c. 8th century – c. 10th century
Many Maya cities of the southern lowlands are gradually abandoned, possibly due to drought, warfare and political crisis.
Approximate date.
Chichén Itzá on the Yucatán Peninsula rises to become one of the most powerful Maya cities, with its famous El Castillo pyramid.
According to tradition, the Mexica (Aztecs) found Tenochtitlan on an island in Lake Texcoco, the site of present-day Mexico City.
Maya city-states such as Tikal, Palenque and Calakmul reach their height in architecture, writing, astronomy and calendrics.
Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan form an alliance that becomes the basis of the Aztec Empire dominating central Mexico.
Pachacuti becomes ruler of Cusco and transforms the small kingdom into the Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu), the largest empire of pre-Columbian America.
The Incas build Machu Picchu high in the Andes, most likely as an estate for the emperor Pachacuti.