Updated Articles and Resources

By K. Kris Hirst, About.com Guide since 1997

Abri Castanet Photo Essay Created: Thursday, May 24, 2012 Updated: Friday, May 25, 2012
The Early Aurignacian site of Abri Castanet contains some of the oldest examples of art in the world. This photo essay examines a few of the images and reports on what archaeologists have interpret...
Abri Castanet - Upper Paleolithic Aurignacian Rockshelter in France Created: Sunday, May 13, 2012 Updated: Wednesday, May 23, 2012
The rockshelter in the Dordogne region of France called Abri Castanet contains a wealth of stone and bone tools, as well as items of personal decoration and rock art, dated to the Early and Middle ...
Dog Domestication and History Created: Sunday, August 21, 2005 Updated: Tuesday, May 22, 2012
When and where the partnership of dog and humans first occurred is currently under considerable debate.
PredmostÃ - Upper Paleolithic Site in the Czech Republic Created: Sunday, February 10, 2008 Updated: Tuesday, May 22, 2012
PredmostÃ is an early modern human Upper Paleolithic site, located in the Moravian region of what is today the Czech Republic.
European Paleolithic Dogs Created: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 Updated: Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Part of the puzzle of figuring out when and where our first domesticated animal, the dog, became our best friend and companion, comes from several archaeological examples, called European Paleolith...
Linearbandkeramik Bibliography - A Bibliography of the Linearbandkeramik Created: Saturday, November 22, 2008 Updated: Sunday, May 20, 2012
The first true farming communities in Europe are called the Linearbandkeramik, or LBK for short. This bibliography was built to go along with the About.com guide to the LBK.
Horse History - Domestication and History of Equus caballus Created: Monday, May 19, 2008 Updated: Sunday, May 20, 2012
The modern domesticated horse (Equus caballus) is spread throughout the world and is among the most diverse creatures on the planet.
Ballcourts - Prehistoric Sports Arenas in the Americas Created: Friday, May 18, 2012 Updated: Friday, May 18, 2012
A ballcourt is a prehistoric sports arena, built throughout the Americas beginning about 1500 BC, and associated with the Mesoamerican ballgame.
Ancient Mesoamerican Ball Game - The Most Ancient Sport of the Americas Created: Monday, November 22, 2010 Updated: Friday, May 18, 2012
The Mesoamerican ball game was an exciting, dangerous game played by most cultures in central America.
Paso de la Amada - Mesoamerica's Earliest Ballcourt Created: Sunday, June 27, 2010 Updated: Friday, May 18, 2012
The oldest Mesoamerican ballcourt ever discovered is at Paso de la Amada (Mexico).
Monte Alban Walking Tour Created: Sunday, May 29, 2011 Updated: Friday, May 18, 2012
Photo gallery of Monte Alban with main spot to visit
Palenque Walking Tour - Photo Gallery of the Maya Site of Palenque Created: Monday, April 04, 2011 Updated: Friday, May 18, 2012
Photo gallery and description of the main spots to see visiting the Classic Maya site of Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico
Site Q - The Maya Civilization City of Site Q Created: Thursday, September 29, 2005 Updated: Friday, May 18, 2012
A newly discovered stone panel at the Classic Period Maya (AD 250-900) capital city called La Corona in Guatemala has given researchers at Yale University enough evidence to confidently identify it...
Snaketown (USA) Created: Saturday, May 07, 2005 Updated: Friday, May 18, 2012
The archaeological site of Snaketown belongs to the Hohokam culture of the American southwest, and is located on the Gila River in the Sonoran Desert of central Arizona.
Aztec Origins and the Founding of TenochtitlÃ¡n - Aztec Tenochtitlan Created: Friday, April 30, 2010 Updated: Friday, May 18, 2012
This page describes the mythical and archaeological origins of the Aztec people, and the founding of their capital city of TenochtitlÃ¡n
The Marshalltown Ballcourt Mystery - An Architectural Puzzle in a Soybean Field Created: Monday, July 17, 2006 Updated: Friday, May 18, 2012
A humongous deep oval circle in a soybean field in Iowa leaves a mystified impression on a handful of archaeologists.
Monte Alban and the Zapotec Civilization Created: Sunday, January 22, 2006 Updated: Friday, May 18, 2012
Monte Alban was the capital city of the Zapotec Civilization, sited 1400 meters above sea level in the Valley of Oaxaca of central Mexico. The Zapotecs and their amazing city flourished between abo...
PaquimÃ©: Between Aztec and Toltec Created: Saturday, November 22, 2003 Updated: Friday, May 18, 2012
A little known 14th century civilization in northwestern Mexico and southwestern US gets a little attention from your Guide to Archaeology at About.com
Xunantunich, Maya ruins of Belize Created: Saturday, June 24, 2006 Updated: Friday, May 18, 2012
The archaeological ruins of Xunantunich, located in west Central Belize represent a Late and Terminal Classic period occupation (ca. AD 650-1000).
A Photo Tour of Belize Archaeological Ruins - Maya Sites of Belize Created: Saturday, June 24, 2006 Updated: Friday, May 18, 2012
Photographs and information about a few of the archaeology ruins of the beautiful country of Belize.
Chichen Itza - Carved Stone Ring, Great Ball Court, Chichen Itza, Mexico Created: Saturday, May 13, 2006 Updated: Friday, May 18, 2012
Chichen Itza - Ball Court - A Walking Tour of Chichen Itza - Ancient Maya Ruins of Mexico
Chichen Itza - Sweat Bath Interior, Chichen Itza, Mexico Created: Saturday, May 13, 2006 Updated: Friday, May 18, 2012
Chichen Itza - Sweat Bath - A Walking Tour of Chichen Itza - Ancient Maya Ruins of Mexico
Chichen Itza - Ball Court - Temple of the Bearded Man, Great Ball Court, Chichen Itza, Mexico Created: Saturday, May 13, 2006 Updated: Friday, May 18, 2012
Chichen Itza - Great Ball Court - Temple of the Bearded Man - A Walking Tour of Chichen Itza - Ancient Maya Ruins of Mexico
Chichen Itza - Great Ball Court and the Temple of the Jaguars, Chichen Itza, Mexico Created: Saturday, May 13, 2006 Updated: Friday, May 18, 2012
Chichen Itza - Great Ball Court and Temple of the Jaguars - A Walking Tour of Chichen Itza - Ancient Maya Ruins of Mexico
A Walking Tour of Chichen Itza: A Mix of Toltec and Puuc Architecture Created: Saturday, May 13, 2006 Updated: Friday, May 18, 2012
A walking tour of the Maya civilization site of Chichen Itza, looking at the evidence for both Toltec and Puuc architecture
El Tajín - Late Classic and Epiclassic Site Created: Friday, November 19, 2010 Updated: Friday, May 18, 2012
Refer to this page to learn more about the Late Classic and Epiclassic Site of El Tajin, Gulf Coast of Mexico
Chocolate - The History of the Domestication of Chocolate Created: Friday, December 28, 2007 Updated: Thursday, May 17, 2012
Theobroma spp is the official name of several varieties of tropical trees that are native to the northern Amazon region of South America and were cultivated and domesticated in central America to p...
Xultun - Classic Period Maya Site in the Peten Created: Friday, May 11, 2012 Updated: Monday, May 14, 2012
Xultún is a Classic period Maya site location in the Peten region of Guatemala, where the earliest representation of the Maya astronomical Venus and Moon calendars have recently been identifie...
Classic Maya Astronomical Murals at Xultún Created: Friday, May 11, 2012 Updated: Sunday, May 13, 2012
Xultún is a classic period Maya site, occupied in the 7th through ninth centuries AD, where scholars have identified an early copy of astronomical tables used by the Maya to track the moon and...
Chauvet Cave - Upper Paleolithic Rockshelter in the Ardeches Created: Saturday, June 18, 2005 Updated: Sunday, May 13, 2012
Chauvet Cave is one of the earliest rock art sites in the world, dating to the Aurignacian period in France, about 30,000-32,000 years ago; although its date has been questioned recently.
Upper Paleolithic Sites in Europe - European Upper Paleolithic Created: Sunday, September 05, 2010 Updated: Sunday, May 13, 2012
The Upper Paleolithic period in Europe was a time of great change, with a blossoming of human capabilities and a huge increase in the number of sites and the size and complexity of those sites.
Cave Art - Parietal Paintings of the Upper Paleolithic and Elsewhere Created: Sunday, May 29, 2005 Updated: Sunday, May 13, 2012
Cave art refers to paintings, murals, drawings, etchings, carvings, and pecked artwork on the interior of rockshelters and caves.

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