Red designs on black background with hand painted figures. Cylindrical shaped Mayan vase. Measures 7 1/8" height x 5 1/2" diameter (18cm x 13.9cm). The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during the Early Modern period. While the phrase "pre-Columbian era" literally refers only to the time preceding Christopher Columbus's voyages of 1492, in practice the phrase usually is used to denote the entire history of American indigenous cultures until those cultures were conquered or significantly influenced by Europeans, even if this happened decades or even centuries after Columbus's initial landing.