What do we know about pre-Columbian America?

The three most notable pre-Columbian civilizations were the Aztecs, the Maya, and the Incas. Many of the pre-Columbian cultures eventually ended with European contact, dying out through warfare as well as disease, but all three of these cultures left behind some of the most ornate and highly decorative artifacts ever made.

What did the pre-Columbian American civilizations have in common?

Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures shared certain characteristics such as the ritual ball game,* pyramid building, human sacrifice, maize as an agricultural product, and deities dedicated to natural forces (ie rain, storm, fire).

How did the first pre-Columbian people arrive in North and South America?

Settlement of the Americas Asiatic nomadic Paleo-Indians are believed to have entered the Americas via the Bering Land Bridge (Beringia), now the Bering Strait, and possibly along the coast.

Where did the pre-Columbian American Indians live?

Pre-Columbian civilizations, the original American Indian cultures that developed in Mesoamerica (part of Mexico and Central America) and the Andes region (western South America) before Spanish exploration and conquest in the 16th century.

What is the best description of the pre-Columbian era?

The Pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions of the history and prehistory of the Americas prior to the advent of significant European influences on the American continent, spanning the time of original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization in the early modern period.

What was the first pre-Columbian contact in the world?

Only one historical case of pre-Columbian contact is widely accepted among the scientific and scholarly mainstream. Maritime explorations by Nordic peoples from Scandinavia in the late 10th century led to the Norse colonization of Greenland and L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland,…

Are there signs of pre-Columbian contact in Greenland?

This remains the only site widely accepted as evidence of post-prehistoric, pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact with the Americas (Greenland is not generally considered part of North America). L'Anse aux Meadows was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1978.