pre-Columbian culture

Before European contact

Pre-Columbian culture refers to the civilizations, societies, and ways of life in the Americas before Christopher Columbus's arrival in 1492.

The term encompasses diverse peoples from the Aztec and Maya of Mesoamerica to the Inca of South America to the mound builders of North America.

The museum's pre-Columbian collection includes Olmec jade carvings and Nazca textiles.

The cultures varied enormously in scale and complexity, from nomadic bands to empires with millions of people.

Related
  • AztecAncient Mexican civilization
  • NahuatlUto-Aztecan language of Mexico
  • shamanismMediation between worlds
  • OlmecAncient Gulf Coast people
  • QuechuaAndean indigenous language family

temples · calendar systems · stelae · Maya · Zapotec · Toltec · quipu · pyramids · codices · Inca · lost cities · jade masks · gold artifacts · obsidian blades · cosmology · dance rituals · animism · murals

Opposites
historical period

pre-Columbian culturecolonial era

Age of overseas dominion

colonial period · colonial America · modern era

cultural origin/influence

pre-Columbian culturecolonial society

Population under empire's rule

Western civilization · European culture · creole culture

Family

pre, Columbian, culture, Columbia, Columbus, cultural, culturally, cultured, cultures

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