page_title: List of pre-Columbian inventions and innovations of indigenous Americans
section_title: P
hierarchical_section_title: List of pre-Columbian inventions and innovations of indigenous Americans / P
caption_attribution_description: English: The Observation Tower at Palenque which is part of the Palace complex.
context_page_description: This is an alphabetic list of Pre-columbian achievements in science and technology made by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas during the 15,000 years that they have inhabited the Americas.
context_section_description: Painting – Classic period Maya paintings, found in the archaeological sites of Cacaxtla and Bonampak, are some of the most refined paintings ever to come out of the ancient Americas. Besides the Maya, other indigenous civilizations were also known for their wall paintings, including the Aztec and the Navajo, who developed the art of sand painting.
  Palaces – indigenous American civilizations such as the Olmecs, Mayans, Zapotecs, Aztecs, Mixtecs, Moche, Toltecs, Inca, Chimú, Nazca and many more built elaborate palaces. The Mayan palace in Palenque is one of the best examples of Mayan palace architecture.
  Parkas – the Inuit in the Arctic were the first peoples in the world to develop parkas. Parkas are great insulators, which protected the Inuit against the harsh Arctic winter. The pocket of air that was located within sewed caribou fur in a parka, protected a person against the brutal Arctic winter.
  Papaya – indigenous people residing around the Caribbean Sea and Mexico, such as the Mayans, domesticated papayas.
  Peanuts – indigenous Americans were the first peoples in the world to cultivate peanuts.
  Peanut butter – the Inca and Aztec processed ground roasted peanuts into a paste similar to peanut butter.
  Pemmican – indigenous Americans were the first to develop pemmican as a nutritious and high-energy food.
  Pepper – Mesoamericans were the first to cultivate peppers, including chili peppers of all types and sweet red, green, yellow, and all other colorful hues of non-chilli peppers.
  Petroleum use – Native Americans in present-day Pennsylvania, the Iroquois, lit petroleum which seeped from underground to fire ceremonial fires. In addition, they also used petroleum to cover their bodies against insect bites and as a form of jelly to prevent their skins from drying out.
  Peyote – indigenous people realized the antibiotic property of peyote and used the extract to treat fevers and enhance the energy in their bodies and treatment as an anesthetic.
  Pineapple – indigenous people residing in what is now Brazil and the Paraná River valley of Paraguay were the first to cultivate the pineapple. From there, pineapple cultivation spread to Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Indigenous Americans used the pineapple as a source of food.
  Planned city construction – ancient cities in Mexico–such as Teotihuacan and the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan–incorporated planned city design, including streets laid out in a grid pattern.
  Plumbing – the Maya have been found to be the earliest inventors of plumbing in Mesoamerica, with the earliest example of a pressurized water system being constructed in 750 CE—or earlier. This pressurized water system was located in the Maya site of Palenque, where public baths and toilets were accessible to the residents of the ancient city.
  Popcorn
  Potato – first cultivated in the Andean regions of South America by Andeans. It was principally cultivated in Peru and Bolivia.
  Pot roast – in one of the Lakota legends recorded in Lakota mythology, the character Wohpe is seen creating a dish in exactly the same manner as we make pot roasts today—sealing a large chunk of meat and vegetables in a bag and steaming it in a pot.
  Pottery – many indigenous American cultures and peoples independently invented and then refined pottery in the Americas into fine works of art, as well for utilitarian usage. The Moche and Maya were some of the best potters from the ancient Americas, and their work still inspires awe amongst us for the level of artistry, creativity, and sophistication, which such highly prized works of arts involved. The Navajo are also very skilled developers of pottery and their works in the present time are highly detailed and much prized. Many other indigenous American cultures also developed their own pottery styles during the pre-Columbian time periods and continued to refine their artwork into the modern era.
  Pulque – corn-based alcoholic beverage created in Mesoamerica sometimes called agave wine. Still popular in Mexico today.
  Pumpkins – indigenous Americans were the first to domesticate and g
caption: The palace observation tower at Palenque
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