Civilization In Pre-Columbian America

Civilization in Pre-Columbian America

The topic of the existence of civilization in the Pre-Columbian Americas appears to be a debatable one. However, there seems to be no sign of doubt that civilization existed, well before the arrival of the Spanish, on what we now call North and South America. This conclusion is not just based on conjecture, but has taken root in written facts. While there may be countless tribes, cities, and empires that were scattered through time on the American continent, two of these stand out the most. The two most prevalent examples of a civilization in Pre-Columbian Americas were definitely the Inca and Aztec Empires. They were by far the largest, most impacting, and most organized American factions by far. The population of these civilizations may have reached upwards of fifty million people before the arrival

of the Spanish conquistadors. Many factors, including agriculture, trade, and large populations helped create these massive empires. Both Empires had their respective capital cities and territories, which showcased the power of their societies.
The Aztec Empire came to the height of its power around 1500 C.E.

The Aztec Empire consisted of numerous territories dotted around modern South America that had been taken over by military forces, At this time, the capital of the Aztec Empire, Tenochtitlan, housed 250,000 citizens.This was around five times the population of a large European city. Also, these cities had very complicated commerce and agricultural systems to sustain such a large population. Even the Spanish Conquistadors had never seen such a wondrous and large city before. As Spanish conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo said, “Some of the soldiers among us who had been in many parts of the world, in Constantinople, and all over Italy, and in Rome, said that they had never seen so large a market place and so full of people, and so well regulated and arranged” This shows that explorers that had visited what was considered the most technologically advanced societies in the world at the time, Italy and West Europe, were astounded by what they saw at Tenochtitlan. What else than a well functioning civilization would be able to offer such extremities for their

time?
Another culture in the Pre Columbian Americas that could be classified as a civilization were the Inca people.The Inca civilization was a large Empire in South America, however decently smaller when put in comparison to the Aztecs. At the height of the Inca’s power, the capital city of Cuzco, located somewhere in the Andes mountains, may have held around 60,000 inhabitants. The Inca Empire was similar to the Aztecs in the way that it was made up mostly of conquered territories, and also had a large and complex society. They were also ruled by a royal monarch that controlled the entire Incan Empire. The Incan Empire would be classified as a civilization due to its extensive and complicated networking and trading system that subsisted an enormous civilization for such a long period of time.
All in all, there should be no doubt of the existence of civilization in Pre-Columbian America. It seems blandly obvious that complex civilizations existed before Spanish influence. In certain aspects, these Pre-Columbian civilizations were almost as developed as their European counterparts, and were more developed in their respective ways. Simply based on my few given facts, along with your prerequisite knowledge, there should be no doubt in your mind about the existence of civilization the the Americas before Spanish influence.