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California is historically and metaphorically symbolized as the “Golden State” in tribute to the gold rush of 1849, but for many living in the state, gold is also a reminder of its sunny Mediterranean climate, or perhaps the Golden Gate Bridge. After describing California, this chapter introduces the central hypotheses of the book: California's pre-Hispanic vegetation consisted of vast carpets of wildflowers, not bunch grasslands; the introduction of European species triggered a biological invasion; the transformation of herbaceous cover began along the coast and shifted inland, the pace of change was dependent on habitat, climate variability; and, most importantly, the time of arrival and adaptive modes of the invaders; and the collapse of indigenous forblands over most of California happened with the invasion of bromes in the twentieth century.

In the lacustrine basin of Mexico, pre-Hispanic technologies of water and wetland ecosystems management had developed at both the city-state and village scales. Village hydraulic and soil management technology depended on land becoming water and then land again, and sustaining domesticated and wild plant and animal life with use value. The main village-level hydraulic structures in the northwest quadrant were the Cuautitlan River diversion dam, its irrigation network, and the Xaltocan chinampas; causeways and albarradones were the main structures around Tenochtitlan; all were multipurpose and designed to contend with both wet- and dry-season events. Ushering in technologies used mainly for the creation of exchange values, and with single purposes predicated on wet-season events, the Spanish conquest affected indigenous technologies without destroying them, as they used them to contend with the effects of ongoing deforestation and changes in the usage of the soil: increased urban flooding.

Andean ontologies can be used to improve the interpretation and understanding of pre-Hispanic societies and their history. Relevant anthropological, archaeological, historical and linguistic sources are reviewed from which the main Andean ontologies have emerged. Furthermore, in this chapter, Andean terms such as Camay, Pacha, Huaca and Runa are discussed, as well as their origins, their explanatory potential of Andean phenomena and their applications to pre-colonial archaeology. Finally, this chapter reviews the reasons why Andean ontologies should be considered in archaeological explanations.

The Maya civilization developed in Mesoamerica persisted approximately 3,000 years and was one of the most advanced of its time. Mayas had the only known full writing system, as well as highly developed mathematical and astronomical systems. They also developed sophisticated architecture and arts. The Maya area of settlement ranged from the Yucatan Peninsula through Guatemala, Belize, and part of the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas, as well as parts of Honduras and El Salvador. The Maya civilization reached its peak of power and influence in the Preclassic period, from 2000 BCE to 250 CE. Despite the profound impact of the Mayan civilization on Mesoamerica and neighboring populations, studies of genetic variation of ancient Maya populations in pre-European times are scarce. Therefore, this work examines evidence in ancient DNA from archaeological sites in the states of Yucatan, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, and Tabasco. We report data analysis from sequences of the mtDNA hypervariable region I (HV1) from bone remains found in excavations of archaeological sites of the Maya region and their relationship with ancient and contemporary communities in this region, including Central and South America, as well as with Asia and Beringia. We discuss the results in the light of the influence of climate change in the area and relate them to evidence from language change. Gene flow within the Maya area occurred with a directional flow to South America in the Preclassic and Classic eras of the Mesoamerican chronology. This is supported by historical documentation, that has shown that the ancestors of the Maya civilization entered the Yucatan Peninsula after the first movement of people from Northern Asia into the Americas, with later migrations of the Maya ancestors to Mesoamerica, through Central America and the Caribbean, and toward the northern portions of South America.

Previous data have established direct archaeological evidence that semisedentary forager-farmers in the Mesoamerican region existed during the millennia preceding the onset of sedentary agrarian life in the Maya area. The present study concerned the identification of the maternal genetic origin of skeletal remains discovered in the Puyil cave through sequence analysis of the mitochondrial DNA. The individuals pertained to the Archaic and Classic periods and the samples were found inside the Puyil cave located in Tabasco, Mexico, an area occupied by Zoque and Maya populations. The technologies used were next-generation sequencing and Sanger sequencing. The analysis was was made possible by the development of haplotype networks for comparing mitochondrial DNA sequences from ancient and contemporary civilizations from the American continent and Asia. The sequences displayed haplogroups A, A2, C1, C1c, and D4, while haplogroup B was absent. The haplotype networks showed a close genetic relationship with Maya populations from Mexico and Guatemala and with contemporary native populations from Bolivia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, China, and Asia. The analysis with ancient mitochondrial DNA study sequences showed evidence of Maya ancestors’ migration from North to South America and through the Caribbean islands. The results of this study confirm that a Maya ancestor of the ancient remains from the Puyil cave is shared with contemporary Maya and that expansion of the founding haplogroups A, C, and D came from Asia.