African and Native American Contact in Mexico, Central, and South America

Several explanations of the dynamics of contact between Africans and Native Americans in Mexico, Central, and South America can be found in the anthropological, historical, and social scientific literature. This chapter examines the extent of interactions and intermarriage between Africans and Native Americans in these regions. In this chapter I examine, despite explanatory gaps existing in the literature for countries not yet researched, several examples that reveal the nature and source of these interactions. In this chapter I argue that, as in the United States, African and Native American contact must be considered as part of the larger processes of European and Native American contact and African enslavement and displacement to the Western Hemisphere.