Summary of Cómo Era América Antes de la Llegada de Colón y los Conquistadores

00:00:00 - 00:25:00

The video covers the pre-Columbian history of America, with a focus on the Mapuche people. The Mapuche were a very warlike people who were successful in resisting Spanish colonization. Their well-organized military system was a key factor in their success. They continued to be a politically powerful people until the 19th century, when their territory was finally conquered by the Spanish.

• 00:00:00 The video presents America before Christopher Colombus arrival, and compares it to the world he discovered. Colon's voyage across the ocean was a very risky and dangerous undertaking; imagine what he felt when one of his men said the words "land at sight" to his fellow explorers. Try to imagine that moment, during those ancient times, for just a second. A voyage of this magnitude meant two things: immortality or death. On October 12, 1492, when Columbus first saw the lands of a new world, he knew he had discovered something special. America before him was different, fascinating, and complex. America was inhabited by more than 60 million people, spoke hundreds of different languages, and had a wide range of cultures. The period before Columbus' arrival was also a time of great technological advancements, with farmers in America's north cultivating maize, wheat, beans, potatoes, and other crops. They also had a high level of knowledge in mathematics, astronomy, and other sciences. And, in addition to trading goods, they were beginning to trade in metals such as gold, silver, and copper. The arrival of Columbus and his crew marked the beginning of a new world, one that was very different from the one Europeans thought they knew. America before Columbus was a
• 00:05:00 This video explains the origins of the United States Constitution. The native Americans of America before the arrival of the Europeans did not understand how government worked in Europe, where rulers were hereditary without the people having any say in it. The Mississippian culture, which flourished between the years 800 and 1550 AD, was particularly influential in this regard. They built impressive Christian temples, such as the pyramid-shaped Casket Temple, during this time. The Spaniards, who arrived in America in the 1500s, adopted many of the Mississippian people's religious beliefs and customs. The people of the pueblo were a Native American group that still exists today, numbering approximately 40,000. The term "pueblo" refers to the lifestyle and architecture of the inhabitants of their homes made of mud and stone, which is today the southwest and northeast of Mexico. They lived in 20 autonomous communities during the time of Spanish conquest. The mexica empire, which was known as the aztec empire during the late 15th century, was one of the largest and most powerful empires in pre-Columbian America. At its height, it extended from central Mexico to parts of Central and South America. The mexicas were a very religious people and were skilled artisans
• 00:10:00 The civilization of the Maya was a complex and long-lived Mesoamerican culture that developed in the Mexican states of Yucatán, Campeche, Quintana Roo, Chiapas, and Tabasco. It was perhaps the most important empire in pre-Columbian America, covering three hundred million square kilometers. It endured for two millennia in many aspects of social and cultural life, including the main writing system, mathematics, architecture, innovative art, mythology, and astronomy. The Maya economy was based largely on agriculture and livestock, and at its religious level the Maya believed that life was cyclical and had been created five times. The explanation for the famous Maya calendar is given, and it is revealed that the Maya were very similar to the Egyptians in their use of mathematics for all their advances in civilization, including the calendar, their monuments, their religious rituals, their beliefs in mythology and astrology, their engineering feats, and their system of social classes. The Inca Empire, which emerged in the late 15th century, was the largest and most powerful in pre-Columbian America. It encompassed almost three million square kilometers, and its leaders redesigned the capital city, Cuzco, to give it the shape of a puma (
• 00:15:00 This video discusses ancient American architecture before the arrival of the conquistadors. Native Americans paid taxes to the government and, if they were caught talking to authorities, were often transferred far away from their families, even today their impressive architectural works leave onlookers breathless. Their staircases and irrigation systems, built in the mountains, are among the most impressive constructions ever created. Their power in agriculture, their trade in maize, their production of potatoes, and other aspects of their economy allowed them to last until their last days. Unfortunately, political crises, conflicts with the power, and the succession of rulers led to immense divisions within the empire, and with the arrival of the Europeans, they were completely vulnerable. The Chimús, a culture that occupied the coast of present-day Peru during the Middle and Late Intermediate Periods, according to Peru's periodization of history, reached their peak between the years 1300 and 750 AD. During that period, the Chimú kingdom reached its maximal territorial extent and controlled various coastal and inland cultures and lords. Their metalworking, which was considered very advanced for the time, produced standardized and massive products such as silver and copper vessels and jewelry. From the region of the Andes mountains, goods such as meat, wool, and
• 00:20:00 This video explains the complex culture of the Cúbico site in the Brazilian Amazon, one of the most interesting and striking archaeological sites in the region. The site is located in the north of the state of Mato Grosso and consists of 20 small villages scattered over an area of 27 thousand square kilometers. The complex is one of the most impressive and visually striking examples of pre-Columbian Amazonian culture. Archaeological evidence indicates that the community was once home to up to 60,000 people. The site's inhabitants were expert users of natural resources and were able to combine knowledge from urban civilization with skills learned from living in the forest. Their sophisticated way of life is based on using every resource to its fullest extent and without harming or exploiting anything in nature. The community's disappearance is a mystery that still needs to be solved. One possible explanation is that they were wiped out when contact was made with European settlers. Another indication of their demise is the widespread distribution of objects made by the community, many of which are still found in modern-day Brazil. This culture, known as the Santa Rosá culture, had its peak between the years 1200 and 1400 AD. The Santa Rosá culture was centered around a large urban area with
• 00:25:00 In this video, the narrator discusses the pre-Columbian history of America, focusing on the Mapuche people. The Mapuche were a very warlike people and were very successful in resisting Spanish colonization. One of the main reasons for their success was their well-organized military system, which was able to respond to attacks in a coordinated way. The Mapuche continued to be a politically powerful people up until the 19th century, when their territory was finally conquered by the Spanish.