What's your favorite pre-Columbian American culture?

[BurtWorm]

I have several. I'm fascinated by the great American civilizations--Inca, Maya, Aztec--and by cliff dwellers like the Anasazi. I'm partial to Algonquian cultures because I grew up in Maine, where their words live on in place names. But my favorite pre-Columbian American cultures are those of the Pacific Northwest. Their art is exquisite.

[SOteric]

1. The Tlingit.

Did folks realise they fashioned a kind of battle 'armour' from tree bark? More flexible, lightweight, and for the weapons of the time and area, most effective.

[dani]

2. Inca

I've always been fascinated by the Inca. Children of the sun. Their road system was more advanced than any other in the world even though they hadn't invented the wheel.

[FireHeart]

3. sorry, but I have to laugh...

I didn't have my glasses on, and when I read your title at first I thought you said pre-Cambrian.

LOL

[BurtWorm]

4. And what's you're favorite pre-Cambrian American culture?

Klingon?

:tinfoilhat:

[FireHeart]

5. Hehehe

n/t

[GoddessOfGuinness]

6. Mississippian...

I've always wanted to visit burial mounds; but have not yet had the chance....

[Rowdyboy]

7. I've only seen Chichen Itza...

but I cannot imagine anything grander than those Mayan ruins...

[Bossy Monkey]

8. What else? Southern Death Cult

which some people equate to Mississippian, but nobody really knows. It was also the original name of the band The Cult, but even the English thought this was just too friggin' creepy.

[Maddy McCall]

9. We call it the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex now.

My favorite is the Natchez culture, which had almost reached statehood prior to contact.

If you ever go through Mississippi, you have to visit Natchez, Mississippi, and take a gander at the two mound centers there.

[Bossy Monkey]

22. Does this mean The Cult has to change their name to The Complex? (n/t)

[Jonte_1979]

10. The Aztecs

Perhaps not the nicest civilization in history but they sure knew how to make wicked buildings.

[noonwitch]

11. The Olmecs, ancestors of the Maya.

The Aztecs were interesting, but were very warped, what with the child sacrifices and all.

[Astarho]

21. Not ancestors of the Maya

I love the Olmecs but they were not the ancestors of the Maya. The lived in Veracruz as opposed to the Yucatan. Linguistically the olmecs are beleived to have spoken a Mixe-Zoquean language (as opposed to Mayan which is a family onto itself, and both may ultimately be related to Penutian)

They were the originators of many things that later became part of most mesoamerican cultures (Bar and Dot numbers, writing, the Long Count, the ball game, and numerous artistic motifs)

Check out this site about Olmec writing.
http://www.ancientscripts.com/epiolmec.html

[TXlib]

12. I want to visit Lake Titicaca

Titicaca...

Heh heh heh

[Ellen Forradalom]

14. I am Cornholio!

I come from Lake Titica-ca-ca-ca-ca-ca!

[Ellen Forradalom]

13. Inca

Descended on my father's side from Pizarro and Ines Yupanqui, Atahualpa's sister.

[Maddy McCall]

16. No WAY!

That is completely tooooo cooooool!!!

Talk about a mangled family tree---Pizarro didn't care to much for his bro-in-law, did he?

Of all the Mesoamerican precolumbians I lecture on, my favorite word to pronounce is Atahualpa. It's just fun to say.

I am going to use this tidbit in my lecture from now on...didn't know that Pizarro had children with Ata's sis.

Thanks for telling us about this. :-)

[Ellen Forradalom]

18. Yes, way

Ain't life grand? People have children, and their children have children, and so on and so forth; so a few hundred years go by and they turn up posting on DU.

"Pizarro had four children: a son whose name and the name of his mother are not known, and who died in 1544; Gonzalo by an Indian girl, Inés Huaillas Yupanqui, who was legitimized in 1537 and died when he was fourteen; by the same woman, a daughter, Francisca, who subsequently married after having been legitimized by imperial decree, together with her uncle Hernando Pizarro, 10 October, 1537; and a son, Francisco, by a relative of Atahuallpa, who was never legitimized, and died shortly after reaching Spain."
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12140a.htm

As for which one I'm descended from, I gotta go back and look at the chart.

[Loonman]

15. The Anasazi

Fascinating vanished culture.

[wyldwolf]

17. I've been to...

Machu Picchu in Peru (Inca)and Chhitzen itza, Tulum, and Palenque in Mexio (Mayan)

Plus, I've been to the Ocmulgee fields and mounds in Middle Georgia (Creek) and numerous sites in the Ashville SC area (Cherokee)

[Ellen Forradalom]

19. BTW 'Pre-Columbian Specialties'

is a Mexican euphemism for dishes made from insects. Seemed that insects were a major protein source before the Spanish introduced their livestock. Michael Palin tried one such dish in Mexico City and pronounced it 'good grub.'

[leftofthedial]

20. Anasazi

but then I'm a desert rat

[KamaAina]

23. The term 'pre-Columbian' hardly applies to the Hawaiians!

In fact we don't even call that October holiday "Columbus Day"; for those who still get it, it's "Discoverers' Day" instead.

Nonetheless, the Hawaiians had a fully-fledged civilization, based on agriculture, fishing, and even aquaculture, going in the islands, without the use of metal, I might add, well before Captain Cook booked his Pacific cruise. Plus, the Hawaiian language is official here, and has a growing number of speakers, more than all but a handful of American Indian tongues.

North American? Nope; we're actually considered part of Oceania, but since we're the 50th State, our indigenous culture is now every bit as "American" as any other.

[Capn Sunshine]

24. I love Salish art also

and the Northern Cape Dorsett Inuit sculpture: I have a couple of those.



Hohokam stuff is cool too, from the great moundbuilder tribes of early America.

Amazing that they plowed all the earthworks down.Still a few here and there. Euros were very culturecentric.