North America to c. 1500

Learn about the the early peoples and places in the Americas from Alaska to Panama. North America was one of the last continents in the world to be settled by humans. The first clear evidence of human activity in North America are spear heads called Clovis points.

Chaco Canyon — Located in a high desert, Chaco’s residents dedicated much of their energy to controlling water for crops.

Introduction to Chaco Canyon

The Mexica people formed their capital when they saw the sign they had been promised: an eagle perched on a cactus.

Introduction to the Aztecs (Mexica)

Gorget, c. 1250-1350, probably Middle Mississippian Tradition, whelk shell, 10 x 2 cm (National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, 18/853) — Found marking the grave of an important individual, this gorget was worn as a neck ornament during life.

Mississippian shell neck ornament (gorget)

Codex Féjervary-Mayer, 15th century, f. 1 (World Museum, Liverpool) — Mesoamerica was anything but homogenous—people in this region spoke more than 125 different languages!

Mesoamerica, an introduction

Codex Borgia — Thirty-three feet long, the Codex Borgia records historical, ritual, mythological, and botanical information.

Codex Borgia

Capable of being male or female, the Earth Lord Tlaltecuhtli is shown here as a woman who has given birth.

Monolith of Tlaltecuhtli (Earth Lord)

This Mexica water goddess was believed to have presided over the fourth, or most recent, sun.

Stone kneeling figure of Chalchiuhtlicue

Mosaic serpent mask of Quetzalcoatl/Tlaloc, 15th-16th century C.E., Mexica/Mixtec, cedrela wood, turquoise, pine resin, gold, conch shell, beeswax, 18.2 x 16.5 x 12.5 cm, Mexico © Trustees of the British Museum — Identifying which god this mask represents has proven a slippery task.

Serpent mask of Quetzalcoatl or Tlaloc

Jade pectoral (with Maya glyphs), c. 1000-600 B.C.E., Olmec, Middle Preclassic period, jadeite, 10.5 x 11 cm, Mexico © Trustees of the British Museum — Jade was a prized material for the Olmec, and their carving has been found throughout Mesoamerica and beyond.

Olmec Jade

The turquoise, shell and other materials used on this mask were collected from the far reaches of the Aztec empire.

Mosaic mask of Tezcatlipoca

Mixtec — This rare survival of a Mesoamerican pre-Hispanic book records the life and times of ruler Eight Deer Jaguar-Claw.

Codex Zouche-Nuttall

Lady K'abal Xook pulling a thorned rope through her tongue (detail), Yaxchilán lintel 24, after 709 C.E., Maya, Late Classic period, limestone, 109 x 78 x 6 cm, Mexico © Trustees of the British Museum — Carved lintels were commissioned by elites and attest to ritual activities, like bloodletting.

Maya: The Yaxchilán Lintels

Vessels like this are an important source of information about Maya society since few of their books survive.

Maya: The Fenton Vase

Snakes shedding their skin was a powerful metaphor for the Aztecs and is reflected in their pantheon of gods.

Double-headed serpent

Olmec stone mask, c. 900-400 B.C.E. Olmec, greenstone, 13 x 11.3 x 5.7 cm © Trustees of the British Museum — Dress for the job you want, not the one you have: could this mask pendant turn its wearer into a god?

Olmec stone mask

Olmec figurine — Olmec figurines are known for their baby faces, as well as a mixture of feline and human traits.

Olmec figurine

This vessel represents the goggle-eyed deity associated with rain and crops, critical for the agricultural Aztecs.

Tlaloc vessel

Chakalte', Relief with enthroned ruler — Look up! This elaborate carving could be seen as one walked into the temple, but only VIPs had access.

Chakalte’, Relief with Enthroned Ruler

This fabulously-dressed mirror-bearer imitates the humans who performed this function in the royal courts.

Mirror-Bearer

During ceremonies, the user of this cup might be invited to share the story depicted here in Maya glyphs.

Vessel with a mythological scene