​

1491​

Alabaster.

W58 x D19.5 x 20H cm

​

For thousands of years, diverse civilisations and cultures flourished throughout the Americas, including the Inca, Maya, Aztec, Chibcha, and many Indigenous peoples from the far south to the far north of the continent. These societies developed rich traditions, knowledge systems, and ways of life long before the arrival of Europeans.

In 1492, Christopher Columbus reached the Caribbean, beginning a period of profound change. European exploration and colonisation brought new technologies, ideas, and trade, but also disease, conflict, displacement, and exploitation. Over the centuries that followed, many Indigenous communities experienced dramatic population losses and significant cultural disruption.

The Americas of 1491 were vastly different from those that would emerge in the centuries after European contact, marking the beginning of a new and transformative chapter in their history.