In Search of Ancient Engineers

Many examples of pre-Columbian civil works have been uncovered in North and South America. Some reflect well-organized technologies comparable to those of the Old World of the same time period. Earthen mounds, pyramids, walls and fortifications, highways, and water management systems exhibit both well-conceived designs and organized effort for construction. This article, based on the paper “ There Were Giants in Those Days° (previously published in the \IJournal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division\N, ASCE April 1981), examines some of the major structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas, how they were built, and the innovations in construction which they represented. The author also compares the development of Western technology with that of the pre-Columbian Americas and debunks allegations of assistance from Old World visitors and even extra-terrestrials.