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Many pre-Columbian civilizations established permanent or urban settlements, agriculture, and complex societal hierarchies. In North America, indigenous cultures in the Lower Mississippi Valley during the Middle Archaic period built complexes of multiple mounds, with several in Louisiana dated to 5600–5000 BP (3700 BC–3100 BC).
Palaces – indigenous American civilizations such as the Olmecs, Mayans, Zapotecs, Aztecs, Mixtecs, Moche, Toltecs, Inca, Chimú, Nazca and many more built elaborate palaces. The Mayan palace in Palenque is one of the best examples of Mayan palace architecture.
The Toltec civilization was established in the 8th century CE. The Toltec Empire expanded its political borders to as far south as the Yucatán peninsula, including the Maya city of Chichen Itza. The Toltecs established vast trading relations with other Mesoamerican civilizations in Central America and the Puebloans in present-day New Mexico.
The 14th century in America probably also brought decline of the Mississippian culture, especially in the northern states. Dendroclimatology suggests that severe droughts ravaged the American Southwest and especially the Southern Plains early in the period, leading to a rapid cultural decline.
The American Nation: A History of the United States: AP Edition (2008) Egerton, Douglas R. et al. The Atlantic World: A History, 1400–1888 (2007), college textbook; 530pp; Elliott, John H. Empires of the Atlantic World: Britain and Spain in America 1492–1830 (2007), 608pp excerpt and text search, advanced synthesis
Examples include the early Maya and the Toltec. The Post-Classic stage; Defined as "later prehispanic civilizations" and typically dated from 1200 CE until the advent of European colonisation. The late Maya, the Incan civilization, and the Aztec cultures were Post-Classic.
Monks Mound, built c. 950–1100 CE and located at the Cahokia Mounds UNESCO World Heritage Site near Collinsville, Illinois, is the largest pre-Columbian earthwork in America north of Mesoamerica. Many pre-Columbian cultures in North America were collectively termed "Mound Builders", but the term has no formal meaning
For example, the Maya civilization developed a writing system, built huge pyramids, had a complex calendar, and developed the concept of zero 500 years before anyone in the Old World. [ citation needed ] The Mayan culture was still present when the Spanish arrived in Central America, but political dominance in the area had shifted to the Aztec ...