Pre-Columbian

(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

Examples of Pre-Columbian in the following topics:

  • 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.

  • 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 .

  • Sculpture of the Aztecs

    • Obsidian mirrors in pre-Columbian times were fashioned from stone and served a number of uses, from decorative to spiritual.

  • 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.

  • Architecture of the Aztecs

    • Aztec architecture refers to pre-Columbian architecture of the Aztec civilization, a civilization that dominated central Mexico in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries.
    • Founded in 1325, it became the largest city in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica until it was captured by the Spanish in 1521.

  • Architecture of the Inca

    • The Inca Empire was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America.
    • Incan architecture is the most significant pre-Columbian architecture in South America.
    • Pizarro, the Spanish explorer and conquistador, sacked much of the city in 1535 during the Spanish invasion and built a new city over pre-colonial foundations.
    • Because of its antiquity and importance, the center of the city retains many buildings, plazas, and streets from both pre-colonial and colonial periods.

  • Cultures of Mesoamerica

    • Mesoamerica was dominated by 3 cultures in the Pre-Classical (up to 200CE) to Post-Classical periods (circa 1580 CE): the Olmec, Maya, and Aztec.
    • There are three cultures that dominated the pre-columbian history of Mesoamerica: the Olmec, Maya, and Aztec civilizations.
    • The Olmec civilization, which flourished from 1200–400 BCE, defines the Pre-Classical period; the Olmecs are generally considered the forerunner of all later Mesoamerica cultures including the Maya and Aztecs.

  • Architecture in Early South America

    • Chavín de Huántar and Tiwanaku were important ceremonial centers in pre-Inca South America.
    • Chavín de Huántar is an archaeological site containing ruins and artifacts constructed c. 1200 BCE and occupied by later cultures until around 400-500 BCE by the Chavín, a major pre-Inca culture.
    • Tiwanaku is an important Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia.

  • 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.

  • Spanish Art in the Americas

    • Most of the paintings were completed anonymously, a result of Pre-Columbian traditions that viewed art as a communal undertaking.