Learning about ancient Latin American cultures is like putting together a puzzle. Archaeologists, anthropologists, and historians look at the pieces that survive, and try to form a picture of what those cultures were like. A strangely shaped mask or the ruin of a temple can be hard to understand. You have to look closely and use your imagination. Some pieces have been studied for hundreds of years--and people are still discovering new things about them.

An anthropologist studies the cultures and histories of different groups of people, from the past as well as in the present.

A ruin is what remains of a place that is partly or mostly destroyed.

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