Encounters with the Americas explores the native cultures of Latin America before and after 1492, when the first voyage of Christopher Columbus initiated dramatic worldwide changes.

Encounters considers sixteenth-century native responses to military and religious missions, the introduction of new plants and animals, and the tragic toll of new diseases.

Exploring the unique, pre-1492 civilizations, exemplified by the Classic Maya and Postclassic Aztec, Encounters presents the continuing struggle of contemporary Maya, Panamanian Kuna, and Amazonian native groups to maintain their values and autonomy. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue, available from Peabody Museum Press.