The history of the peoples of the American continent before their meeting with Europeans in the 16th century developed independently and almost without interaction with the history of the peoples of other continents. Written monuments of ancient America are very scarce, and the available ones have not yet been read in full. Therefore, the history of the American peoples has to be restored mainly according to archaeological and ethnographic data, as well as according to the oral tradition recorded during the period of European colonization.
By the time Europeans invaded America, the level of development of its peoples was uneven in different parts of the continent. The tribes of most of North and South America were at different levels of the primitive communal system, while the peoples of Mexico, Central America, and western South America developed class relations at that time; they created high civilizations. It was these peoples who were conquered at first.
