America Before Columbus

When most people think of pre-Columbian America, they picture an idyllic wilderness dotted with small native villages and settlements. America Before Columbus tells the story of what Columbus really discovered when he landed on the shores of the so-called New World.

Filmmaker Cristina Trebbi examines scientific evidence that shows millions of people were already living in the Americas when Columbus arrived. In fact, there were as many people living there as there were in Europe. The America of 1492 was already a densely populated landscape, with its own vast infrastructure of cities, canals and causeways. The film also investigates the European colonisation of the New World and the many plants, crops and animals that immigrants brought with them.

Did pre-Columbian America have domesticated animals? Is it true that some of its rivers had more fish than water? What do we know about the first conquistadors? America Before Columbus provides answers to these and many other questions surrounding the mysteries of this era.