The

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

peoples of South America or South American Indigenous peoples, are the

pre-Colombian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the Migration to the New World, original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization of the Americas, European colonization, w ...

peoples of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

and their descendants. These peoples contrast with South Americans of European ancestry and those of African descent. In Spanish, Indigenous people are often referred to as ''indígenas'' or ''pueblos indígenas'' (lit. Indigenous peoples). They may also be called ''pueblos nativos'' or ''nativos'' (lit. Native peoples). The term ''aborigen'' (lit. aborigine) is used in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and ''pueblos aborígenes'' (lit. aboriginal peoples) is commonly used in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. The English term "Amerindian" (short for "Indians of the Americas") is often used in

the Guianas The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories: * French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France * ...

Latin Americans Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-et ...

of mixed European and Indigenous descent are usually referred to as

mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...

s (Spanish) and

mestiço Mestiço is a Portuguese term that referred to persons born from a couple in which one was an aboriginal person and the other a European. Mestiço community in Brazil in Colonial Brazil, it was initially used to refer to , persons born from ...

s (Portuguese). While those of mixed African and Indigenous ancestry are referred to as

zambos Zambo ( or ) or Sambu is a racial term historically used in the Spanish Empire to refer to people of mixed Indigenous and African ancestry. Occasionally in the 21st century, the term is used in the Americas to refer to persons who are of mixe ...

. It is believed that the first human populations of South America either arrived from

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

into

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

via the

Bering Land Bridge Beringia is defined today as the land and maritime area bounded on the west by the Lena River in Russia; on the east by the Mackenzie River in Canada; on the north by 72 degrees north latitude in the Chukchi Sea; and on the south by the tip of ...

and migrated southwards or alternatively from

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

across the Pacific. The earliest generally accepted archaeological evidence for human habitation in South America dates to 14,000 years ago, the

Monte Verde Monte Verde is an archaeological site in the Llanquihue Province in southern Chile, located near Puerto Montt, Southern Chile, which has been dated to as early as 18,500 cal BP (16,500 BC). Previously, the widely accepted date for early occu ...

site in Southern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. The descendants of these first inhabitants would become the indigenous populations of South America. Before the

Spanish colonization of the Americas Spain began colonizing the Americas under the Crown of Castile and was spearheaded by the Spanish . The Americas were invaded and incorporated into the Spanish Empire, with the exception of Brazil, British America, and some small regions ...

, many of the indigenous peoples of South America were

hunter-gatherer A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...

s and indeed many still are, especially in the Amazonian area. Others, especially the Andean cultures, practised sophisticated

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

, utilized advanced irrigation and kept domesticated livestock, such as

llama The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with othe ...

s and

alpaca The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. It is similar to, and often confused with, the llama. However, alpacas are often noticeably smaller than llamas. The two animals are closely related and can successfu ...

s. In the present day, there are two South American countries where indigenous peoples constitute the largest ethnic group. These are Peru, where 45% are indigenous and Bolivia, where 62% of people identify as feeling a part of some indigenous group. South American indigenous peoples include: *

Indigenous peoples in Argentina Argentina has 35 indigenous groups (often referred to as Argentine Amerindians or Native Argentines) according to the Complementary Survey of the Indigenous Peoples of 2004, the Argentine government's first attempt in nearly 100 years to recogni ...

Indigenous peoples in Bolivia Indigenous peoples in Bolivia, or Native Bolivians, are Bolivian people who are of indigenous ancestry. They constitute anywhere from 40 to 70% of Bolivia's population of 11,306,341, depending on different estimates, and belong to 36 recognized ...

Indigenous peoples in Brazil Indigenous peoples in Brazil ( pt, povos indígenas no Brasil) or Indigenous Brazilians ( pt, indígenas brasileiros, links=no) once comprised an estimated 2000 tribes and nations inhabiting what is now the country of Brazil, before European con ...

Indigenous peoples in Chile Indigenous peoples in Chile or Native Chileans form about 10% of the total population of Chile. According to the 2012 census, 2,000,000 people declare having indigenous origins. Most Chileans are of partially indigenous descent, and the term an ...

Indigenous peoples in Colombia Indigenous peoples of Colombia, are the ethnic groups who have inhabited Colombia since before the European colonization, in the early 16th century. According to the last census, they comprise 4.4% of the country's population, belonging to 115 ...

* Indigenous peoples in Ecuador *

Indigenous peoples in French Guiana Population According to INSEE the population of French Guiana was 268,700 as of January 1, 2017. The population is very young: 44% are below the age of 20, while only 1.7% are 75 years or older. The age distribution is a reflection of the high f ...

Indigenous peoples in Guyana Indigenous peoples in Guyana, Native Guyanese, or Amerindian Guyanese are Guyanese people who are of indigenous ancestry. They comprise approximately 9.16% of Guyana's population. Amerindians are credited with the invention of the canoe, as well ...

Indigenous peoples in Paraguay Indigenous peoples in Paraguay, or Native Paraguayans, include 17 ethnic groups belonging to five language families." ...

Indigenous peoples in Peru The Indigenous peoples of Peru, or Native Peruvians, comprise a large number of ethnic groups who inhabit territory in present-day Peru. Indigenous cultures developed here for thousands of years before the arrival of the Spanish in 1532. In 2017 ...

Indigenous peoples in Suriname Indigenous peoples in Suriname, Native Surinamese, or Amerindian Surinamese, are Surinamese people who are of indigenous ancestry. They comprise approximately 3.5% of Suriname's population of 612,985. Contemporary groups * Akurio, Tapanahoni and ...

Indigenous peoples in Uruguay Indigenous peoples in Uruguay or Native Uruguayans, are the peoples who lived in the modern state of Uruguay. Because of colonial practices, disease and active exclusion, only a very small share of the population is aware or knows of indigenous a ...

Indigenous peoples in Venezuela Indigenous people in Venezuela, Amerindians or Native Venezuelans, form about 2% of the total population of Venezuela,Van Cott (2003), "Andean Indigenous Movements and Constitutional Transformation: Venezuela in Comparative Perspective", ''Latin A ...

References

External links

ATLILLA – Association for Teaching and Learning Indigenous Languages of Latin America
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indigenous Peoples In South America - Ethnic groups in French Guiana Indigenous peoples in French Guiana

See also

References

External links