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We begin around 30,000 BC. The Earth is in its
last Ice Age; the sea level is about 120 meters lower than current levels.
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The American continent
is completely isolated by large glaciers.
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Yet the first signs of human occupation are
popping up everywhere.
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Tools, bones of hunted animals and fires appear in various places on
the continent.
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To this day, the origins of these early settlements remain a mystery, but a few
theories are suggested.
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According to one theory, people from the Bay of Biscay would have
followed the 5,000 km icefield that crossed
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the Atlantic Ocean to reach the north of the
American continent.
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But this hypothesis is controversial and undermined by recent genetic
data which points to Asian origins of the first American settlements.
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Another theory contemplates that groups sailed along the “Kelp Highway,”
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a gigantic seaweed forest rich in fish that ran
along the Pacific rim from north Asia to America.
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As the Ice Age draws to a close, Beringia
forms a land corridor that connects America with Asia.
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The climate is milder here; local vegetation is suitable for large animals such as bison, caribou and mammoths,
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attracting Siberian populations who are hunters.
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Further east, the melting of enormous ice caps
opens a corridor towards the continent.
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Animals, followed by humans, gradually
pour in, while the melting ice causes waters to rise.
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Beringia is flooded;
the American continent is once again isolated.
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New nomadic populations spread across the
continent, who gather, fish and hunt.
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The climate continues to warm up, which facilitates the
domestication of plants endemic to the continent.
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Due to cross-breeding, American
populations create and cultivate avocados,
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chilli peppers, squash, corn and even cassava.
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Ceramics appear, a very useful invention not only for storing crops, but also
for art.
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Meanwhile animals such as the llama and guinea pigs are domesticated.
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Populations begin to settle, initially mainly on the central Mexican plateau and in
the coastal areas along the Andes mountains.
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Gradually, groups of populations begin to take
shape and the first cultures appear.
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In the Atacama Desert, the Chinchorros are the first
in the world to mummify their dead.
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A little further north, the Valdivia culture emerges.
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This is one of the first to produce ceramics in large quantities.
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In the Mississippi Basin are the Mound
Builders, a group of nomadic peoples famous for the many large mounds they erect.
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Their chiefs meet regularly and trade develops throughout the region.
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In the South, the Caral civilization
is the first to emerge on the continent.
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It brings together around 30 sites and population
centers, including Caral, which is probably the first city on the continent.
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Pyramids, squares as well as residential quarters are built there.
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This civilization is prosperous, thanks to the
irrigation system it develops, among other things.
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Yet despite its isolation, the Caral civilization
mysteriously declines and disappears around the 19th century BC
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perhaps because of the numerous earthquakes or the El Niño phenomenon,
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a warm sea current that causes the disappearance of fish and devastating climatic upheavals.
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In the center of the continent, the Olmecs appear
and form the first Mesoamerican civilization.
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They first develop in the city of San Lorenzo,
where nearly 10,000 inhabitants live in 1600 BC.
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Huge basalt sculptures representing
heads are built there.
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The Olmecs set up agricultural terraces with a complex system
of water distribution using U-shaped stones.
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Further south, the Chavin civilization emerges in
the Andes.
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Known in particular for its religious ceremonies, the civilization prospers and deeply
influences the region.
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Among the Olmecs, while San Lorenzo is in decline, La Venta reaches its peak.
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According to some, the first Mesoamerican pyramid was built there.
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To stock up on precious stones in particular, important networks of exchange are developed with cultures and civilizations of the region.
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There are also traces of writing among the Olmecs, but the exact origin of this invention is still debated today.
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Finally, Tres Zapotes is the last great Olmec city as the civilization
falls into decline.
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This benefits the Zapotecs who become the new dominant civilization, with Monte
Alban as the capital, where writing is developing.
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A little further north is an
important city called Cuicuilco.
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But it declines from the 1st century BC
because of the neighboring volcano Xitle
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which, in one or more eruptions, covers the
city in lava and destroys the surrounding fertile land.
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There is still no consensus over
the precise date of this event.
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In any case, this benefits the neighboring city of Teotihuacan
which sees dazzling prosperity and development.
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Surrounded by fertile land and located near
deposits of obsidian, a volcanic stone used in the making of tools,
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the city attracts artisans and traders from all over Mesoamerica and becomes an important hub.
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Monumental pyramids are built and become places of pilgrimage.
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At its peak, Teotihuacan is the largest city on the
continent with a population of at least 100,000.
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Further east, the Mayan civilization is divided
into a multitude of city-states which are often rivals.
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Tikal and Calakmul, both in competition
against one another, are the two greatest powers.
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But in 378, Teotihuacan seizes power in Tikal.
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A new dynasty is established there and the war continues against Calakmul.
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Between 550 and 575, the central districts of Teotihuacan are set on fire and vandalized, possibly during internal revolts.
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While in the East, Tikal is defeated by Calakmul. Teotihuacan's
power wanes until the city collapses.
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We return to 200 BC. At this time, in the south
of the continent, the civilization of Chavin collapses,
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which allows the development
of other civilisations in the region.
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The Nazca civilization develops in an arid zone,
in particular by building underground aqueducts
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which make it possible to transform the desert
into cultivated fields.
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They also do large drawings often representing animals, which
become an important part of ritual ceremonies.
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Further north, the Moche culture becomes
prevalent.
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Remarkable for its metallurgy and agricultural techniques in a desert environment,
this warrior civilization spreads rapidly.
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Prisoners are sacrificed during rites.
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During the 7th century, it is probable that important climatic changes
precipitates the fall of the Nazcas and the Moche.
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This benefits the Wari civilization, which extends
considerably to the north.
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Meanwhile their ally, the Tiwanaku civilization, originating
from the shores of Lake Titicaca,
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spreads south and eastwards, thus ensuring military
and cultural domination over the entire region.
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In Mesoamerica, the fall of Teotihuacan leaves a
void in the region, which benefits several cities that develop rapidly.
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In Mayan territory, rivalries remain a constant despite intense trade.
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The cocoa bean is used as money, but it is also consumed as a drink during ritual ceremonies reserved for elites and kings.
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The Mayans use writing and create a calendar designed by combining three existing calendars.
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The Long Count calendar has a cycle of 5,125 years, with its first cycle ending in 2012.
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From 780, a succession of periods of intense drought, followed by a major political and demographic crisis, leads to the desertion of most Mayan cities.
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Architectural constructions are interrupted, as are exchange networks.
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Dynasties collapse and only a few Mayan cities remain.
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The Zapotec capital of Monte Alban
also collapses, to the benefit of the neighboring Mixtec people.
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Tula, further north, grows to
become the new Mesoamerican cultural center.
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In the north of the continent, the
development of intensive agriculture
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in the Mississippi River basin spurs the growth of
so-called Mississippian cultures.
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Further north, around the year 1000, Vikings from Greenland
reach the coasts of America.
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They build camps, but these are abandoned after a few years
and forgotten.
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In the south of the continent, El Niño is probably responsible for the
collapse of the Wari and Tiwanaku civilizations.
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This benefits the Kingdom of Chimor, which
quickly becomes the main center of the Andes
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with Chan Chan as its capital -- an immense city
of approximately 20 sqkm,
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composed among others of 10 fortified citadels corresponding to the 10
kings.
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The Chimús dominate the region through war and impose their religious beliefs, including the sacrifice of children and llamas.
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Other peoples and civilisations develop in South America,
notably the Muiscas in the north.
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They are renowned for covering their new leader in gold
dust before he submerges himself in a sacred lake.
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Further south, the Kingdom of Cuzco
develops, where the Incas live.
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On a small island in Lake Texcoco, the Mexicas
people live in the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan.
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In 1428, they ally with the neighboring
city of Texcoco to destroy the powerful city of Azcapotzalco.
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Then Texcoco, Tenochtitlan and
Tlacopan unite and form the Triple Alliance.
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Tenochtitlan becomes the capital of the
new Aztec empire.
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All men receive military education. Considered to be invincible,
their armies quickly conquer a large part of the Mesoamerican territory.
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Despite a certain unity and cohesion in the empire, the heavy taxes imposed on the subjugated provinces becomes the cause of frequent rebellion.
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In 1438, after pushing back an offensive in
Cuzco, Pachacuti becomes the new Inca emperor.
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Quickly, he begins an expansionist
policy throughout the Andean area.
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The Incas operate mines and build bridges, dams
and roads to link the entire empire to Cuzco.
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The rapidly expanding capital grows
to 60,000 to 100,000 inhabitants.
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The Inca territory is solidly organized in four
quadrants which conquer in the four directions.
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Complex irrigation networks are built to
cultivate land, of which about a third is intended for the emperor and officials.
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In 1470, the Incas lay siege to their powerful rival Chan Chan and cut their water supply.
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The city is defeated and the kingdom of Chimor is annexed. Shortly after, Pachacuti dies.
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His heirs continue to extend the Inca territory considerably.
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Only the Chiriguanos in the south-east and especially
the Mapuches in the far south, resist brilliantly.
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The emperor then hears about mysterious explorers
in the north of the empire.
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He sets out to find them, but contracts an unknown illness and
quickly dies.
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This disease, against which the Incas are not immune, spreads through the empire
in a short time, also proving fatal for the heir.
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His death generates a war of succession.
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The Inca Empire is weakened from within, while on the coasts, an external threat seems to be looming with the arrival of unknown navigators.
