The Key Achievements of the pre-Columbian Era in the Americas

The Key Achievements of the pre-Columbian Era in the Americas
1. Introduction
The pre-Columbian era in the Americas was a very productive time period. The inhabitants of the Americas at this time constructed monumental buildings. They learned how to grow new plants and they made a lot of things with their hands. We want to know what they accomplished. There are a lot of reasons why the achievements of the inhabitants of the pre-Columbian era are important. Some of the things that they made lasted a long time. Some pieces of pottery, for example, have been found that were made more than two thousand years ago. These pieces have lasted all this time because the people who made them were very skilled. And many times the things that lasted a long time are very beautiful. Also, knowing the history and accomplishments of the people who lived in the pre-Columbian era helps us to learn about ourselves. By studying these people, we can understand that they were smart and resourceful. We can learn to appreciate the way that they respected the Earth. And we can learn about the ways different groups of people organized themselves, made and traded goods, and governed and contributed to society. These are things that we can study and learn from right now. So, pre-Columbian achievements don’t just tell us history. They also help us to understand our lives today, by giving us a window into the past. In conclusion, the pre-Columbian era was a significant time period. The people of that time accomplished a lot. Things like the monumental buildings, the new plants, and the things that the inhabitants made with their hands share a wonderfully rich story of human accomplishment and success. Studying the pre-Columbian era helps us to appreciate the sophistication of the societies that preceded the arrival of Christopher Columbus. Also, we can learn how these accomplishments contribute to our modern lives.
1.1. Background of the pre-Columbian Era
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The pre-Columbian period includes a wide range of time in the history of the Americas, namely, before Columbus and Spain. This era lasted from the earliest human settlement in the Americas to the European conquest, and is broken into different periods such as the Lithic, Archaic, Formative, Classic, Post-Classic and Contact periods. Humans crossed from Siberia to Alaska on a land bridge called Beringia and eventually settled all over the Americas. There were many independent civilizations all practicing different kinds of government, using different languages, and employing unique ways of agriculture and trade. Some engaged in farming, such as corn and potato cultivation, while others were primarily nomadic or hunters and gatherers. The peoples of the Americas were also expert builders. They created buildings and civil works of stunning beauty and quality, particularly in Central and South America – these became the foundation of the Aztec, Inca and Mayan Empires. The pre-Columbian era is important because many of the cultures and ways of living in the Americas today are based on the period before the arrival of the Europeans. The achievements made then have been contributing to the world down the centuries. Every single discovery in this period helped lead to the discovery of America. This means those who are interested in understanding where they are in this world today, they would need to know the history of pre-Columbian. The pre-Columbian era is also known for the first in-depth encounters of the peoples and cultures of the Old and New Worlds. Well, when the Europeans arrived, there was not a single nation or leadership for them to ‘conquer’. At that time, there were already a vast variety of languages, different forms of government, various ways of agriculture and so forth. Also, the ways of living and system had to change during the time of conquest. Today, it is those changes that have become the foundations of the countries in the Americas. So, as students, the pre-Columbian era provides an opportunity for them to understand the American history and put it into the context of the world history. Even though this area at first seems unimportant and detached from their life, it really is. It set the stage for the history of the world and impacts not only the people of the Americas but also the people in Europe, Africa, and Asia.
1.2. Significance of studying pre-Columbian achievements
Furthermore, studying the accomplishments and achievements of past societies is essential for many reasons. In the context of the pre-Columbian era, such studies provide vital information on the background of the early American societies. It offers important insights into the scientific, technological, and cultural achievements and makes us realize the rich diversity of cultures and societies that flourished effectively and efficiently within the American subcontinents. It allows us to understand the present status of different social and cultural groups. It shows how their lives, especially their socioeconomic and political lives, have been transformed and changed over time as a result of encounters and interchanges between different cultural groups. Nowadays, such studies and courses provide students and researchers more opportunities to grow intellectually and academically by exploring the complex, sophisticated, and diversified world of the pre-Columbian era societies. We can develop a clearer and better understanding of the present social and cultural traditions and diversities. By learning to appreciate the pluralistic and multicultural values and lifestyles, we become open-minded and acceptable to different aspects of others’ cultural and social being. Most importantly, by learning and obtaining knowledge of the pre-Columbian era societies, we recognize the valuable contribution that the indigenous people made to the progress and improvement of the world throughout history. Nowadays, we can see that more and more research findings and archaeological discoveries from various fields of study have been constantly produced, promoting new understandings and interpretation of the different aspects of the pre-Columbian societies. Such studies not only advance our knowledge and understanding of their achievements and contributions but also enrich our knowledge with new societal developments and diversities over time. From my point of view, new knowledge leads to new horizons of opportunities for intellectual and academic development. Learning more about the pre-Columbian era achievements is studying not just the past, but it is a window to the future. Through close communication and exchange of views with researchers in the fields of study, we can assist and contribute to the progress and development of new research methods and philosophical and theoretical ideas in the fields. More importantly, we can extend such knowledge and scholarly accomplishments to practical application in the world of today, for instance, to help solve or alleviate contemporary social or cultural issues around us.
2. Advances in Agriculture
The third key achievement was the domestication of staple crops like potatoes and beans. In various parts of the Andes, where the Incas resided, archaeologists have found evidence of cultivation of these crops dated back 4,000 years. The Incas lived in a terrain that consisted of complex topography. The development of the potato was no doubt one of the most important technological changes that took place in the early centuries of the first millennium. Domesticated from a bitter, poisonous variety of root crop that grew in the wild, the development of the potato gave huge agronomic advantages to the Inca farmers. The potato in its unprocessed form is highly resistant to bad weather and could be left in the ground and harvested as and when it is needed. Consequently, it meant that less storage space is needed and the risk of spoilage was minimized, eliminating food wastages. Also, the potato yields more calories per unit area comparing maize. Additionally, in areas of higher altitude and colder climate where the domesticated crops were unable to grow, the potato’s ability to adapt in environments of varying conditions provided an alternative source of food. The size of the potato that the modern world recognizes today and the agricultural technologies developed by the pre-Columbian era had completely transformed the way agriculture was being run in the Andes. As a result, it led to increased food production which in turn fostered population growth, the rise of food surplus and subsequently, the rise of urban centers. This impressive development in the crop also made up a crucial aspect of the process of social complexity in the Andes. The Incan State was able to command a labour force to build a series of agricultural terraces in the Sacred Valley, and hence overcoming the problem of uneven distribution of arable lands. This would not have been achievable without the technological innovation of the potato. The process of labour mobilization and the consolidation of agricultural landscape led to the emergence of Inca as the conqueror who extended his influence to distant regions in the Andes. It gave us a clear example of how the technological changes brought about by the domestication of crops has influenced the pre-Columbian societies in aspects of complex society, political centralization, population growth and urbanization.
2.1. Development of maize cultivation techniques
Maize is a significant crop during the pre-Columbian period in the Americas. Although wild maize is found in great abundance in this region, the development of more reliable and productive varieties was an essential accomplishment during this era. Early inhabitants of the Americas developed early forms of maize – the ears are typically small, and the plant set a few ears barely above the ground. These varieties required a lot of effort and committed growing time. Using the methods available then, it would have been very difficult for the settlers to provide food for their families and still attend to any other necessary things. But as the centuries went by, more reliable and productive sort were developed; by the time the Spanish arrived, a wide diversity of different varieties had been developed to suit the variety of environments across the Americas. Researchers point to the domestication of maize as instrumental in the development of the complex cultures and societal levels that existed throughout the Americas. With more dependable and productive crops, the inhabitants of the Americas were able to grow in population, often living in small, widespread communities that were not subjected to the shifts of hampering game or seasonal availability of berries and nuts, as were the migratory tribes that inhabited what is now the United States. These communities began to develop class divisions; the niche person could specialize in pottery or weaving or blacksmithing because there were now agricultural workers that could provide enough food through the seasonal lulls to support everyone. Religious beliefs that had originated in the very early periods of Indian habitation, such as the charity of the earth, were modified as the quality and often times the sheer quantity of different foods that were available changed to reflect the domestication and migration of various crops. Overall, the development of maize maybe did not reach its full potential until just a few centuries before European colonization, but the contributions that the more advanced forms made to stability, culture, and specialization beginning a cumulative path in the history of maize. The development of the variety and the eventual full domestication of the plant had far-reaching effects for other domesticated plants and animals, for the cultures of the Native peoples, and for the European colonization. It is remarkable that from such a humble beginning, maize evolved to become one of the most – if not the single most – powerful plant in the modern world in shaping periodically population shifts and culture.
2.2. Creation of advanced irrigation systems
The advanced irrigation systems built in the pre-Columbian era were essential in supporting the growth of maize and other crops. Many of them were advanced forms of irrigated agriculture that facilitated in eliminating some of the limitations associated with rain-fed agriculture. In the river valleys of the north coast societies like the one which created Chan Chan, the longest continual civilization on record has recognized this irrigation technology for only their massive scale. The irrigation method used by Chan Chan and its people is based on collecting water from the rivers that originate in the Andes Mountains. The rivers are snow-fed and the water flows all year round, making a reliable water source necessary for irrigated agriculture. The main objectives of the irrigation system are to supply water to the large population in Chan Chan and also to ensure the crops get sufficient water for growth. In addition, every drop of water must be used effectively without wastage. Hence, the system must be designed in such a way that water is brought to cultivation with as little evaporation and surface runoff as possible. This can be achieved by minimizing the transport and also the amount of water that is in contact with the atmosphere. By analyzing the Google Earth image, the main water channel that comes from the river and the associated site and field systems are easily recognized. As we all know, water flows from uphill to downhill. Therefore, the intake of the main channel must be at the highest level of cultivation so that water can be distributed to all areas effectively. Also, the water is distributed evenly as the gate system is designed to allow the flow of water into the initial channel and make sure that water is evenly distributed to every small branch of channels. With the help of satellite imagery, these irrigation channels and conduits, fields, settlements, and whole regional cultivation systems are able to be discovered and it helps understand the agricultural economy and the adaptation of the landscape and environment. Such irrigation systems indicate that the area of as many as 135 square kilometers of land was modified for agricultural production.
2.3. Domestication of key crops like potatoes and beans
One of the key achievements in the pre-Columbian era in the Americas was the domestication of crops. The people of the Americas had learned to cultivate maize in its rich variety of forms over the years to ensure a reliable food supply. However, they also began to focus on other crops. Maize was grown alongside squash and beans in the so-called Three Sisters planting method. This method maximizes the use of land and ensures healthy crops. But the people of the Americas were also keen to find and domesticate other dependable food sources. Thus, by around 200 BC, the potato was domesticated in parts of modern-day Peru and the lowlands of Ecuador. These potatoes weren’t found in the wild, so it is likely that they were bred from a wild variety of potato. This is the first known instance of potatoes being modified to produce a consistent yield in a specific location. Over a thousand years later, potatoes were being grown 3,000 km away in what is now the southeast of the USA. The potatoes being grown there were another breed, showing that people from different regions were adapting the potato to suit their local growing conditions. By around AD 800, potatoes were being grown on the Titicaca Plateau in large enough quantities to support the population. As a crop that doesn’t do well in the high processing of areas with no natural predators, it would have been a food that was easy to store and provided a large amount of energy. With potatoes being available, the people of the Andes were able to store food for longer periods of time and were not so reliant on fresh produce. This would have been revolutionary for the society of the time, allowing the people to settle and build permanent agricultural towns and cities. Similarly, the earliest known example of a wild bean was found high in the Andes, where plants with small, inedible pods still grow. The first examples of beans that we know show signs of domestication were found in Central America and date from around 2500 BC. By this date, the practice of seed selection and growing beans in close proximity to each other had already started. By around AD 800, beans were being widely grown in the Andes and their primary domestication was completed. Like potatoes, the availability of beans would have had a significant impact on the society of the time. Beans are a solid source of protein when combined with maize and would have provided a stable food source. With a consistent supply of food and a food source from which livestock can be fed, we can see the beginning of the many distinct farming cultures around the Americas. The efforts undertaken by the people of the pre-Columbian era to domesticate key crops like potatoes and beans have had an immense effect on the world as a whole. For example, today over a billion people worldwide rely on potatoes for food and it is the third most important food crop globally. It is clear that without this knowledge and groundwork from the people of the Americas, we would not have the same abundance and variety of food that we have today. By producing research into the successes of potato and bean domestication in key areas of the world, we can refine the crops further and ensure that they remain provided for many years to come.
3. Architectural Marvels
The ancient Americas were home to some of the most fascinating and ingenious architectural endeavors. For one, vast empires like the famous Aztecs of Central Mexico had continually expanded and fought for territory. This had meant that there was a call for new types of buildings and structures, each more grand and intimidating than the last. In addition, as societies became more complex with ever-growing populations, this necessitated a great deal of building work as new centers of administration and worship were at the center of these cities. This had left us with the remains of some of the most sophisticated and stunning architectural projects from human prehistory. Let’s start with them in our whistle-stop tour of the ancient Americas. The most iconic and noticeable remains of the ancient American architectural achievements have to be the pyramids. Constructed throughout the entire length and breadth of the Americas from as early as the second millennium BC, until the 16th century AD, there is a vast array of architectural diversity and traditions to be found in these structures. For example, the Andean cultures of South America such as the Moche and Chimu had progressed large-scale, solid pyramids made of adobe. In comparison, pyramids in Central America were largely constructed out of stone and in step-pyramid form such as the famous Kukulkan pyramid at Chichen Itza which still stands to this day in modern-day Mexico. In fact, this pyramid is so well-known for its steps and terraces that have projecting serpent heads, cast as shadows on the steps in the late afternoon light, that it is one of the most heavily-frequency images of the ancient Americas in popular culture. However, subsequent building work in the Aztec periods meant that these structures were built over and every new ruler seemed to have built his own version of the Aztec Great Temple in the heart of the Aztec Empire’s capital, today’s Mexico City. As such, it is the nations and civilizations that we know the most about in terms of cultural, architectural, engineering and artistic accomplishments in the pre-Columbian era – such as the famous Maya city-states or the Incan empire – that can provide us with most information about these architectural masterpieces.
3.1. Construction of impressive pyramids
The construction of pyramids was one of the main architectural achievements of pre-Columbian Americas. Pyramids in Mesoamerica were used not only for the divine kings, but also for various purposes and functions, including places of worship, affirmation of presence, and shelter in times of attack. Making of a pyramid involved tremendous collective effort, both in “building it” and as a place of pilgrimage during and after completion. Due to the human labor and time involved, pyramids were significant symbols of the fundamental religious and political way of life of Mesoamerica, in which complex social and political structures relied on intricate kin relationships. The intricate design and multifaceted significance of pyramids and other monumental mounds make them an essential source of information for in-depth analysis and understanding of pre-Columbian cultures in the Americas.
3.2. Design and engineering of intricate road networks
The extent and complexity of the road networks that were built by various cultures in the Americas are simply breathtaking. The Incas, for example, built an extensive system of roads and bridges that connected the four parts of their empire, stretching from Ecuador to Chile. The roads varied considerably in quality, from simple beaten earth tracks to substantial paved causeways, and were built carefully to fit the landscape. For example, in the more mountainous areas the Incas built stone steps and even stone-roofed shelters for travelers to rest or for chasquis (messengers) to swap their loads of quipus or relay their information quickly. In the jungle areas, the Incas made raised causeways through the swampy ground or bridges over the many rivers that were well-engineered and still survive today. The Inca road system included suspension bridges, created by twisting the cords of woven grasses and embedding them in the walking surface. The Chimu people, who lived along the northern coast of Peru, are also known to have built an extensive network of roads that connected their cities and housed their ceremonial and religious centers. The Mesoamerican people, who lived in the central part of Mexico and Belize and in part of Honduras, also built roads, especially the Maya. Their roads were raised and paved with gravel, offering protection from the high water levels in the rainy seasons and in the low-lying areas. However, although there were many roads and they were well-built, the Maya did not make much use of the wheel so most journeys were made on foot, or by boat along the many canals and waterways. Roads also played a significant role in the development of the Amazon rainforest. The large interconnected network of roads and causeways built by ancient peoples in Brazil offers new details about the watering, sanitation, and building practices of the people who lived there, as well as the ecologically sensitive response of the indigenous tribes who still reside in the area. The discovery of this ancient web of human-made ditches and roads, which were built between 1250 and 1500 AD, supports the theory that parts of the South American rainforest may have been ‘terraformed’ by ancient people. It was previously thought that the Amazon was untouched by human development, but the sheer scale of this find suggests ancient peoples did have a significant impact on the area and lived in far larger numbers than previously assumed.
3.3. Building of large-scale cities with sophisticated urban planning
These are just a few examples of how the advanced urban planning and large-scale construction in the pre-Columbian era were used to create truly impressive architectural marvels that are still admired and analyzed in the modern day.
In the Andes, there were ruins of the city from Cusco (the capital of the Inca empire) to Quito in Ecuador. For a lot of the part of this distance, the road was uphill, averaging at around 4,000 meters above sea level. The evidence would suggest that such a road would have been built purposely along the mountain range, as opposed to a path being built and the land around it later being adapted to suit the road. By doing so, the Incas were able to utilize the natural defense that mountains offered in preventing potential invasion – on top of connecting the empire and aiding trade and transportation.
Another key player in large-scale city construction was the Inca civilization. They developed a network of roads, stretching over 2,000 miles, which ran throughout the various provinces of the Inca empire. These roads amazed Spanish conquerors and modern archaeologists; their design surpassed anything the Spanish had at the time and they were built to last. However, how the Inca achieved this was not simply by employing effective construction methods but also by using the landscape to their advantage. It is estimated that three-quarters of Incan roads were built onto mountains, with the mountains themselves acting as walls or barriers from the sides of the paths. Moreover, the exceptionally high altitudes at which some roads were built made them difficult to traverse even for the Incan people due to limited oxygen.
The most famous civilization from the pre-Columbian era, the Aztecs, built their capital city, Tenochtitlan (present-day Mexico City), on an island in Lake Texcoco. It had a well-structured street design based on a grid pattern, with wide main streets running across the city and narrower streets connecting them. The city was similar in shape to the island it was built on and was divided into districts, each with its own specific function. The districts were connected to each other and the mainland by three main causeways and several smaller canals which acted as waterways and defensive barriers. The Aztecs’ use of urban planning was not only made to help in the construction of their city, but to also prevent any future invasion. This is evident in the fact that Tenochtitlan, a city with a population of over 200,000, was never taken by the Spanish conquistadors; the city’s design and the skill of its builders meant it remained impregnable until it fell to the forces of Hernan Cortes in 1521.
3.4. Creation of monumental stone structures
It is interesting to note that monuments were created throughout the pre-Columbian time. For the vast majority of this period, the quantity of monuments and their diversity in size, shape, and purpose exhibit a desire to memorialize and withstand the trials of time. Whether the small, single room temples constructed by the first farmers in the Oaxaca Valley, or the grand, multi-storied, carefully planned and oriented pyramids of Tenochtitlan, monumental stone architecture remained a prominent form of construction. The use of stone as a building material provided a common inspiration for the meaning behind and for the possible uses of such structures. In comparison to the homes of the people who might have used these monuments on an everyday basis, the construction of these buildings would have been an impressive spectacle, and perhaps an envious one as well. The time and effort that went into creating these massive structures can be seen in the form of construction ruins, of partially completed temples like the Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan. Such sites and monuments serve as a testament to the focus and centralization of religious and civil power into the hands of the few who commissioned, designed, and directed the construction and upkeep of these stone edifices. Structures such as the Pyramid of the Moon at Teotihuacan have been long held as beautiful examples of not simply high skill with stone construction and coordination, but amazing and precise astronomical knowledge. These sorts of examples show the care and attention with which these monuments were thought out and constructed. They represent not simply the efforts of organized group labors and the advantages of a structured society, but also the result of focused, talented and supported intellectual endeavors to design and carry out massive construction in order to achieve an expression of culture, civilization and power that endures to this day. Expertly constructed with stylistic and functional design in mind, stone monuments have more to offer modern people than just their aesthetic presence in our landscape. These buildings that have been shaped and hewn from the earth by our ancestors stand now as a framework for cultural and anthropological research, as a link to our past to be preserved and as something of unique beauty and craftsmanship. It is because of these features, coupled with the enduring and prevailing fascination with the peoples of the Americas that each new discovery, each new layer of stone or lapidary technology, continues to capture and excite our imagination and curiosity.
4. Cultural and Artistic Accomplishments
Finally, murals were used as storytelling mediums, and their production signified the growth of mural painting as an art form. For example, the city of Bonampak saw the rise of the classic Mayan fresco, noted for its bright and detailed depictions of unrolling historical events. This is as much a showcase for the skills of the artist as for the use of color and the narrative flair displayed. Just like a modern-day graphic novel, artists worked on promoting different layers of the story and signposting the viewer. Given the increasing popularity of pre-Columbian art and its appearance in contemporary art collections, it can be argued that the skills and methodologies wrapped up in artwork from this time are being recognized and appreciated as they should be.
With the development of intricate metalwork and jewelry-making skills, the pre-Columbian world saw a burgeoning of gold and silver ornaments. For example, in modern-day Colombia, the Muisca people created the famous “Muisca raft,” a stunning piece of gold artwork that is said to represent the El Dorado ceremony, a ritual in which the ruler of the Muisca would cover himself in gold dust and jump into Lake Guatavita. Even though in the past metalworkers were not as recognized as other types of artists, their skill is evident from the complex process of creating such ornate pieces.
Mastery of textile production and weaving techniques led to the production of different types of clothing. These included loincloths, ponchos, and a type of cloak most commonly associated with the Incas, who were known as masters of textile weaving. In Inca society, the quantity and quality of clothing were markers of social status, and so most fabric was produced by skilled workers and then distributed among communities by the rulers.
Elaborate pottery craftsmanship was observed in terms of the combination of aesthetics, precision, and creativity. The Mayans, for instance, would make a variety of jugs, many of which were tinted to form colorful pictures of everyday life. Teotihuacan, a central Mexican city, was known for its multi-storey apartment compounds and impressive murals, and still today much of the art produced there has been discovered and preserved. As such, some pottery and statues showcase an overlap of its own style and that of Teotihuacan.
Pre-Columbian era in the Americas was marked by several key achievements in different areas. In terms of agriculture, the development of maize cultivation technique, advanced irrigation systems, and the domestication of important crops like potatoes and beans played a crucial role in sustaining the population. In terms of architecture, impressive pyramids, intricate road networks, sophisticated urban planning in large-scale cities, and monumental stone structures were constructed. Monumental stone sculptures of divine figures and family were also popular, like the famous Olmec stone heads. The pre-Columbian era also saw significant cultural and artistic accomplishments, including elaborate pottery craftsmanship, mastery of textile production and weaving techniques, intricate metalwork and jewelry-making skills, and advancements in mural paintings and murals as storytelling mediums.
4.1. Elaborate pottery craftsmanship
Furthermore, the pre-Columbian period in the Americas saw varied cultural and creative accomplishments. An example of one of the key cultural and artistic accomplishments during the pre-Columbian period is the development of elaborate pottery craftsmanship. A wide variety of pottery types including vessels, pots, and effigy jars were skillfully crafted and decorated with intricate designs using different styles and technologies. The earliest American pottery dates back to at least 2500 BCE in the Andes and it was characterized by simple unslipped wares with muted textures and shapes. As time went on and the knowledge of pottery spread across the Americas, potters began making vessels with slip, a liquid mixture or slurry of clay and water that is used to add a smooth, hard coating to the surface of the fired pottery. This allowed for a wider variety of designs and decorations to be used, which in turn sparked further creativity and developments in pottery craftsmanship. Eventually, complex color and painting techniques emerged as evidenced by the iconic ‘black on white’ and ‘black on red’ pottery styles of the Ancestral Puebloans and the ‘black and white ware’ style of the Moche people, among others. The skill and effort involved in producing such impressive and attractive pottery cannot be underestimated. The creation of pottery was laborious, requiring raw materials such as clay and various tempers like sand, crushed volcanic rock, and ground shells to be collected, cleaned, mixed and sifted. The potter then had to shape the vessel using hand-building or wheel-throwing techniques, a process that necessitated a high degree of precision and patience. Designs and decorations were meticulously painted or etched onto the pottery before the vessel was left to dry and then fired in a kiln at temperatures of up to 1000 degrees Celsius. The end result was not only a practical and functional item but also a decorated and visually captivating piece of art. Pottery was used for a wide range of purposes such as cooking, eating, drinking, storage, and for ritualistic and ceremonial activities as well.
4.2. Mastery of textile production and weaving techniques
In the world of art today, when we hear the words “textile production”, we may be prone to thinking of machines and mass production. However, the kind of textile mastery that weavers in the pre-Columbian period achieved could not be further from the machines as we know them. There were no large factories, and no vast quantities of ancient textiles were made – it was a slow and steady process.
It takes time to master the weaving because the process is complex. First, the spinners would spin the yarn from raw materials like wool or cotton using a wooden spindle. The weavers then arranged these threads in a row onto a wooden or bone comb called a ‘heddle’. Through a combination of raising and lowering alternate threads with a foot pedal, the weaver would pass another thread, called the ‘weft’, back and forth through the lines of yarn to create a strong, tight fabric. By using different patterns and colours, the pre-Columbians were able to make textiles that had intricate designs. These fabrics could be used to make a range of things, such as clothing, blankets and religious artefacts. Thanks to the dry conditions of the coast and the high altitude of the Andes mountains, many of these textiles still survive today – something that cannot be said for textiles from other ancient civilizations. Pre-Columbian people lived in an age of great textiles and this can be seen in the sheer amount of intricate and varied things they left behind. Almost every given pre-Columbian site contains some form of textile – whether that be small fragments preserved in a tomb or whole textiles in a temple burial. We also have some examples of the tools used for textile production, including heddle pulleys, loom weights and diamond-shaped reeds which helped to separate the threads. However, despite these discoveries, there are still significant gaps in academia’s understanding of the process, the master weavers themselves, and the importance of textile production within pre-Columbian society.
4.3. Development of intricate metalwork and jewelry-making skills
In the pre-Columbian era, the skillful technique of casting and hammering metal – primarily gold, silver, and copper, and their alloys, was at its zenith. The metals used by the pre-Columbians were few, most commonly gold and copper, while silver was a comparatively rare metal. The technique of lost wax casting, further improved by the invention of the double mould method, became widely disseminated and was used by nearly all of the known sophisticated metallurgical societies. The development of this technique provided an opportunity for the craftsmen to create the intricate and sophisticated ornaments, which were generally used both as personal ornaments and as offerings in the religious ceremonies. Some of the most famous pre-Columbian products are the masks of beaten gold from southern Peru, the necklaces from Ecuador coursehero, the oldest known metallurgical piece in the Americas. Interdisciplinary research has provided a proper understanding about the intricate nature and the level of skill that are required to produce such artifacts. These artifacts should not be misunderstood as mere products of the visual arts. Such research also revealed important chronological and cultural information that should be interpreted in the wider social, religious and political contexts. For example, the development of metallurgy and the increasing complexity in the gold expertise were closely linked with the rise of the first complex chiefdom in the central Andes. These technological novelties could partly explain the nascent social hierarchy of that region. Such type of research also shed light on many craft productions in the Americas, and thereby helped us to compare the technical processes that were used. This will eventually lead to a fruitful seminar on the evolution of craft and technical traditions of different continents. The multitude of technological studies of the pre-Columbian gold, silver and alloy artifacts and the resultant publications significantly contributed to the dissemination of knowledge of the metallurgy. This led to a wider recognition and proper appreciation of the excellence of pre-Columbian gold craftsmanship. Such alarming increase in the knowledge of the pre-Columbian metallurgical practice prompted several metallurgists, chemists and archaeologists to concentrate their attention on the less well-known areas such as the metal crafts of the native American societies. For instance, a British chemist, who is affiliated to the department of archaeology in Sheffield University, is leading a study on the technology and the corrosion of the ornaments of the Chibchan cultures, which were found in the lower Cauca River valley of Colombia. The extensive application of modern scientific techniques to the archaeological investigations undoubtedly provides a great assistance to the scientific research on the pre-Columbian metal ornaments. Museums are increasingly turning to these techniques to understand the state of preservation and to plan and perform the necessary conservation work on the collection these materials. As a result, the public will have another chance to appreciate the brilliance and the remarkable expertise of the pre-Columbian gold craftsmen. Due to the inimitable and fascinating nature of these artifacts, such a move is particularly welcomed. However, the scientific research of the pre-Columbian gold ornaments should be closely monitored to prevent the improper or unnecessary destruction of the treasures. We should always bear in mind that these ornaments are of finite resources and the consolidation between the public display and the scientific studies must be properly managed. With the advancement of modern scientific research, of course we can anticipate an explosion in the amount of the knowledgeable input into the pre-Columbian metal craft studies.
4.4. Advancements in mural paintings and murals as storytelling mediums
Another significant artistic achievement of the pre-Columbian era was the development of murals and mural paintings as a form of visual expression, particularly in the major ancient cultural centers of Mexico. From around 100 B.C. to A.D. 650, Teotihuacan was the political and spiritual center of ancient Mesoamerica and one of the largest cities in the world. Teotihuacano mural painting reached its peak in A.D. 450 to 650, particularly in what is known as the “classic” stage of the civilization. Many of the murals in Teotihuacan were created by covering the rough plaster with a thin layer of fine plaster, which was then painted while it was still wet to form a permanent bond between the paint and the wall. Often, a range of pigments was employed and complex shading and overlapping techniques were used to create depth and narrative movement. The preservation of colors in many major murals, and especially the almost unbelievably vivid reds with their subtle variations of hue and saturation, suggests the use of natural pigments, some of which were imported from remote areas. Inhabitants of these ancient cultural centers also developed the art of using murals to depict stories and narratives. For example, in one of the murals in Teotihuacan, the artist used a repetitive jaguar motif to create a sense of rhythmical forward movement and convey a sense of unfolding narrative. The jaguar was depicted in four different poses and stuck in different directions, making the mural an engaging and dynamic display of skill and creativity. Furthermore, many murals were divided into separate panels, each containing part of a continuous narrative. This early form of ‘storyboarding’ allowed the artist to create complex scenes by unfolding distinct stages of the story, and also allowed the viewer to gain a deeper understanding of the narrative by physically following the story from panel to panel.

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