precolonial

American  

[pree-kuh-loh-nee-uhl] / ˌpri kəˈloʊ ni əl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the time before a region or country became a colony.

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Etymology

Origin of precolonial

First recorded in 1960–65; pre- + colonial

Example Sentences

From precolonial Mexico we discover obsidian mirrors used for divination in Mayan and Aztec ceremonies.

From The Wall Street Journal

Adam Johnson conjures the watery world of the precolonial Tuʻitonga empire in this fictional saga of sovereigns, warriors, celestial navigators and plucky commoners.

From The Wall Street Journal

The paper hypothesizes that it is possible that manatees were not present at all in precolonial Florida and the tools and ornaments arrived here via Native Americans trading with those from the Caribbean.

From Science Daily

El Fasher, the former capital of the precolonial kingdom of Darfur, has about 1.8 million inhabitants, including hundreds of thousands who fled earlier waves of fighting.

From New York Times

Without action to restore these lands to something more closely resembling their precolonial conditions, many more sequoias will be lost, the experts fear.

From Los Angeles Times