本文首先叙述了“拉丁美洲”一词的来源,后将美洲土著文明从有记载起,由时间上按地区加以分类,重点描述了拉美的三大土著文明:玛雅(Maya)、阿斯台克(Azteca)和印加(Inca)。最后,将拉美众多的土著民族对世界文明的贡献,尤其是在语言上的贡献,用大量中西文对照的实例加以说明,并指出拉美土著文明是现代欧洲和世界文明的一个组成部分。 This article begins with a description of the origin of the term “Latin America”, which, from the time it is documented and classified by region in time, focuses on the three indigenous civilizations in Latin America: Maya, Azteca and Inca. Finally, the contribution of many indigenous peoples in Latin America to world civilization, especially their linguistic contributions, is illustrated by a large number of examples, both Chinese and English, and shows that Indigenous civilization in Latin America is an integral part of modern European and world civilizations.