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The Forgotten City of Cahokia: A Metropolis of the Ancient World
Cahokia, near modern St Louis, was the largest Mississippian city, with Monks Mound and a peak population around 1100 CE. What we know and what is debated.
The Americas
Early American Cultures
Lesser known cultures of North, Central and South America.
The Ancient Civilization of the Epi-Olmec: A Culture of Agriculture and Trade
The Epi-Olmec of Veracruz and Tabasco continued Olmec traditions after 400 BCE, farmed and traded, and left the La Mojarra stela and an unresolved script.
The Enigmatic Stone Spheres of Costa Rica
The Diquis stone spheres of southern Costa Rica: how they were carved, how they are dated, what they may have meant, and why so much context was lost.
The Forgotten Civilization of the Moche
The Moche of coastal Peru built the adobe Huaca del Sol and Huaca de la Luna and buried the Lord of Sipan with gold. What excavations have shown.
The Forgotten Civilization of the Moche People
Moche craft and daily life on Peru's north coast: portrait vessels, metalwork, textiles, fishing and irrigation farming, with a brief note on theories of decline.
The Forgotten Civilization of the Moche: A Glimpse into Ancient Peru
How Moche society worked on Peru's desert coast, from irrigated valleys to warrior priests, and the debated roles of El Nino floods and drought in its decline.
The Mysterious Disappearance of the Anasazi People
The Ancestral Puebloans of Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde did not vanish: they left the Four Corners around 1300 CE, and their descendants live in Pueblo communities.
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Maya Calendar and Script How the Maya counted time, wrote and understood the cosmos. Maya Cities and History Maya city-states, their rise and collapse, and the Spanish conquest. Inca Empire and Road Inca society, roads, timekeeping and the Spanish conquest. Inca Cities Cuzco, Machu Picchu and other Inca stone cities. Aztec Empire and Conquest The Aztec Triple Alliance, its religion and its fall. Nazca and Andean Mysteries The Nazca Lines and the puzzles of the ancient Andes. Olmec and Isthmian Cultures The Olmec heartland and its Epi-Olmec successors on the Gulf coast of Mexico. Maya Rulers, Religion and Life Maya kings, myths and everyday life, from dynastic politics to the underworld. Inca Expansion and Resistance How the Inca empire grew, fought, fractured and held out against Spain. Nazca Debates and Preservation Rival explanations for the Nazca Lines, fringe claims and efforts to protect the site. Lost Cities of the Americas Legendary lost cities of South America, separating evidence from myth and hoax. Easter Island and Rapa Nui The moai, the island people and the debate over what happened to them. Polynesia and the Pacific Ancient voyagers, island chiefdoms and the settlement of Oceania.