Gran Colombia: Did you mean...?

A scene from the 13th-century Icelandic Laxdæla Saga (anglicised as Laxdale Saga), which is set in the Viking Age (c. 790-1100). Illustration from "Vore fædres liv" : karakterer og skildringer fra sagatiden, collected and published by Nordahl...

Weathered and broken stele in the Grand Plaza of the Maya city of Chacchoben, Mexico, c. 700 CE. It rests at the foot of the stairs leading up to the Gran Basamento plateau where religious rituals were held.

The Temple of the Vessels (Templo de Las Vasijas) at Maya city of Chacchoben, c. 700 CE. Located on the sacred plateau of the Gran Basamento, this temple housed the various goods needed for sacrifice and offerings at the nearby Temple 1.

Simón Bolívar (1793-1830), Venezuelan military officer and statesman, mezzotint portrait by Charles Turner, 1827. Known as "The Liberator", Bolívar led several countries in South America to independence from the Spanish Empire in the 19th...

A Poporo is a container used for storing lime that could be procured by crushing seashells and would later be eaten with coca leaves- a tradition in Pre-Columbian South America. This Poporo, made out of gold with a nude female figure carved...

In this gallery, we showcase 40 precious items that illustrate the love of valuable shiny things that can sparkle up our daily lives is far from being a modern phenomenon. Gold has always been valued for its gleam and incorruptibility, while...

Francisco Pizarro (c. 1478-1541) was a conquistador who led the Spanish conquest of the Inca civilization from 1532. With only a small group of men, Pizarro took advantage of his superior weapons and the fact that the Incas were weakened...

Hernando de Soto (c. 1500-1542) was a Spanish conquistador who fought in Panama and Nicaragua and accompanied Francisco Pizarro (c. 1478-1541) in the conquest of the Inca civilization in Peru. He famously explored North America, including...

The Japanese dance and theater art of kabuki, derived from the word kabuku, meaning "out of the ordinary," can be traced back to the streets of seventeenth-century Kyoto. Kabuki became a dramatic art for the common people, with its use of...

A c. 1589 map showing the port of Cartagena on the Spanish Main (now in modern Colombia). Cartagena was one of the main ports for the Spanish treasure fleets and acted as a collecting point for gold, silver, emeralds, and pearls from Colombia...