Definition
Indigenous American cosmologies are archaic, integrated worldviews conceived by the ancient and protohistoric peoples of the Americas prior to substantive contact with European peoples in the sixteenth century. The cosmos in these worldviews usually comprises several layered and axially organized realms. Rooted in observation and interaction with nature, these cosmologies portray the primary components of the environment, including the sky, the ground, the subterranean realm, the waters, atmospheric processes, plants, animals, and more, as an integrated system energized and managed by the power of spirits and gods. The structure and order attributed to the cosmos underpins a system of thought that orders the social structure, political mechanisms, the economy, and religious expressions of the community.
Overview
There is no room in the indigenous cosmologies of the Americas for the plurality of worlds and extraterrestrial life. These traditional cosmologies are delineated in...
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References and Further Reading
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Krupp, E.C. (2015). Native American Cosmology and Other Worlds. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44185-5_5222
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44185-5_5222
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