Land of Vital Blood: Pre-Columbian America
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrong
00:00
What Is the Diplomatic Sign Language of North America?
In north america, between about 900 a d and 15 hundred a d, when europeans start showing up, we know that these peoples had extremely complex diplomatic protocols. There was a very stron na, ritualized ethic of gift givingo,. People were absolutely expected to present diplomatic gifts when encountering representatives of other groups. And there was also a diplomatic sign language. O, since peoples around north America and the caribbeian basin spoke all sorts of different languages, often unrelated, they needed a reliable way to communicate with one another.
Play episode from 36:59
Transcript
