Ancient Americas Archives

Topics

Featured

Tikal

Tikal History Historians believe that people lived at Tikal as far back as 1000 B.C. Archeologists have found evidence of agricultural activity at the site dating to that time, as well as remnants of ceramics dating to 700 B.C. By 300 B.C., major construction of the city of Yax Mutal had already been completed, including […]

Chichen Itza

Where Is Chichen Itza? Chichen Itza is located about 120 miles from the modern‑day resort town of Cancun, on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. The name Chichen Itza is a Mayan language term for “at the mouth of the well of the Itza.” The Itza were an ethnic group of Mayans who had risen to power in […]

Teotihuacan

Teotihuacan Pyramids Teotihuacan (also written Teotihuacán) is arranged in a grid layout that covers about 8 square miles (20 square kilometers). It contains around 2,000 single‑story apartment compounds, as well as various pyramids, plazas, temples and palaces of nobles and priests. The main buildings of Teotihuacan are connected by the Avenue of the Dead (or […]

History of Chocolate

Who Invented Chocolate? Chocolate is made from the fruit of cacao trees, which are native to Central and South America. The fruits are called pods and each pod contains around 40 cacao beans. The beans are dried and roasted to create cocoa beans. It’s unclear exactly when cacao came on the scene or who invented […]

Videos

See All

Play

Featured

Aztecs

How and why did the once mighty Aztec Empire crumble in the 16th century? Ask HISTORY looks for answers.

Inca

Inca Emperor Pachacuti rises to power and transforms his kingdom into the largest empire in South America.

Watch now

Mayan Astronomy

Ancient Mayans studied the skies thousands of years before modern astronomical observatories.

Watch now

Mayan Architecture

Ancient Mayan structures have lasted thousands of years, and their designs continue to influence modern architecture.

Watch now

Stories

See All

Nanai stele depicting Nanai worshiping the Gods Osiris and Anubis, the dead deity who holds the key of life, ankh-shaped (Ankh). Limestone painted. End of the 18th dynasty. 14th century BC. Egyptian Museum, Turin, Italy (Photo by Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images)

Featured

The 6 Earliest Human Civilizations

Architecture, agriculture, art and more first blossomed in these cultures.

7 Foods Developed by Native Americans

These dietary staples were cultivated over thousands of years by Indigenous peoples of America.

How Hernán Cortés Conquered the Aztec Empire

Tenochtitlán, the capital city of the Aztec Empire, flourished between A.D. 1325 and 1521—but was defeated less than two years after the arrival of Spanish invaders led by Cortés.