Early Civilizations in the Americas

The three-volume Early Civilizations in the Americas Reference Library provides a comprehensive overview of the history of the regions of the American continents in which two of the world's first civilizations developed: Mesoamerica and the Andes Mountains region of South America. Early Civilizations in the Americas: Almanac presents the story of the development of early American civilizations from the earliest known societies to the Spanish conquest---the dates, locations, sites, history, arts and sciences, religions, economies, governments, and eventual declines of the great ancient civilizations. Volume 1 features an overview of ancient civilizations in general and a summary of modern theories about the earliest immigrants and life in the Americas. The remainder of the volume focuses on the rise of the Andean civilization. Volume 2 focuses on the rise of the Mesoamerican civilizations from the Olmecs through the Aztecs.

Early Civilizations in the Americas: Biographies and Primary Sources presents a collection of twenty-three biographies and primary sources---both text and photographs of artifacts---that provide detailed and focused views of the people of the early American civilizations, the artifacts they left behind, and the sources upon which the history of the early American civilizations are based. Each chapter is arranged loosely by topic and chronology. The biographies include Inca emperor Pachacutec, Maya king Pacal, and Aztec emperor Montezuma II. The primary sources feature artifacts such as the Inca quipu, or knotted counting cords, the Maya sacred calendar, and the Aztec Sun Stone.

For table of contents, sample pages or other volume specific information see the entry for the Almanac or Biographies and Primary Sources.

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