Archaeology of the Americas

While technically referring to the era before the voyages of Christopher Columbus from AD 1492 to 1504, in practice the term usually includes the history of American indigenous cultures until the 18th or 19th century.

[7] Preliminary research, restricted to only 9 genomic regions (or loci) have shown a genetic link between original Americas and Asia populations.

[13] In February 2021, archaeologists from the University of Buenos Aires–National Scientific and Technical Research Council announced the discovery of 12 graves dated to 6,000–1,300 years ago in Argentine Northwest.

[14][15] In 2018, 9000-year-old remains of a female hunter along with a toolkit of projectile points and animal processing implements were discovered at the Andean site of Wilamaya Patjxa, Puno District in Peru.

Researchers reported that the mummy was tied with strings, covering his face with his hands, so they assumed it was a southern Peruvian funeral custom.

[21][22] In February 2022, archaeologists announced the discovery of six mummified children thought to have been sacrificed, probably to accompany a dead elite man to the afterlife.

They also uncovered a large central plaza and at least 12 buildings, workshops, burial places of adults and children, and an altar that served a ritual purpose.

[25][26] In June 2022, archaeologists from the Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) announced the discovery of a 1,300-year-old nine-inch-tall plaster head statue indicating a young Hun Hunahpu, the Maya's mythological maize god.

Researchers assume that the Mayan inhabitants of Palenque possibly placed a large stone statuette over a pond to represent the entrance to the underworld.