When one thinks of ancient civilizations, those of the Old World—Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India, Greece, Rome—are typically the first to come to mind. Those of the Americas are sometimes overlooked. However, in the organization of their kingdoms and empires, the sophistication of their monuments and cities, and the extent of their intellectual accomplishments, the civilizations of Middle and South America constitute a New World counterpart to those of the Old World.
Yet the legacies of the Old and New World civilizations are different. While Old World civilizations generally provided the basis for continuing cultural developments, the cultures of the New World were submerged by the Spanish conquerors of the 16th century. Nevertheless, elements of the ancient cultures persist. Visitors to the Mayan cities of the Yucatán, the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu, or the Ancestral Pueblo cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde can hear the echoes of their ancient inhabitants. And the ongoing prevalence of Mayan and Quechuan languages in Middle and South America is a living legacy of the Americas’ distant past.