South American Science
With different natural resources available to them, the people of South America invented different things than the people of Europe, Asia, or Africa did. One early invention was rubber, which was invented by the Olmec (in fact the word "Olmec" means "rubber people" in the Aztec language, Nahuatl). The Olmec began to make rubber about 1600 BC, even before they had formed their first state government. People got latex from the sap of a tree that grew in their area, and they mixed it with the juice of a local vine to make rubber. One thing that they used this rubber for was to make rubber balls for a popular ball game.
The Aztec had also invented paper, which was made out of argave plant fiber, and parchment (they used deerskin).
To find out more about South American history before 1500, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:
Ancient Rome (Eyewitness Books), by Simon James (2004). For kids.
Handbook of Mediterranean Roman Pottery, by John W. Hayes (1997). Hayes has been the leading expert on Roman pottery for the last several decades.
Roman Pottery, by Kevin Greene (1992). Greene is another pottery expert, particularly interested in what pottery can tell us about the Roman Economy.
