Night view of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed archaeological site of Caral-Supe, one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Americas.

8 Astonishing Ancient Sites in the Americas: The Nazca Lines

The Aztec Triple Alliance: A Clever Scheme That Built an Empire; Tenochtitlán

Nanai stele depicting Nanai worshiping the Gods Osiris and Anubis, the dead deity who holds the key of life, ankh-shaped (Ankh). Limestone painted. End of the 18th dynasty. 14th century BC. Egyptian Museum, Turin, Italy (Photo by Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images)

Shadowy black and white print showing the back of a kneeling woman reaching up toward a tall robed god, with a dead man lying on the ground beside her

Indian Tableaux At The Prince'S Hall, Piccadilly, In Aid Of The Medical Missions To The Women Of India. The Tableaux Illustrated The Life Of An Indian Woman, With Scenes From The Story Of Savitri, As Related In The Vedas: The Death Of Satyavan

How Hernán Cortés Conquered the Aztec Empire

Tattooing on the hand of a Chancay individual who lived 1,200 years ago.

Ancient America was home to sophisticated civilizations such as the Maya, Inca, Olmec and Aztec societies, and mysterious ruins like Chichen Itza, Teotihuacan, Serpent Mound, Tikal, Machu Picchu and the Nazca Lines.

Ancient Americas

Ancient America was the home of many large, advanced civilizations including the Maya, Inca, Olmec and Aztec societies.

Ancient America: Maya, Inca, Aztec and Olmec | HISTORY

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Sarah Pruitt is a writer and editor based in seacoast New Hampshire. She has been a frequent contributor to History.com since 2005, and is the author of Breaking History: Vanished! (Lyons Press, 2017), which chronicles some of history's most famous disappearances.

Sarah Pruitt

Jesse Greenspan is a Bay Area-based freelance journalist who writes about history and the environment.

Jesse Greenspan

Erin Blakemore is an award-winning journalist who lives and works in Boulder, Colorado. Learn more at <a title="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://erinblakemore.com__;!!CyZMqN24eIU!CIEioOBTV4yFbQEmSGiq4cXk2F0ZNZuyS9kOYFTisC017l-98oL6xawo3XPhTUEFtLr8Doo8X-r3lzfonSLnZm75SSl8$" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://erinblakemore.com__;!!CyZMqN24eIU!CIEioOBTV4yFbQEmSGiq4cXk2F0ZNZuyS9kOYFTisC017l-98oL6xawo3XPhTUEFtLr8Doo8X-r3lzfonSLnZm75SSl8$">erinblakemore.com</a>

Erin Blakemore

<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__msbeckylittle.tumblr.com_&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=bHpC9irXhivtSwyVyKc43lLt4-cAwmmH7TeQLPqTb5E&amp;r=DnM91hJ18gcNL3QDGSFbaxqDKqUNYha-dXU1EFEqguU&amp;m=G-7sCRahZ4NeqUBMRIzpVYF_SWJZdHf6oZ3GZnosXWc&amp;s=zmyoc9Pijw9wmJOCBZEXDORhhj0TxUZKXRRMCwVGaTI&amp;e=">Becky Little</a> is a journalist based in Washington, D.C. Follow her on <a title="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbsky.app%2Fprofile%2Fmsbeckylittle.bsky.social&amp;data=05%7C02%7CAmanda.Onion%40aegm.com%7C2663a56e98de478ecc4108dd65759161%7Cf7288ab1d50847bab3347331cff3374c%7C1%7C0%7C638778277802339990%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=6PAUrlZQy2qoyw95FxhBFEbAAeD6eFd4YU65oI9SW98%3D&amp;reserved=0" href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbsky.app%2Fprofile%2Fmsbeckylittle.bsky.social&amp;data=05%7C02%7CAmanda.Onion%40aegm.com%7C2663a56e98de478ecc4108dd65759161%7Cf7288ab1d50847bab3347331cff3374c%7C1%7C0%7C638778277802339990%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=6PAUrlZQy2qoyw95FxhBFEbAAeD6eFd4YU65oI9SW98%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-outlook-id="cfb94f9b-f0df-4c8f-91fa-a17329b660ca">Bluesky</a>.

Becky Little

Dave Roos is a journalist and podcaster based in the U.S. and Mexico. He's the co-host of <a title="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/biblical-time-machine/id1648738323__;!!CyZMqN24eIU!HXBYfsRrBo7N5os-y_lSq05ShV3dCj9JEctYUd9Gok5iCyZHx7Gw2tqSCGiGSqkIqI2JpY9mKkYaNAhA-3WOj0eb3mc$" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/biblical-time-machine/id1648738323__;!!CyZMqN24eIU!HXBYfsRrBo7N5os-y_lSq05ShV3dCj9JEctYUd9Gok5iCyZHx7Gw2tqSCGiGSqkIqI2JpY9mKkYaNAhA-3WOj0eb3mc$">Biblical Time Machine</a>, a history podcast, and a writer for the popular podcast <a title="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stuff-you-should-know/id278981407__;!!CyZMqN24eIU!HXBYfsRrBo7N5os-y_lSq05ShV3dCj9JEctYUd9Gok5iCyZHx7Gw2tqSCGiGSqkIqI2JpY9mKkYaNAhA-3WORJo2DiQ$" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stuff-you-should-know/id278981407__;!!CyZMqN24eIU!HXBYfsRrBo7N5os-y_lSq05ShV3dCj9JEctYUd9Gok5iCyZHx7Gw2tqSCGiGSqkIqI2JpY9mKkYaNAhA-3WORJo2DiQ$">Stuff You Should Know</a>. Learn more at <a title="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.daveroos.com/__;!!CyZMqN24eIU!HXBYfsRrBo7N5os-y_lSq05ShV3dCj9JEctYUd9Gok5iCyZHx7Gw2tqSCGiGSqkIqI2JpY9mKkYaNAhA-3WO_YrhCB4$" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.daveroos.com/__;!!CyZMqN24eIU!HXBYfsRrBo7N5os-y_lSq05ShV3dCj9JEctYUd9Gok5iCyZHx7Gw2tqSCGiGSqkIqI2JpY9mKkYaNAhA-3WO_YrhCB4$">daveroos.com</a>.

Dave Roos

Ratha Tep, based in Dublin, is a frequent contributor to The New York Times. She also writes books for children.

Ratha Tep

Lesley Kennedy is a features writer and editor living in Denver. Her work has appeared in national and regional newspapers, magazines and websites.

Lesley Kennedy

Karen Juanita Carrillo is a Brooklyn, New York-based writer and photographer. She specializes in covering African American and Afro-Latino history, literature and politics. Visit her author website at <a title="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://amazon.com/author/karenjuanitacarrillo__;!!CyZMqN24eIU!CUpwHKVwY_XLJKRF7_pN2pRkbW4pU0vKwdl6yYyeJ6iIlHJ1Ys4-EtU65XW_LGSkxm_gHVw375JoaKF-uvgJe3ItiaU$" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://amazon.com/author/karenjuanitacarrillo__;!!CyZMqN24eIU!CUpwHKVwY_XLJKRF7_pN2pRkbW4pU0vKwdl6yYyeJ6iIlHJ1Ys4-EtU65XW_LGSkxm_gHVw375JoaKF-uvgJe3ItiaU$" target="_blank" rel="noopener">amazon.com/author/karenjuanitacarrillo</a>.

Karen Juanita Carrillo

Thanksgiving, which occurs on the fourth Thursday in November, is based on the colonial Pilgrims' 1621 harvest meal. The holiday continues to be a day for Americans to gather for a day of feasting, football and family.

Thanksgiving

In the 15th century, Europeans began to sail west across the Atlantic Ocean in search of new routes to China and the East, but in the process they discovered what they labeled a "New World," although Indigenous people had lived there for centuries. Other explorers have pushed the limits of flight and seafaring, and traversed the frozen Continent of Antarctica.

Exploration

Ancient Greece, the birthplace of democracy, was the source of some of the greatest literature, architecture, science and philosophy in Western civilization, and home to beautiful historical sites like the Acropolis and the Parthenon.

Ancient Greece

Religion and spiritual issues, including Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, the Bible, Wicca, Buddhism and more, are at the core of human values and history.

Religion

Listicle

Legacy Unpublished

Prehistory, the vast period of time before written records or human documentation, includes the Neolithic Revolution, Neanderthals and Denisovans, Stonehenge, the Ice Age and more.

Pre-History

The ancient Middle East gave rise to some of the greatest empires in human history, including Mesopotamia, Babylonia, the Persian Empire and the Byzantine Empire.

Ancient Middle East

Though the 19th century saw the rise of populism, the labor movement and Jacksonian democracy, it also ushered in the Gilded Age, when men like Cornelius Vanderbilt and J. P. Morgan wielded vast control over politics and business.

19th Century

Ancient Egypt was home to one of the greatest empires in history, with leaders like Tutankhamen (King Tut), Cleopatra, Ramses II and landmarks like the Great Pyramid at Giza and the Sphinx.

Ancient Americas ‑ Stories

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This Little‑Known Peruvian Civilization Built Pyramids as Old as Ancient Egypt’s

How Hernán Cortés Conquered the Aztec Empire

How the Aztec Empire Was Forged Through a Triple Alliance

Nazca Line Discoveries in Peru Suggest the Mysterious Geoglyphs Are Pervasive

5 Ways People Have Used Tobacco Through History

Turkeys Were Once Worshipped Like Gods

Why Did the Clovis People Mysteriously Vanish?

Mysterious Secret Tunnel Discovered Under Ancient Pyramid in Mexico