Search
Search Results

Definition
Casas Grandes
Casas Grandes or Paquimé was a major pre-Columbian city that flourished due to its extensive trading networks between c. 1150/1200-1450 CE in the northwest of present-day Chihuahua, Mexico. Casas Grandes is one of the largest and most important...

Definition
Philolaus
Philolaus (l. c. 470 to c. 385 BCE) was a Pythagorean philosopher who claimed that fire was the first cause of existence and heat the underlying source of human life. He is best known for his pyrocentric model of the universe, which replaced...

Image
Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki Expedition, 1947
This map illustrates the route and story of the Kon-Tiki Expedition (1947), a groundbreaking voyage led by Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002), in which a crew of six sailed a balsa-wood raft from Callao, Peru, to Raroia Atoll in the Tuamotu Islands...

Image
Casas Grandes, Mexico
Ruined house, Casas Grandes or Paquimé, a major pre-Columbian city that flourished due to its extensive trading networks between c. 1150/1200-1450 CE in the northwest of present-day Chihuahua, Mexico.

Image
The Maya Arch at San Gervasio, Mexico
In Pre-Columbian days, this construction was the entrance or exit to the central part of San Gervasio, leading to the Caribbean coast. Pilgrims and traders would reach the famous sanctuary of the goddess Ix Chel and deposit an offering at...

Image
Muisca Female Tunjo
This figure depicts a female; she wears an elaborate headdress and necklace and holds what appears to be a small tree branch with her right hand. A material of religious significance, the flat gold figures (or Tunjos), were votive offerings...

Image
Example of Salado Culture Pottery
The Salado culture is a term used by historians and archaeologists to describe a pre-Columbian Southwestern culture that flourished from c. 1200-1450 CE in the Tonto Basin of what is now the southern parts of the present-day US states of...

Image
Wari Kero (Drinking Cup) from Peru
This is a Pre-Columbian Wari kero (drinking cup) is painted and made from clay. It comes from what is present-day Peru, and it dates from c. 600-900 CE. Painted in shades of purple, orange, white, and black, this cup has a highly stylized...

Image
The Maya "Alamo" Structure at San Gervasio
This temple was originally roofed although part of its vaulting, shaped like an inverted staircase, can still be seen on its southern side. There was once an altar within, where offerings were placed in Pre-Columbian times. The building was...

Image
Muisca Male Tunjo
This figure depicts a male; he holds an object with his right hand. A material of religious significance, the flat gold figures (or Tunjos), were votive offerings left in caves or lakes. They were rarely found inside tombs. Pre-Columbian...