This chapter is devoted to the Pre-Columbian Americas and sets the stage for the global approach that is taken throughout the book. It highlights all the major regional cultures of North America by focusing on the influence of Mesoamerican classical civilizations on North American societies. The chapter does not focus on Mesoamerica exclusively, however, and instead gives a broad outline of the developments in North American native culture prior to and on the eve of settlement by Europeans. Native American cultures from the East coast to the West are described and analyzed. The main theme of the chapter is that Pre-Columbian American cultures were widely dispersed across the continent and were characterized by tremendous political, cultural, economic, and religious diversity.