pre-Columbian

[pree-kuh-luhm-bee-uhn]

adjective

1. of or relating to the Americas before the arrival of Columbus.

   pre-Columbian art; pre-Columbian Indians.

pre-Columbian

adjective

1. of or relating to the Americas before they were discovered by Columbus

Word History and Origins

Origin of pre-Columbian¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

A case in point is the Inca Road, arguably the greatest infrastructure accomplishment of pre-Columbian times.

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“We wanted the designs to have that pre-Columbian quality, but at the same time to look appropriate for what they are: comic book characters,” says Meza-Leon.

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Mexican anthropologist and sculptor Francisco Cornejo assisted the architects to craft a building that was based on authentic designs of pre-Columbian American societies.

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Effectively unnerving and strikingly photographed, this horror effort is concerned with the clash between Christianity and pre-Columbian traditions.

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The terrain is difficult enough and inaccessible enough that it likely would not have been utilized even by pre-Columbian peoples, certainly not in a permanent way.

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