Period 10 · c. 1000 BCE-1500 CE

Pre-Columbian Art

Before Europeans reached the Americas, peoples such as the Maya, the Aztecs and the Inca built cities, carved stone and drew on the land itself. Start here for Teotihuacan and the Nazca Lines.

View from a pyramid down the Street of the Dead at Teotihuacan with the Pyramid of the Sun in the distance. — Teotihuacan, the Street of the Dead seen from the Pyramid of the Moon, with the Pyramid of the Sun, c. 100-250 CE. Stone. State of Mexico, Mexico. Follow the avenue south: the city’s great monuments line it.Photo: AnbyG, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Pre-Columbian Art

Nazca Lines: How AI Found 303 New Figures in Six Months

A 2024 survey using AI found 303 new figures, but why the Nazca people made any of them is still debated.Start here5 min read

Pre-Columbian Art

Teotihuacan: The City of the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon

The Aztecs gave the Pyramid of the Sun its name long after the city fell; what its builders called it is unknown.7 min read

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All Pre-Columbian Art guides

Teotihuacan: The City of the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon

The Aztecs gave the Pyramid of the Sun its name long after the city fell; what its builders called it is unknown.7 min read

Nazca Lines: How AI Found 303 New Figures in Six Months

A 2024 survey using AI found 303 new figures, but why the Nazca people made any of them is still debated.5 min read