Pre-Columbian Era

2000 BCE – 1500 CE · 43 sites

All sites in this period

Continent Record

Most-Visited Ancient Site in South America

Machu Picchu

1450 CE – 1572 CE

An Inca citadel built c. 1450 CE, Machu Picchu sits atop a mountain ridge in Peru. Abandoned during the Spanish conquest, it remained unknown to the outside world until 1911.

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Continent Record

Southernmost Known Site in South America

Rapa Nui

1100 CE – 1722 CE

Rapa Nui (Easter Island) is famed for its colossal stone moai, crafted by a Polynesian society that flourished from roughly 1100 to 1722 CE, leaving a cryptic legacy of monumental art and ecological transformation.

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Country Record

Earliest Known Site in Mexico

Teotihuacan

100 BCE – 650 CE

Teotihuacan, the 'City of the Gods,' was a vast metropolis and ceremonial center in central Mexico, dominating Mesoamerica from 100 BCE to 650 CE.

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Continent Record

Most-Visited Ancient Site in North America

Chichén Itzá

600 CE – 1200 CE

A major Maya-Toltec ceremonial center from 600–1200 CE, featuring the iconic stepped pyramid of Kukulcán and one of the largest ballcourts in Mesoamerica.

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Pre-ColumbianEarly MedievalHigh Medieval

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Continent Record

Oldest Monument in South America

Nazca Lines

500 BCE – 500 CE

The Nazca Lines, vast geoglyphs etched into Peru’s desert, date from c. 500 BCE–500 CE and remain one of archaeology’s most intriguing legacies of ancient monumental art.

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Plaza de Armas of Cusco with the Inca Pachacuti monument and cathedral

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Country Record

Known by the Most Names in Peru

Cusco

1200 CE – 1533 CE

The high-altitude capital of the Inca Empire — planned in the form of a puma, with Coricancha at its spiritual centre and colonial churches built atop Inca masonry — the gateway city to Machu Picchu and the heart of Andean imperial archaeology.

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Pre-Columbian

The megalithic zigzag walls of Sacsayhuamán above Cusco, Peru

Country Record

Oldest Fortress in Peru

Sacsayhuamán

1100 CE – 1536 CE

A monumental Inca complex on the hill above Cusco, famous for three tiers of zigzagging defensive walls built from limestone blocks so vast — some weighing over 100 tonnes — and cut so precisely that they fit together without mortar, with joints a knife blade cannot penetrate. It is the supreme example of Inca megalithic masonry.

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Pre-Columbian

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Continent Record

Oldest Complex in North America

Mesa Verde

600 CE – 1300 CE

Mesa Verde, in Colorado, USA, preserves elaborate cliff dwellings built by the Ancestral Pueblo people between 1190 and 1280 CE, reflecting a sophisticated pre-Columbian society.

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Late AntiqueEarly MedievalHigh Medieval

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Country Record

Oldest City in Guatemala

Tikal

400 BCE – 900 CE

Tikal, a preeminent Maya city in Guatemala, flourished from c. 400 BCE to 900 CE as a political, economic, and ceremonial hub, boasting towering temples and extensive urban infrastructure in the Petén rainforest.

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Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque, tomb of K'inich Janaab' Pakal

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Country Record

Longest Continuously Occupied Site in Mexico

Palenque

226 BCE – 900 CE

A Classic Maya city in the Chiapas jungle whose Palace, Temple of the Inscriptions, and exquisite carved reliefs make it one of the greatest Maya sites — home to the undisturbed tomb of the ruler K'inich Janaab' Pakal, discovered in 1952.

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Tulum

1200 CE – 1524 CE

A late Maya walled city perched on a limestone cliff above the turquoise Caribbean on the eastern coast of the Yucatán — one of the last cities built and inhabited by the Maya, flourishing as a trading port between the 13th and 16th centuries and still occupied when the Spanish arrived. Its clifftop "Castillo" overlooking the sea is among the most photographed ruins in the Americas.

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Pre-Columbian

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Tiwanaku

200 BCE – 1000 CE

The monumental center of a pre-Inca Andean civilization (200 BCE–1000 CE) known for its colossal stone architecture, advanced agricultural systems, and artistic influence across the south-central Andes.

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