The first western images of native americans: between medieval tradition and the beginnings of modern anthropology

Abstract

Europeans initiated contact with the American Indians upon arriving in the New World, and they quickly began to portray them. This article analyzes Western images of Native American populations from the first image made in 1493 until the mid-sixteenth century, when travelers to the New World started to become responsible for their artistic creations, which were used as testaments to own experiences. Throughout this period of time the image of the American Indian evolved from an initial dependence on the iconographic (and legendary) repertoire of the Middle Ages towards a more scientific look that we could describe as anthropological.