Introduction to the Documents, Chapter 11

Written records of premodern societies in both Africa and the Americas typically come from the perspective of outsiders. While Muslim explorers and merchants created a record of African civilizations, European conquerors and missionaries wrote accounts of the American experience. These same Europeans also destroyed many of the writings of native American civilizations to discourage traditional practices and beliefs that opposed the spread of Christianity. This chapter explores the cultures of the Western Hemisphere, specifically the Mississippian societies of North America, the Maya and Mexica of Mesoamerica, and the Inca in South America. European colonization of these peoples was so successful that little evidence from the precontact period survives. Thus, the most important information concerning these societies comes from discoveries in archaeological excavations or from the writings of Europeans, some of whom attempted to preserve native languages and cultures.