Indigenous peoples

The term indigenous peoples has no universal, standard or fixed definition. Several widely-accepted formulations have been put forward by important internationally-recognised organizations, such as the United Nations, the International Labour Organization and the World Bank.

Historical indigenous cultures

The migration, expansion and settlement of societies throughout different territories is a universal, almost defining thread which runs through the entire course of human history. Many of the cross-cultural interactions which arose as a result of these historical encounters involved societies which might properly be considered as indigenous, either from their own viewpoint or that of external societies.

Related Topics:
Migration - Human history

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Most often, these past encounters between indigenous and "non-indigenous" groups lack contemporary account or description. Any assessment or understanding of impact, result and relation can at best only be surmised, using archaeological, linguistic or other reconstructive means. Where accounts do exist, they frequently originate from the viewpoint of the colonizing, expansionary or nascent state.

Related Topics:
Archaeological - Linguistic

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Classical antiquity

Greek sources of the Classical period acknowledge the prior existence of indigenous people(s), whom they referred to as "Pelasgians." These peoples inhabited lands surrounding the Aegean Sea before the subsequent migrations of the Hellenic ancestors claimed by these authors. The disposition and precise identity of this former group is elusive, and sources such as Homer, Hesiod and Herodotus give varying, partially mythological accounts. However, it is clear that cultures existed whose indigenous characteristics were distinguished by the subsequent Hellenic cultures (and distinct from non-Greek speaking "foreigners", termed "barbarians" by the historical Greeks).

Related Topics:
Classical - Pelasgian - Aegean - Hellenic - Homer - Hesiod - Herodotus - Mythological - Barbarian

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European expansion and colonialism

The rapid and extensive spread of the various European powers from the early 15th Century onwards had a profound impact upon many of the indigenous cultures with whom they came into contact. The exploratory and colonial ventures in the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Pacific often resulted in territorial and cultural conflict, and the intentional or unintentional displacement and devastation of the indigenous populations.

Related Topics:
Europe - 15th Century - Exploratory - Americas - Africa - Asia - Pacific

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