This Lesson's logo is a Maya pyramid

But the term "Pre-Colombian" is Euro-centric, even though there is no question that the year 1492, and the period of conquest that followed shortly thereafter, were key turning points in the history of the world. We should also consider the possibility of other contacts before 1492 between the Americas and the civilizations of Europe, Asia, the Pacific and Africa. The likelihood of these contacts varies from the probable to the highly speculative, but perhaps the most important fact is that none of these sporadic contacts radically changed the history of America in the way that Columbus' arrival did in 1492.

And so, in this text we will use the term "Indigenous" or "Native American" instead of "Indian", in recognition of the reality that America was "discovered" long before the 15th century. Interestingly, the Spanish language has long preferred the term "indígena" over the somewhat pejorative "indio", especially in those regions where there are high densities of Indigenous peoples.