In the cross-section of New World history presented herewith the horizontal measures represent space and the vertical measures represent time. The line A-B-C-D begins at Victoria Island and ends at Cape Horn, cutting across the culture areas named on the diagram. Over a large part of this cross-section the “horizon of recorded history” is in fact the time of the first European exploration, but in Colombia and Peru, there are well-defined traditions giving lists of kings, while in Central America there is exact chronology going back 2000 years before the coming of the white man. Below this and within it there are archæological records of culture sequence which in some regions, such as the Pueblo Area, have been nicely classified. On the basis of trade relations and diffused ideas in material and esthetic arts the marginal chronology can be tied in with that of the central standard section of history. Of course, all dates earlier than the first recorded ones are theoretical. The beginning of agriculture in America is put at 4000 B. C.—it may be earlier, but can hardly be much later.
In the Pueblo or Southwest Area a single type of flint corn, doubtless introduced from the south, appears on the first agricultural level. Contacts with Mexico and Central America are inferable during Basket Maker II and III, the latter stratum having female fetishes roughly comparable with those of the Archaic Horizon of Mexico. Later Southwest evolution is autochthonous until the end of Pueblo III when the concepts of the Plumed Serpent, the Eagle Man, Four-direction symbolism, etc., come from Mexico with Toltec trade. Culture sequence in the Southwest is about as follows:—
| Pueblo V | Modern | 1692 to present time |
| Pueblo IVb | Early Historic | 1538 to 1692 |
| Pueblo IVa | Protohistoric | 1200 to 1538 |
| Pueblo IIIb | Toltec Trade | 1000 to 1200 |
| Pueblo IIIa | Urban Developments | |
| Pueblo II | Small House | |
| Pueblo I | Proto-Pueblo | |
| Basket Maker III | First Pottery | |
| Basket Maker II | First Agriculture | |
| Basket Maker I | Nomadic |
In Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru culture successions are now being worked out. The best criterion of age is found in metals which enter Central America from South America after the fall of the First Mayan Empire, i.e., after 630 A. D. The technology of metal working is continuous from southern Colombia to central Mexico. Negative painting with wax has a wider and perhaps earlier distribution, reaching Ecuador and Peru in association with tripod pottery which is otherwise rare in the Andean region. Various motives of design link the two continents, especially on the Toltec-Chorotegan level. Between 1000 and 1200 A. D. civilization seems to have been generally stabilized, but this halcyon age was followed by disorganization and far-reaching migrations. The pre-Spanish horizons of southern Peru are tentatively arranged as follows by A. L. Kroeber, the apparently earlier material of Ancon being omitted for lack of the cross-ties.
| III. | Inca |
| IIc. | Late Ica |
| IIb. | Middle Ica |
| IIa. | Epigonal |
| Ib. | Late Nasca |
| Ia. | Early Nasca |
The early Nasca civilization was far from primitive being characterized by pyramids, fine textiles, and some metal. Mayan strains have been recognized in Chavin and Recuay in Peru and various sites in Ecuador.
The dynamic forces in the history of man in the New World have a tremendous bearing upon the present and future state of the world. The debt which we owe to the ancient civilizations of Mexico and Central America becomes apparent when we list the more important agricultural plants, fibers, gums, dyes, etc., which were taken over by Europeans from the American Indians.
Food Plants Cultivated by American Indians
Maize Potatoes Sweet potatoes Tomatoes Pumpkins Squashes Lima beans Kidney beans Peppers Cacao Pineapples Nispero Barbados cherry Strawberries Persimmons Papaws Guava Arracacha Peanuts Oca Cashew nut Jocote Star apples Paraguay tea Alligator pear Chirimoya Sour sop Sweet sop Custard apple Cassava