Despite 500 years of intercultural contact,
genuine efforts to understand the ancient cul-
tures of the New World and early exploration
efforts remain in their relative infancy. New
technology and archaeological methods
refresh the ongoing process. Archaeologists
are still unearthing ruins in Central America
and proposing new theories about the myste-
rious decline of the “Golden Age” of Maya civ-
ilization. A team of archaeologists and
explorers announced in 2003 that infrared
aerial photography had revealed the over-
grown but ambitious Inca city of Llactapata,
within sight of the better-known ruins of the
lost Inca city of Machu Picchu. Bone analysis
still attempts to unravel the question of
whether or not syphilis existed in Europe
beforethe return voyages of Columbus. By
chemically analyzing the mineral content of
the ink of the Vinland map, former Smithson-
ian Institution researcher Jacqueline Olin
tried to determine the authenticity of this
controversial map, whose outlines suggest
that some Europeans were aware of the exis-
tence of North America before Columbus set
sail; although she concluded that the ink
could have been made before 1492, it seems
unlikely that the controversy will end.
Field research continues in the Amazon
River basin, much of which is still unexplored.
The leader of the first European expedition
down the Amazon, Francisco Orellana,
claimed to have seen evidence of thriving
civilizations in remote jungles, which later
researchers considered incapable of sup-
porting such large populations. Recently,
however, soil analysis by separate research
groups from the University of Vermont and
the University of Florida has produced evi-
dence that the massive settlements and road-
ways Orellana claimed to have seen in 1542
did exist. Excavation of these sites has only
recently begun.
The modern presentation of such finds is
also more illuminating than ever. An exhibi-
tion devoted to archaeologist Hiram Bing-
ham’s rediscovery of the lost Inca city of
Machu Picchu began three years of traveling
around the United States in 2003. Museum
visitors were treated to more than displays of
obscure artifacts behind panes of glass. The
multimedia exhibit included an interactive
photographic tour and a video explaining
Peruvian geography, the rise and fall of Inca
society, daily life in Machu Picchu, and the
dramatic story of Bingham’s expedition.
Exhibits offered plentiful information about
how archaeological science, ecology, astron-
omy, metallurgy, human biology, and other
sciences relate to understanding Inca life. In
addition to displays of crafts in gold, silver,
ceramic, bone, and textiles, visitors viewed
the tools with which Bingham carried out his
1911 fieldwork. Presentation of knowledge
about the New World has come a long way
since the people of Barcelona crowded their
streets to watch Columbus introduce captive
Taino Indians, parrots, and fishbone masks to
the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and
Isabella.
This book, Discovery of the Americas, 1492–
1800,cannot claim to deal in detail with all
these approaches, but it incorporates many of
their concepts and findings, while offering
students a strong basic narrative for under-
standing the “opening of the Americas.” Spe-
cial features of the book include numerous
illustrations, helpful maps, a glossary, and a
section that provides students not only with
nonfiction historical references but also films
and fiction inspired by the age of discovery, as
well as Web sites that place both rare primary
texts and general interpretative matter only a
click away. Sidebar essays give greater detail
to subjects, from the native civilizations of
ancient Mexico to recent events such as theIntroduction B xv