Description
We give credit to Columbus for the discovery of America and for the introduction of European Civilization to the New World. However, complex civilizations existed in these continents long before Columbus’ fateful voyage of exploration. In this lecture, we will explore the cultures and civilizations of the New World that existed at the time of European Contact. In Andean South America, we will review The Inca Empire and venture a projection of what their future may have been had not Pizarro invaded Peru. In Mesoamerica, three culture areas will be reviewed: The Zapotec and Mixtec Civilizations in Oaxaca, The Maya Civilizations Eastern Mesoamerica, and the Aztec Empire in the Valley of Mexico. Who might have been the next superpower in Mesoamerica had not Cortez and his allies conquered the Aztec Empire? In North America, the Algonquian and Iroquois nations in the east made the initial indigenous contact with the Northern European settlers, while the mound builders in the Mississippi basin, the hunters of the plains and the farmers of the Southwest made contact with Castilian and French explorers. Would any of these North American groups have developed into complex societies had not Europeans invaded these cultures?