History

From the times of Ancient Rome and until the 15th century the geographical horizon of the Europeans changed very little and it was only in the end of the 15th century that Spanish, and soon English, ships reached America. Having realized that the area of this inhabited land is almost twice as big as they had thought, the Europeans called it the New World. However, the north-east coast of America was discovered a thousand years ago by Norse captain Leif Ericson (around 1000 AD), but the Norse settlements in America, which they referred to as Vinland were soon abandoned and forgotten. It was approximately at the same time that the Polynesians from the Hawaii Islands reached California where they taught local Indians to make boats of wooden plates. But these navigations were also forgotten. America was re-opened “for good” by Christopher Columbus, a Genovese serving in Spain, in 1492. The continent was named some time later after traveler Amerigo Vespucci.

The European colonization that followed the discovery of America lead to tragic, irreversible consequences in the life of the indigenous population and sufficiently altered the ethnic map of the New World. The contribution of native peoples into the treasury of world civilization turned out to be substantial. It is due to them that we grow potatoes, beans, tomatoes, maize, cocoa, sunflower, marrows, peanuts, fine-stapled cotton and many other, mostly tropical, crops. But this contribution is not limited to agriculture. In American melodies in western style one can trace shaman singing of Selish Indians from West Canada, and images of Disney cartoons in many ways resemble depictions on ancient vessels from West Mexico. 

Yellow Dog. USA. The Dakota. End of 19th c.		Chieg Little Head. USA. The Dakota. End of 19th c.		Rain in the Face. USA. The Dakota. End of 19th c.
Christopher Columbus of America		Dakota man. USA. Mid-to-late 19th cent.		Dakota man. USA. Mid-to-late 19th cent.