Groups of hunter-gatherers enter the American continents via the Bering land bridge and along the coastline.
Early human presence in southern Chile, well beyond the Clovis boundary.
Specialized hunters in North America use stone spearheads to kill megafauna.
Mammoths, mastodons and other large animals disappear from America due to climate change and hunting.
Inhabitants of caves in the Peruvian highlands experiment with wild plants and tubers.
In present-day Oaxaca, people begin to grow and breed wild squash.
In southern Mexico, the wild grass species teosinte is transformed into the forerunner of maize.
Andean inhabitants begin taming wild guanacos for meat, wool and pack animals.
Farmers in the high Andean valleys cultivate nutritious crops that thrive well at high altitude.
Coastal communities combine fishing with the first cultivation of cotton for nets and clothing.
Hunter-gatherers in the southeastern part of North America build a complex of earthen mounds.
On the coast of Peru, one of the earliest complex societies of the American continent arises, with pyramids and irrigation agriculture.
In the Supe Valley in Peru, Caral grows into one of the largest and most powerful cities of Norte Chico, with monumental pyramids and plazas.
Along the coast of Ecuador the Valdivia culture emerges, known for one of the earliest pottery traditions on the American continent.
On the Pacific coast of Chiapas and Guatemala the Mokaya emerge, one of the first sedentary farming communities of Mesoamerica, forerunners of the Olmec civilisation.
In present-day Louisiana, North America, hunter-gatherers build an impressive complex of concentric earthen ridges and mounds, known as Poverty Point.
In southern Mexico, the settlement of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán grows into one of the first major ceremonial centers of Mesoamerica.
Along the Pacific coast of Ecuador, the Valdivia culture develops refined ceramics and permanent villages based on fishing and agriculture.
Maize, originally domesticated in Mesoamerica, reaches the desert regions of what is now the southwestern United States via trade routes.
In the Casma Valley in Peru rises Sechín Bajo, with one of the oldest known relief sculptures and pyramid structures on the American continent.
In present-day Mexico, the Olmec culture emerges, often regarded as the mother culture of Mesoamerica.
In present-day Peru, the Chavín culture emerges, one of the first major civilizations of South America.
In the Ohio Valley the Adena culture emerges, known for its large earthen burial mounds.
In the Valley of Oaxaca, the Zapotecs found the mountain city of Monte Albán, one of the first true cities of Mesoamerica.
On the south coast of Peru, the Paracas culture flourishes, famous for its colorful woven textiles and mummification practices.
The Hopewell culture emerges in the Ohio Valley and builds an extensive trade network spanning half the continent.
In the Valley of Mexico, Teotihuacan arises, developing into one of the largest cities of the ancient world.
In eastern North America, the Hopewell tradition emerges, characterized by extensive trade networks and impressive earthen burial mounds.
Along the coastal plain of southern Peru, the Nazca culture flourishes, famous for its pottery and the later geoglyphs in the desert floor.
In Teotihuacan, the monumental Pyramid of the Sun is completed, one of the largest structures of pre-Columbian America.
In the Classic period, Maya city-states such as Tikal and Copán reach their political and cultural peak.
The mighty city-state of Teotihuacan in the Mexican highlands collapses after centuries of dominance over Mesoamerica.
In present-day Peru, the Wari empire emerges, one of the first great imperial powers of South America.
In the southwest of North America, the Hohokam culture develops an extensive irrigation system in the desert.
The city-state of Tiwanaku reaches its cultural and political peak on the Andean plateau near Lake Titicaca.
Major Maya cities in the southern lowlands are abandoned, marking the end of the Classic period.
In northern Yucatán, Chichén Itzá grows into a powerful religious and political center with striking Toltec influences.
At the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, Cahokia arises, the largest pre-Columbian city north of Mexico.
In present-day New Mexico, a monumental ceremonial and administrative center develops with large stone 'great houses'.
Along the north coast of Peru, the Chimú kingdom arises with Chan Chan as its capital, the largest adobe city of pre-Columbian America.
According to tradition, migrating Mexica groups found the city of Tenochtitlan on an island in Lake Texcoco, the later capital of the Aztec Empire.
From their capital Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs build an extensive tributary empire in central Mexico.
From Cusco, the Inca Empire expands into the largest empire of pre-Columbian America, with a network of roads through the Andes.
Christopher Columbus reaches the Caribbean islands, marking the beginning of intensive European contact with the American continents.
Hernán Cortés conquers the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, marking the end of the Aztec Empire.
Francisco Pizarro takes the Inca capital Cusco after ruler Atahualpa is captured and executed.
In present-day Bolivia, enormous silver deposits are discovered, making Potosí one of the richest cities in the world.
English colonists found Jamestown in Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in North America.
Pueblo peoples in present-day New Mexico jointly rise up against the Spanish colonizers and drive them out for twelve years.
Representatives of the French crown and forty indigenous nations conclude a comprehensive peace treaty in Montreal.
The thirteen American colonies declare their independence from Great Britain.
Enslaved Africans in the French colony of Saint-Domingue rise up in revolt, leading to the largest slave uprising in history.
After a successful slave revolt, Haiti becomes the first independent black republic and the second independent state on the American continent.
Led by figures such as Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín, South American colonies free themselves from Spanish and Portuguese rule.
After eleven years of struggle, Mexico's independence from Spain is officially recognized.
Prince Regent Dom Pedro, following a break with Portugal, proclaims the independence of Brazil.
The decisive victory of the patriot armies under Sucre seals the end of Spanish rule in South America.
The republic of Gran Colombia, founded by Simón Bolívar, breaks apart into Venezuela, New Granada (later Colombia) and Ecuador.
The American government forces thousands of indigenous peoples, including the Cherokee, into forced relocation to territories west of the Mississippi.
The United States and Mexico wage war over territory, leading to a massive territorial expansion of the US at Mexico's expense.
Mexico and the United States conclude peace; Mexico cedes a vast territory, including California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and parts of other states.
First major American convention for women's rights, held in the state of New York, with the adoption of the 'Declaration of Sentiments'.
The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill draws hundreds of thousands of migrants to California, accelerating rapid American population growth in the west.
The Northern and Southern states of the US fight a bloody war over slavery and the unity of the nation.
Paraguay wages a devastating war against the combined armies of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, with catastrophic consequences.
The British colonies in North America unite to form the Dominion of Canada, a self-governing federation within the British Empire.
In the United States, the first railroad connection between the east and west coasts is completed at Promontory Summit.
A confederation of Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho defeats troops of the United States Army led by General Custer.
A prolonged conflict over the resource-rich Atacama Desert changes the balance of power in South America.
Canada connects the east and west coasts with its own transcontinental railway, crucial for national unity.
With the 'Lei Áurea', slavery in Brazil, the last country in the Americas where it still existed, is formally ended.
The United States defeats Spain and Cuba wins its independence, while the US gains greater influence in the Caribbean.
After a failed French attempt, the United States completes the construction of the Panama Canal, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
A prolonged and bloody revolution overthrows the dictatorial regime of Porfirio Díaz and reshapes Mexican society.
Fidel Castro and his revolutionary movement drive out dictator Fulgencio Batista and establish a socialist state in Cuba.
After years of struggle by the Civil Rights Movement, legislation is passed in the US banning racial segregation and discrimination.
The Sandinista National Liberation Front drives out the Somoza dictatorship and seizes power in Nicaragua.
After years of military dictatorship and the Dirty War, Argentina returns to democratic rule.
Indigenous farmers in southern Mexico rise up in armed rebellion against the government, targeting inequality and the effects of NAFTA.
Hugo Chávez is elected president of Venezuela and launches the Bolivarian Revolution.
The Canadian territory of Nunavut is officially established as a self-governing region of the Inuit.
Indigenous organizations led by CONAIE lead massive protests that result in the fall of President Jamil Mahuad.
Evo Morales is elected president of Bolivia, the first with an indigenous Aymara background in the country's history.
A devastating earthquake strikes Haiti, costing more than 200,000 people their lives.
Presidents Obama and Castro announce the normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba, after more than fifty years of estrangement.
Bolívar's dream of a united South America proved untenable due to regional rivalry, geographical distance and power struggles between local caudillos. The dissolution marks the beginning of Latin America's fragmentation into separate nation-states, each with its own constitution and identity, while Bolívar dies disappointed shortly after his resignation.