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South America

Archaeologists discovered certain motifs in Patagonia, Argentina, dating back more than 8,000 years ago.	Source: Guadalupe Romero Villa/ Science Advances

Patagonia Rock Art Reveals Ancient Messages Transmitted Across Generations

Cave painting in the southern areas of South America may have started 8,200 years ago, several millennia earlier than previously thought. The cave art, located in Patagonia, Argentina, was thought to...
Skull of ‘Luzio’. The investigation that covered four different parts of Brazil carried out analysis of genomic data from 34 fossils, including larger skeletons and the famous mounds of shells and fishbones built on the coast. Source: André Strauss/Nature

Lost Civilization of the Sambaquis Builders: Unraveling the Mystery of Luzio's People

A team of researchers has unearthed and analyzed genomic data from 34 ancient skeletons scattered across Brazil. Their new study reveals the astonishing tale of 'Luzio,' a courageous wanderer who was...
The Sajama Lines in Bolivia, as seen by satellite imagery. Source: Google Maps

The Enduring Mystery and Ancient Artistry of Bolivia’s Sajama Lines

When flying over the desert of the Altiplano plateau in western Bolivia , a fascinating sight awaits. Thousands of impeccably straight paths are etched into the ground of the Andean landscape,...
Carved giant sloth bones indicate humans in South America. Source: ©Mirian Pacheco/The Royal Society Publishing

Historical Timeline Shook: Human Arrival in South America Pushed Back to 25,000 Years Ago

Human arrival in the Americas has a long-disputed timeline, and new evidence supports pushing back the date for human arrival in South America to at least 25,000 years ago. The evidence? Remains of...
This sacrificed Inca child, known as the Llull Maiden #23, was found on a mountain in Argentina. Source: © Johan Reinhard, Ph.D . (used with permission)

Inca Child Sacrifice: Secrets of the Mummified Maiden (Video)

The ancient practice of human sacrifice is one of the most haunting and mysterious aspects of human history. Most of us today find the idea abhorrent , but in many cultures around the world, they...
A child mummy found at high-altitude in the Andes. Source: Jason Quinn / CC by SA 3.0

High-Altitude Wonders: Frozen Child Mummies of the Andes (Video)

The Andes Mountains in South America have been home to ancient civilizations for thousands of years. High-altitude archaeology has played a crucial role in uncovering their fascinating history. One...
An aristocrat's Robe shows the dragon with 5 claws. (Tibet Metropolitan Museum of Art/CC0)

The Search for Z: Colonel Percy Fawcett’s Obsession with the Golden City (Video)

The legend of El Dorado has captivated the imaginations of explorers , adventurers, and treasure hunters for centuries. But for Colonel Percy Fawcett , it was more than just a myth. He believed in...
Image depicting South American migration patterns. Source: Florida Atlantic University

DNA Analysis Reveals Surprising South American Migration Patterns

A new study based on cutting-edge genetic analysis has revealed startling new information about South American migration patterns. By carrying out a complete genetic sequencing of DNA provided by...
Two of these South American mummies were victims of violent deaths. Source: Begerock et al. 2022/ Frontiers in Medicine

Death Detectives Discover South American Mummies were Brutally Killed

There are cold cases, and there a really, really, cold cases. The story of two South American mummies falls into the latter category. When researchers analyzed the remains of three pre-Columbian...
Ancient Uruguayan DNA is being used to understand the migrations of indigenous peoples to South America. This image shows a scientist working in bio-archaeology lab.                        		    Source: Microgen / Adobe Stock

Indigenous Uruguayan DNA Reveals Ancestry New To South America

A new study presents the first whole genome sequences of Uruguayan indigenous peoples, whose last remnants were wiped out in the 18th century through a series of targeted European military campaigns...
The Moon god of the Chimu and Moche cultures rising behind the Andes Mountains and used as a calendar.		Source: Aliaksei / Adobe Stock

The Case for the Moon: Si, Supreme Ruler of the Gods, Sky and Earth

Si is an androgenous moon god chosen as the leader of the major South American Chimú and Moche culture pantheon, bucking the trend in world mythology where the moon god is both feminine and inferior...
Left: Machi playing the Kultrún. Behind her it can be seen the inclination of the staggered Rehue . Center: A Rehue in the exhibition of the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino. Right: A Rehue as a symbolic figuration of the Tree-Man.			Source: Martin Thomas / Photographic Archive of the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino; Photo by the author: Rafael Videla Eissmann, 2017; Author provided

Araucanian “Staircase to Heaven” Symbolism in the Pre-Hispanic World

One of the fundamental magical-religious symbols of the Lituche-Araucanian cultural substrate of Chile is the Rehue or stepped totem carved in wood. The Rehue is a representation of the Axis Mundi ,...
A roughly 2000-year-old mummified man of the Ansilta culture, from the Andes of San Juan, Argentina, had lice eggs and cement in his hair which preserved his own DNA.		Source: Universidad Nacional de San Juan

Head Lice on South American Mummies Shed Light on Ancient Virus Spread

The scientific understanding of ancient South American ancestry and the future of DNA research just got a whole lot clearer thanks to mummy hair lice. Two thousand years ago the pre-Columbian Ansilta...
Vale da Pedra Furada Stone Tool Questions First Americans Timeline

Vale da Pedra Furada Stone Tool Questions First Americans Timeline

Evidence excavated from a fertile archaeological site in Brazil known as Vale da Pedra Furada may force researchers to re-evaluate existing theories about when modern humans first arrived in South...

Controversy at Hueyatlaco: When Did Humans First Inhabit the Americas?

What happens when an archaeological site is so extraordinary, that it threatens to eclipse everything we knew about history up to that point? Some discoveries are just too hard to fully grasp, and...
Kaieteur Falls, Guyana

The History, Mystery, and Make-Believe of Kaieteur Falls

Auburn waves falling into cascading rainbows, the Kaieteur Falls radiate both mist and magic. Among the lesser known worldwide waterfalls, Kaieteur Falls are interestingly one of the most sought...
Paracas National Reserve, Peru

Research Reveals New Link In Australasian and South American Ancestry

A new DNA study has confirmed that indigenous people living in multiple locations in South America are distantly related to the people of Australasia, an umbrella term that includes indigenous...
First Hand Reports Of Early Encounters With Ancient American Cultures

First Hand Reports Of Early Encounters With Ancient American Cultures

Over five-hundred years ago, European monarchs began dispatching their most masterful navigators to the far reaches of the planet, marking the beginning of the Age of Discovery. Epic voyages occurred...
A Wa'a Kaulua (double canoe) of Hawaiian Nobility of the 18th Century. Polynesia was inhabited by skilled seafarers.

Where Did the Polynesians Really Come From?

Oceania was the last region to be settled by humans and the last part of Oceania to be settled by humans was Polynesia. Polynesians are famous for their voyages to remote islands in distant parts of...
DNA genetic analysis proves link between Ancient Polynesians and Indigenous South Americans. Source: Ruben Ramos-Mendoza / Nature

Genetic Analysis Shows Early Contact Between South Americans and Polynesians

New evidence is emerging about the links between Polynesian and South American populations in the Pacific before the arrival of the Europeans . The theory that South Americans first colonized Easter...
Representation of Vikings in South America. Source: Nejron Photo / Adobe stock

Were Vikings in South America Over 400 Years Before Columbus?

Here is presented the widely dismissed account that probably sometime in the mid-11th century, Danish Vikings from Schleswig and the Danelaw (as ascertained from runic rock inscriptions) arrived at...
Native Americans see the arrival of an explorer’s ship. Credit: ginettigino / Adobe Stock

Amerigo Vespucci: The Forgotten Explorer Who Named America

The age of discovery is certainly one of the most dramatic periods of European history - a period of revolutionary voyages and contacts with the fascinating and mysterious New World . Many prominent...
The Inca Empire: What Made it so Powerful?

The Inca Empire: What Made it so Powerful?

The Inca (also spelled as Inka) Empire was a South American empire that existed between the 15th and 16th centuries. The Inca Empire was the largest pre-Hispanic civilization in South America and...
Peru, old Incan road in the canyon Cotahuasi.

Inca Empire Constructed Over 40,000 Kms of Roads and Superhighways in 100 Years

The Inca Empire was a superpower that was centered on the western coast of South America. This prevailing civilization flourished between the 15th and 16th centuries, and at its height of power it...

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