Monumental Stone Architecture

Pre-Columbian civilizations built architectural complexes that rival the contemporary Old World for ambition and engineering skill.

The Maya city of Tikal rises above the Guatemalan jungle, its temple pyramids reaching over two hundred feet. The Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, was larger than any European city of its era.

Inca builders at Machu Picchu fitted massive stone blocks together using a technique called ashlar masonry, joining them without mortar. The result has survived five centuries of earthquakes intact.