Ancient America by John D Baldwin

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First published in 1871, Ancient America delivers the earliest comprehensive English‑language survey of North America’s prehistoric past. Baldwin synthesizes scattered accounts—from the fluted‑point hunters of the Paleo‑Indian era to the monumental earthworks of the Mississippi‑Valley “Mound Builders,” and onward to the pyramidal cities of Mexico and Central America—into a single, lucid narrative. Rejecting then‑common Eurocentric myths, he argues that these civilizations were “wholly original, wholly American,” products of indigenous innovation rather than Old‑World transplantations. Richly illustrated with plates and informed by Baldwin’s correspondence with leading thinkers of his day, this seminal work frames American antiquities within a global archaeological context and remains a cornerstone for understanding the continent’s ancient ingenuity.

CHAPTERS

00:00 – I. ANCIENT AMERICA.—THE MOUND-BUILDERS

29:36 – II. ANTIQUITY OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS.

44:37 – III. WHO WERE THE MOUND-BUILDERS?

1:14:55 – IV. MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA.

1:48:06 – V. MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA.

2:38:35 – VI. ANTIQUITY OF THE RUINS.

3:01:42 – VII. WHENCE CAME THIS CIVILIZATION.

3:38:56 – VIII. AMERICAN ANCIENT HISTORY.

4:11:08 – IX.THE AZTEC CIVILIZATION.

4:36:22 – X. ANCIENT PERU.

5:16:30 – XI. PERUVIAN ANCIENT HISTORY.

5:44:04 – CONCLUSION

5:51:15 – APPENDIX. A. The Northmen in America.

6:09:47 – APPENDIX. B. The Welsh in America.

6:17:25 – APPENDIX. C. Antiquities of the Pacific Islands.

6:32:36 – APPENDIX. D. Deciphering the Inscriptions.