Pre-Columbian

U.S. History

(adjective)

An era that covers the historical period in the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences and the conquest of indigenous cultures, sometimes centuries after Columbus' landing.

Related Terms

  • Land Bridge
  • BCE
  • Solutrean hypothesis
  • Paleo-Environmental Data
  • hypothesis
  • radiocarbon dating
  • artifact
Art History

(adjective)

Referring to the cultures of the American continent before the European influence, specifically to the era before the continent was visited by Christopher Columbus.

Related Terms

  • gold leaf

Examples of Pre-Columbian in the following topics:

  • Enduring Cultures

    • The phrase "pre-Columbian era" literally refers only to the time preceding Christopher Columbus's voyages of 1492 [].
    • Many pre-Columbian civilizations established hallmarks which included permanent settlements, cities, agriculture, civic and monumental architecture, major earthworks, and complex societal hierarchies.
    • Indigenous peoples of the Americas continue to evolve after the pre-Columbian era.
    • Direct archaeological evidence for such pre-Columbian contacts and transport has been lacking, however.
    • A 2007 paper published in PNAS put forward DNA and archaeological evidence that domesticated chickens had been introduced into South America via Polynesia by late pre-Columbian times.
  • The Mixteca-Puebla Tradition

    • The Mixteca-Puelba tradition of artistry originates from the pre-Columbian Mixtec peoples from the region of Puebla, Mesoamerica.
    • In pre-Columbian times, the region was inhabited by people of many ethnicities, including the Mixteca.
    • The temples of a Pre-Columbian Maya walled city are situated on 12-meter tall cliffs in Tulum in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico; a mural can still be seen on the eastern wall that resembles the Mixteca-Puebla style of art.
  • The Caral Civilization

    • The Caral civilization (also known as the Norte Chico civilization and as Caral-Supe) was a complex pre-Columbian society, located  in what is now the Norte Chico region of north-central coastal Peru, near Supe, Barranca province, Peru (200 km north of Lima).
    • In archaeological nomenclature, Norte Chico civilizations are pre-ceramic cultures of the pre-Columbian Late Archaic; they completely lacked ceramics and apparently had almost no art.
    • Archaeological evidence suggests use of textile technology and, possibly, the worship of common god symbols, both of which recur in pre-Columbian Andean cultures.
  • Innovation and Limitation

    • The pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America brought innovation in agriculture, mathematics, architecture, and other subjects.
    • The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America and their descendants.
    • This created the Pre-Columbian savannas of North America.
    • Evaluate the diverse cultures and inventions of pre-Columbus civilizations in the Americas.
  • Machu Picchu

    • Often referred to as the "City of the Incas," Machu Picchu is one of the most significant pre-Columbian Inca sites in Peru.
    • Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian 15th-century Inca site located in the Cuzco Region of Peru, South America .
  • The Inca People

    • The Inca Empire was the largest of the pre-Columbian mesoamerican empires.
    • The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire, was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America.
  • The Aztec People

    • The Aztecs were a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people of Central Mexico during the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries.
    • The Aztecs were a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people of Central Mexico in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries.
  • Disease in the New World

    • The transfer of disease between the Old World and New World was part of the phenomenon known as the Columbian Exchange.
    • Estimates of the pre-Columbian population have ranged from 8.4 million to 112.5 million persons, while estimates of indigenous deaths generally range from 2 to 15 million.
    • Before the arrival of Columbus in Hispaniola, the indigenous Taíno pre-contact population of several hundred thousand declined to 60,000 by 1509.
    • In Peru, the indigenous pre-contact population of approximately 6.5 million declined to 1 million by the early 17th century.
  • The Spanish Conquest and Its Effects on Incan Art

    • It is estimated that parts of the empire, notably the Central Andes, suffered a population decline amounting to a staggering 93% of the pre-Columbian population by 1591.
    • Pizarro, the Spanish explorer and conquistador who was responsible for destroying much of the city of Cusco in 1535, built a new European-style city over pre-colonial foundations.
    • Most of the paintings were completed anonymously, a result of Pre-Columbian traditions that viewed art as a communal undertaking.
  • Ceramics in Early South America

    • The shift from post-fire resin painting to pre-fire slip painting marked the end of Paracas-style pottery and the beginning of Nazca-style pottery.
    • The Nazca, like all other Pre-Columbian societies in South America including the Inca, had no writing system, in contrast to the contemporary Maya of Mesoamerica.
    • Tiwanaku is an important Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia, South America.
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