precontact
Prior to arrival
Precontact describes the period before a people or region encountered outside cultures, especially before European colonization of the Americas: precontact Native American societies, precontact population estimates.
The term is used primarily in archaeology and anthropology to discuss indigenous cultures before written records from colonizers began.
Study of physical remnants
- ethnographySystematic study of peoples
- precolonialBefore foreign domination
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- cultureCollective social practices
civilization · society · tribe · clan · kinship · hunter-gatherer · nomadic · subsistence
Not contacted or affected
- unspoiledNot damaged or degraded
- unalteredNot modified whatsoever
- intactNot damaged or altered
- preservedKept from deterioration
undisturbed · original · indigenous · native · ancestral · traditional · autonomous · sovereign
Extended journeys by sea
- navigatorsThose who direct travel
- expeditionsOrganized journeys for exploration
- discoveryAct of finding something
- marinersThose who work ships
seafaring · caravels · maps · cartography · oceans · continents · compass · astrolabe
archaeology
Study of physical remnants
- ethnographySystematic study of peoples
- precolonialBefore foreign domination
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
culture · civilization · society · tribe · clan · kinship · hunter-gatherer · nomadic · subsistence · pottery
untouched
Not contacted or affected
preserved · undisturbed · original · indigenous · native · ancestral · traditional · autonomous · sovereign · self-governing
voyages
Extended journeys by sea
- navigatorsThose who direct travel
- expeditionsOrganized journeys for exploration
- discoveryAct of finding something
mariners · seafaring · caravels · maps · cartography · oceans · continents · compass · astrolabe · longitude
precontactcolonial
Of occupied territories
postcolonial · post-Columbian · colonial period · post-colonial · modern era
contact, contactless, contacts, contacted, contacting, contactable, noncontact, recontact, recontacted