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Antiquity

The Pre-Columbian Americas: Origins

The earliest civilizations of Mesoamerica and the Andes, from the Olmecs to Caral and Chavín.

Wikimedia Commons · Johnattan Rupire · CC BY-SA 4.0

60-Second Review

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  1. Two Independent Cradles: Mesoamerica and the Andes. Mesoamerica and the Andes each produced complex civilization independently, with no known contact with the Old World.
  2. Olmec Origins and the Rise of San Lorenzo. The Olmecs, flourishing on Mexico's Gulf Coast from c. 1600 BCE, built San Lorenzo, Mesoamerica's first great center.
  3. The Olmec Colossal Heads and La Venta. Basalt colossal heads and La Venta's Great Pyramid mark the artistic height of Olmec civilization.
  4. Olmec Religion, Writing, and the Mesoamerican Legacy. Olmec religion, incipient writing, and the ballgame shaped ideas later inherited across Mesoamerica.
  5. Caral-Supe: The Oldest City in the Americas. Caral, in Peru's Supe Valley, is the oldest known urban center in the Americas, dating to c. 3000-1800 BCE.
  6. Caral Society, Religion, and the Wider Norte Chico World. Caral's theocratic society anchored a wider Norte Chico network without writing, warfare, or maize.
  7. Chavín de Huántar: An Oracle at the Crossroads. Chavín de Huántar became a pan-Andean pilgrimage and oracle center in Peru's northern highlands.
  8. Chavín Iconography and the Early Horizon. Chavín's Staff God iconography spread across the Andes, reshaping ideas about the region's first civilization.

This module continues after "Ancient China" in the syllabus. If you haven't reviewed it yet, it may help set the context.

Key points

Visual module map

1Two Independent Cradles: Mesoamerica and the Andes
2The Olmec Colossal Heads and La Venta
3Caral-Supe: The Oldest City in the Americas
4Caral Society, Religion, and the Wider Norte Chico World
5Chavín Iconography and the Early Horizon

Alternative visual view: a simplified sequence of some of the module's key points, in their order within the syllabus.

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Chronological Order

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Further reading

Bibliography and cited sources used to create this module.

  • Michael D. Coe and Rex Koontz, Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs.
  • Richard A. Diehl, The Olmecs: America's First Civilization.
  • Ruth Shady Solís, Jonathan Haas, and Winifred Creamer, "Dating Caral, a Preceramic Site in the Supe Valley on the Central Coast of Peru," Science 292 (2001).
  • Richard L. Burger, Chavín and the Origins of Andean Civilization.
  • Michael E. Moseley, The Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization.
  • John H. Rowe, Chavín Art: An Inquiry into Its Form and Meaning.
  • UNESCO, Sacred City of Caral-Supe, World Heritage List, available at whc.unesco.org.
  • UNESCO, Chavín (Archaeological Site), World Heritage List, available at whc.unesco.org.