Encyclopedia of Archaeology: History and Discoveries
Coined in 1943 by the scholar Paul Kirchoff, the name Mesoamerica is used to describe the culture area of the ancient civilizations of central and southern Mexico and northern Central America. - Teotihuacán: Topic PageAncient commercial and religious center in the central valley of Mexico. The largest (c.7 sq mi/18.1 sq km) and most impressive urban site of ancient America. MORE
- PalenqueFrom Encyclopedia of Archaeology: History and Discoveries
Palenque is a classic Maya site and kingdom in the southern state of Chiapas in Mexico. - Machu Picchu: Topic Page
Inca site in Peru. The imposing city is one of the largest pre-Columbian sites found virtually intact. - CahokiaFrom Encyclopedia of North American Indians
Cahokia was a major Mississippian urban center. Occupied between about AD 700 and AD 1250, the core of the site covered more than two hundred acres and was surrounded by a wooden palisade containing in excess of twenty thousand logs. - Serpent MoundFrom Encyclopedia of North American Indians
The largest known serpent effigy in the world, Great Serpent Mound is located in rural Ohio. The mound's form is of an undulating serpent, uncoiling and opening its mouth to swallow a large oval.