In the pre-Columbus Americas three societies, the Mayans, Olmecs, and Incas were able to flourish without some of the advanced technology that the Europeans of the time had. Although some of these societies innovations and technology were similar to the Europeans, they were not as advanced or as strong. The way we look at the Mayans, Olmecs, and Incas of this time should be looked at as advanced and intelligent societies. The Olmec society is considered to be the foundation of all civilizations in Mesoamerica that followed them. For being known as the foundation for future societies the Olmecs were an intelligent group. The Olmecs built the “first large-scale settlement in North America-it covered 2.7 miles,”(237) in San Lorenzo. Within the city massive thrones were built for the living kings, while huge stone heads were constructed for the dead ones. Occasionally if a king were to die, the throne would …show more content…
They both had the understanding of the number zero and had created very accurate calendars, while the Incas were not as precise. There are some similarities between the Mayan and Inca societies. Both civilizations had to create new technology in order to try and survive against either the climate or attackers. The Mayans created a way to make nearby water sources safe to use, and the Incas created new weaponry to try and fight off conquistadors. A possible reason as to why the Olmec society collapsed is because they were unable to innovate and adapt to the challenges that threatened their civilization. Based on these innovations the societies in the pre-Columbus Americas were very advanced without outside knowledge from other places. Some European innovations were learned from trading and talking to other countries like China, while the Mayans, Olmecs, and Incas did not have that