T
he first humans to settle
in the Americas were
the Paleo-Indians, who
crossed into North America from
Asia about 22,000 years ago.
Over subsequent millennia, they
migrated south and by 16,500 BCE,
Patagonia at the southern tip of
South America had been settled
by peoples such as the Tehuelche.
From about 3500 BCE onward,
Mesoamerican civilization emerged
in Central America, establishing
the first cities in around 1800 BCE.
The myths and legends of these
early peoples were highly influential
on later civilizations, such as the
Maya, who flourished from 750 BCE
to the 9th century CE, and the
Aztec Empire, which developed
in the 13th–16th centuries CE. In
South America, the Inca rose to
prominence and developed theirmythology from the 12th–16th
centuries CE. The indigenous
peoples of North America also
developed highly diverse cultures
and legends—from the Inuit of the
Arctic, who emerged in the 11th
century CE, to the Navajo nation,
who migrated to the southwest
in around 1400 CE.Old World vs. New
The arrival of Europeans in the late
15th century transformed the New
World; the diseases they carried
killed millions, and conversion to
Christianity and Westernization
erased many indigenous myths.
While the damage caused to the
Americas by the arrival of European
settlers is incalculable, subsequent
first-hand interactions with the
indigenous peoples meant that,
from the 16th century onward,many myths were preserved
in writing for the first time. They
were documented by European
writers such as Johannes Wilbert,
exploring remote areas which lay
undiscovered by the Old World.
However, many Native American
and First Nations Canadian myths
were lost by the end of the 18th
century as settlers and new colonies
attacked the native cultures and
forced them to assimilate to the
settlers’ way of life.Methods of storytelling
Native Americans did not generally
use written languages until their
first contact with white settlers. All
branches of American mythology
were once preserved by oral
tradition, but some Mesoamerican
peoples, such as the Maya and
Aztecs, developed systems ofINTRODUCTION
CA. 750 BCE–800 CE
1345 1492 1558 1830
1438 CA. 1554–1558 1572
The Maya
civilization farms
the lowlands of
Central America.The Aztec capital
of Tenochtitlán is
founded—the largest
city of its time in the
Americas.The explorer
Christopher Columbus
lands in the Bahamas,
discovering the “New
World” of the Americas.The Popol Vuh
tracks Quiché
creation myths,
including the tale
of the Hero Twins.The Codex
Chimalpopoca
manuscript is
written, detailing
Aztec legends.The Inca Empire
is founded under the
command of Sapa
Inca Pachacuti.Pedro Sarmiento’s
History of the Incas
charts Inca culture
and mythology in
extensive detail.The US Indian
Removal Act forces
Native Americans from
their lands and destroys
much of their culture.234
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Edward W. Nelson
collects over 10,000
artifacts to write
The Eskimo about
Bering Straight.James Mooney’s
Myths of the
Cherokee collates
the mythology of
that tribe.Johannes Wilbert’s
collection, Folk
Literature of the
Warao Indians,
is published.A. L. Kroeber’s
Yurok Myths collects
creation myths and
biographies of the
Yurok tribe.G. M. Mullett’s
Spider Woman
Stories recounts
varied tales from
Hopi my t hology.The discoveries
of Russian linguist
Yuri Knorosov
help to decipher
Maya hieroglyphs.Johannes Wilbert and
Karin Simoneau publish
a compilation of Folk
Literature of the
Tehuelche Indians.John Bierhorst’s History
and Mythology of the
Aztecs translates the
Codex Chimalpopoca.hieroglyphs that allowed them to
record their myths in collections
such as the Popol Vuh and the
Codex Chimalpopoca. Other peoples
used different systems to document
their tales. The Inca, for example,
may have used knotted cords.Common beginnings
In general, most American peoples
believed in a creator deity. Many
of the most central myths of the
Americas detail how heaven, Earth,
and all living beings were created.
For the Inca, this was Viracocha,
who made the cosmos. Kóoch, the
Tehuelche sky father, had a similar
role. The Aztecs believed the
universe was initially brought into
being by a dual male-female god
called Ometeotl, who also created
the first four gods. Another key
creator figure was the Earth Mother,who appeared as a spider in many
Native American mythologies and
was humanity’s teacher.
The hero who helped or taught
humanity was a recurring theme in
American myths. The Warao people
of South America honored a figure
called Haburi who invented the
dugout canoe. The Maya “Hero
Twins” helped humans by defeating
the Lords of the Underworld, saving
humans from sacrifice. The Hero
Twins also share characteristics
with trickster gods. These cunning
deities are also popular in North
American myths, such as the
Raven tales of the Inuit and First
Nations peoples.Understanding the universe
The mythology of the Americas is
deeply bound with their indigenous
peoples’ views on spirituality andreligion. In particular, it shows the
deep links between humanity,
the natural world, and the cosmos.
American myths conceptualize
the cosmos in unique ways. The
Cherokee creation myth, for
example, portrays the world as an
island afloat on the sea, held up by
cords, while the Warao envision
their world as a land mass entirely
encircled by the ocean.
American myths often included
the celestial bodies. The rivalry
between the sun and moon is
a common theme, occurring in
several Aztec, Inca, and Tehuelche
myths. For the Aztecs in particular,
existence was based on a cycle of
five suns and eras, each ending in
destruction, and human sacrifice
was essential to preventing the
fall of the fifth and final sun—and
with it, the end of the world. ■THE AMERICAS
1899
1900 1970 1979 1992
1952 1976 1984
235
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