Pre-Columbian

The Pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, refers to the period in the history of the Americas before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492. This era begins with the original peopling of the Americas during the Upper Paleolithic period, around 15,000 BC. Here are some key points about this period:

• The term “Pre-Columbian” is used to cover the history of indigenous cultures until they were significantly influenced by Europeans. This influence may have occurred decades or even centuries after Columbus’s arrival for certain cultures.

• Many Pre-Columbian civilizations were marked by permanent settlements, cities, agriculture, civic and monumental architecture, major earthworks, and complex societal hierarchy.

• Some of these civilizations had faded by the time of the first permanent European colonies in the late 16th to early 17th centuries. These civilizations are known only through archaeological investigations and oral history.

• Other civilizations were contemporary with the colonial period and were described in European historical accounts of the time.

• A few civilizations, such as the Maya, kept written records1. However, many of these records were destroyed by Europeans who viewed them as pagan.

• The Pre-Columbian era also includes the history of American indigenous cultures as they continued to develop after Columbus’s first landing in 1492, until they were conquered or significantly influenced by Europeans.

• The roots of civilization in the New World lay in a native agricultural way of life. These agricultural beginnings go back several millennia, to perhaps about 7000 BC, and the first experiments by the early Americans with plant cultivation.

• Sedentary village farming in Mesoamerica came into being by about 1500 BC3. Corn (maize), beans, squashes, chili peppers, and cotton were the most important crops.