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Americas

Ancient places can be found all over America. Their fascinating histories and impressive artifacts open intriguing glimpses to times past, and open up a window on America’s history. Visiting such historical places in America can be an unforgettable experience.

Science is constantly discovering new archaeological places and uncovering more evidence into what we once thought we knew about our history, therefore offering new pieces to the ever changing puzzle of humanity’s past and altering how we interpret it. This section will present American history articles, highlighting the most interesting archaeological sites all over America, as well as new discoveries of ancient places that are worth paying a visit.

Serpent Mound

Symbolism of the Great Serpent in the Adena and Hopewell Cultures – Part II

Recently, a debate has developed in the Ohio archaeological community over the age and cultural affiliations of the Great Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio. So, what does the evidence really show...
Aerial View of Serpent Mound.

Symbolism of the Great Serpent in the Adena and Hopewell Cultures – Part I

Recently, a debate has developed in the Ohio archaeological community over the age and cultural affiliations of the Great Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio. So, what does the evidence really show...
Amazon jungle from above.

Lost Amazonian Tribes: Why the West Can’t Get Over Its Obsession with El Dorado

A number of ancient settlement sites were recently discovered in the Amazon’s Upper Tapajós Basin. This is no El Dorado – although you’d be forgiven for thinking so. The press coverage demonstrates a...
Yaxchilan contains hundreds of ancient structures, a labyrinth, tunnels, chabmers. What secrets do they keep? (Photo: ©Marco M. Vigato)

The House of Darkness & Secret Caverns—The legendary Yucatan Hall of Records found at Yaxchilan? Part II

Far from the crowds of Palenque and other Maya sites, the ruins of Yaxchilan are found today still very much in the same conditions as they were first described by Maudslay and Maler in the early...
Devils Tower Star Trails. S

Devils Tower: Born From the Earth After a Bear Mated with a Woman

Devils Tower in Wyoming, USA holds both historical and ancestral importance. This magnificent geological feature has long been considered sacred by the many of the Native American tribes who have...
Quiriguá Zoomorph P.

The Marvelous Mayan Zoomorph Monoliths of Quiriguá

Elaborate designs adorn unique monoliths in an ancient Mayan site in Guatemala. There are immense stelae hailing past rulers and huge stones carved with majestic beasts and curious creatures. The...
Part of the Cochasquí archaeological site. (Santiago Martinez/ L. Ortiz) A mask found at the site. (Alicia McDermott)

Cochasquí: The Immense Pyramids of Ecuador Provide Evidence for a Forgotten Civilization

The archaeological sites in Ecuador are often overshadowed by more popular locations in neighboring Colombia and Peru. However, archaeology enthusiasts have a wealth of options including more than...
Image shows the level of damage caused by the truck driving into the protected archaeological site.

Driver Plows Truck into 2,000-Year-Old Nazca Lines Causing Irreversible Damage

In a shocking example of destruction of a fragile archaeological site, a truck driver has been charged with careless driving and entering a prohibited zone after he accidentally drove his truck over...
Path entrance to Machu Picchu. The bridge can be removed to prevent access by enemies.

The Secret Bridge to Peru’s Most Legendary City, Machu Picchu

“A devoted professor of archeology who suddenly finds himself in the far reaches of the earth trying to uncover some of the worlds’ oldest and most precious artifacts” certainly sounds like something...
Caves of Loltun, Mexico

Loltun Cave Art and Precious Clues to the Lost Mayan Civilization

There is a kid’s poem written by Jean Marzollo that begins: “In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” It goes on speak about the challenges and wonders of Columbus’s voyage to...
Three of the mummies Leymebamba at the museum.

Peruvian Necropolis Destroyed by Looters and Tourists is Preserved by Salvage Archaeology

The Laguna de los Condores (aptly known also as the Laguna de las Momias) is an archaeological site where a great number of mummies were found. This site is located in Leymebamba, in the northern...
Aerial view of Nahualac lake when dry. Image: Arturo Cruz, Terrasat Cartografía.

Has a Millennium Old ‘Floating’ Replica of the Aztec Cosmos Been Found In Mexico?

Mexican archaeologists claim to have unearthed a stone sanctuary in a small lake on the side of a volcano east of Mexico City that may have been created as a miniature model of the universe. Stone "...
 Illustration of the "Emmons mask", a Mississippian culture carved cedarwood human face shaped object once covered in copper and painted with galena and used as part of a headdress

Adena Axis Mundi & Large Skeletal Remains: Travelling to the Realm of the Dead at Grave Creek Mound - Part II

The large Grave Creek Mound proved to be an irresistible attraction to early antiquarians and curiosity seekers. In 1823, John Haywood mentioned the impressive mound: “of a conical form, 75 feet high...
Illustration of the "Emmons mask", a Mississippian culture carved cedarwood human face shaped object once covered in copper and painted with galena and used as part of a headdress

Adena Axis Mundi & Large Skeletal Remains: Archaeology of the Grave Creek Mound - Part I

The City of Moundsville is located along the Ohio River in Marshall County, West Virginia. From the time of European settlement in the 1770s, Moundsville was regarded by antiquarians as one of the...
Pictorial representation of Pyramid in Teuchitlán Guachimontones Museum.

Were Mexico’s Circular Pyramids Really Made for a Flying Ceremony?

Guachimontones (known alternatively as Huachimontones) is an archaeological site located in the western Mexican state of Jalisco. This is an important site of the Teuchitlan tradition, which was a...
Quetzalcoatl – Public Domain, and El Castillo at Chichén Itzá – CC BY-SA 4.0

The ‘Myth’ of the Plumed Serpent: Revealing the Real Message Behind the Feathered Snake

The Plumed (or Feathered) Serpent is a Mesoamerican myth that has fascinated modern people for quite some time. Among the Aztecs and Toltecs this divinity went by the name of Quetzalcoatl and to the...
: Ruins of the Haunted Eden Brown Estate Plantation Great House c. 1740 in 1993.

Murder in the Eden Brown Estate – Another Paradise Lost

There is something very alluring and ideal about places named Eden. The Garden of Eden – one of the first known references to Eden – is depicted in the Bible as a place free from sin. It was...
Sculpture of a head from 950-1150 AD found at Building Y in the Tajin Chico section. On display at the Tajin site museum, Veracruz state, Mexico

Mexico’s Haunted City of Thunder – El Tajin: Surprising Connections Between Cultures Worlds and Eras Apart

El Tajin is a Mesoamerican archaeological site located in the North of the state of Veracruz, near the Gulf Coast of Mexico. The city, one of the most flourishing of the Classic and early Post-...
A chamber found under the Plaza San Francisco during works on a subway station in Quito Ecuador.

Subway Station or Cultural Preservation? Development Clashes with Patrimony at a World Heritage Site

The city of Quito, Ecuador is a recognized UNESCO World Heritage Site due to having the best-preserved and extensive historic centers in Latin America. But there is another, much older story below...
Chicanná: Enter the Maya House of the Serpent Mouth

Chicanna: Enter the Maya House of the Serpent Mouth

A menacing serpent-like monster glares down at you as you cross the plaza of Chicanná in Mexico. While it is certainly an unnerving thought, you decide to step inside the gaping serpent’s mouth...
View from the Miami Circle at Brickell Point Site, from a balcony in a neighboring tower.

What is this Mysterious Ancient Structure Found in Downtown Miami?

Downtown Miami, Florida is the home to a giant circle with hundreds of holes cut into the limestone bedrock. It is uncertain what the mysterious Pre-Columbian circle was made for – was an ancient...
Oceanides, Gustave Dore (1860-1869).

The Secret of Long Life? It’s All in the Water: Sacred Springs & Holy Wells

The belief in sacred springs and holy waters goes far back into the earliest religious myths of humankind, and is ubiquitous across every continent. An ancient primordial connection between water and...
Some of the Mitla mosaics.

Mitla Mosaics: A Coded Language May Plaster the Walls of a Zapotec City of the Dead

Unique and curious designs plaster the walls of the most popular Zapotec archaeological site in Mexico. They are called the Mitla mosaics and are unrivalled in their precision and quality of...
Sak K'uk'/Lady Cormorant – Public Domain, Palenque, Mexico, Jiuguang Wang - CC BY SA 2.0

Temples of Palenque Reveal Story of Lady Cormorant and Her Three Sons, The Triad Gods

In the mountain rain forest of Chiapas, México, sits the ruins of Palenque, considered the most beautiful ancient Maya city. Silhouetted against a backdrop of natural hills and valleys, the elegant...

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