|| Online Exhibition ||
Conquest of Mexico
Exploring the Early Americas features selections from the more than 3,000 rare maps, documents, paintings, prints, and artifacts that make up the Jay I. Kislak Collection at the Library of Congress. This ongoing exhibition has three major themes: Pre-Contact America; Explorations and Encounters; and Aftermath of the Encounter. Like the Jay I. Kislak Collection itself, the exhibition provides glimpses into the complex and fascinating past of the Americas. It provides insight into indigenous cultures, the drama of the encounters between Native American and European explorers and settlers, and the pivotal changes caused by the meeting of the American and European worlds.
- This section deals principally with the pre-contact cultures of Mesoamerica, a territory that includes most of the modern countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras, and El Salvador.
- This section presents materials from the voyages of exploration of Christopher Columbus, Hernán Cortés, and Francisco Pizarro, and material about the natives of the Americas they encountered.
- The encounter between the Americas and Europe altered both civilizations. This section covers three dramatic changes: Language and Religion, Competition for Empire, and Documenting New Knowledge.
Explore interactive presentations to learn directly from the artifacts, books, documents, paintings, and maps. These interactives are accessible throughout the online exhibition. Download Free Silverlight Player. Download Free Flash Player.
reading pre-columbian artifacts
Investigate the Maya writing system by exploring the writing and hieroglyphs on vessels and artifacts.
Silverlight Version | HTML Version
waldseemÜller maps
Examine the only surviving copies of what are arguably two of the most important maps in the history of cartography, the 1507 and 1516 world maps by Martin Waldseemüller.
Silverlight Version | HTML Version
The Buccaneers of America Page by page
Explore the pages of The Buccaneers of America, chronicling the bold feats of raiders who disrupted shipping on the high seas and terrorized Caribbean settlements.
Flash Version | HTML Version
