Roman amphitheater (El Jem, Tunisia) The great empires formed during the last years before Christ continued peacefully through much of this period. In India, the Mauryan Empire collapsed. There was a period of [...]
Norte Chico building: Stepped platform at Caral (ca. 2200 BC) When did people first reach Peru? People probably first arrived in Peru about 13,000 BC. They were following the Pacific coast south [...]
Nazca lines - a giant monkey drawn on the desert floor Nazca replace the Chavin After the Chavin state collapsed about 250 BC, two new states formed in Peru - the Moche in the [...]
Moche portrait of a blind man, 400-500 AD (thanks to Oberlin College) When did the Moche get started? The collapse of the Chavin state in Peru, about 250 BC, seems to have opened [...]
Inca history: Macchu Picchu Before the Inca Until the 1400s AD, the Pacific coast of South America was made up of a lot of small independent kingdoms. First the Valdivia and Norte Chico people [...]
Chavin stone carving From Norte Chico to Chavin By around 900 BC, the Norte Chico people of northern Peru developed into the Chavin culture. Like the earlier Norte Chico people, the Chavin people [...]
A llama in Bolivia - llamas live in South America Where did llamas come from? Llamas evolved from camels. Camels evolved in North America about 45 million years ago. They lived in the [...]
Olmec Pyramid, La Venta, Mexico (500 BC) The earliest big buildings from South America are in Ecuador and Peru, along the Pacific coast. The Norte Chico people and the Valdivia people built [...]
South American history: Aztec doctor treating people with smallpox (1500s AD, Codex Mendoza) The Inca, Brazil, and Chile In 1500 AD, the Inca Empire dominated the east coast of South America. Further north, [...]
Silver mining slaves at Laurion, near Athens Why did people want silver? People first mined silver in the Bronze Age. Like gold, silver is a great way to help people trade. [...]
