Indigenous Americas1000 BCE – 1980 CE

Enduring Understandings

Among the worlds oldest artistic traditions.“Ancient America” used to categorize are

created before 1550 CE, includes south of current Mexico border.

Content emphasizes unity with natural world, cardinal directions (N,S,E,W), spirituality, cosmic geometry, animal-based media.

Stylistic focus on “essence” of objects rather than appearance.

Enduring Understandings

continued…3 major distinct cultures: Olmec, Maya, AztecCentral Andean cultures parallel the “old”

world, Chavin & Inka were representative cultures.

Andean culture: survival on 3 different environments (mountain/desert coast/rainforest) emphasized trade in exotic materials.

Native American art: mostly ritual objects to wear, carry, or use.

Chavin de HuantarPeru, Chavin People

900-200 BCE

Temple, used for rituals

Religious Capital

Point of pilgrimage

Stone architectural complex

Chavin de HuantarLanzon Stela

Granite

“Blade (spear) Stone”

Only high ranking officials could see this.

Depicts a powerful figure that is part human body/animal claws & fangs.

Possibly acted as an oracle

Chavin de HuantarNose ornament

Hammered gold alloy (jewelry)

Golden jewelry, worn under nose

Worn to make wearer into a supernatural being during ceremonies

2 snake heads on either end

Worn to make wearer into a supernatural being during ceremonies

Mesa Verde cliff dwellingsMontezuma County, Colorado

Anasazi 450-1300 CE3-D structure, building

Housed about 250 people

Sandstone pueblo built into side of cliff

Top ledges stored supplies, keeping things cool & dry.Farming done on plateau above, everything was imported into the structure. Use of Torons (Compare Djenne)

YaxchilanChiapas, MexicoMaya 725 CE

“Structure 40”Limestone

City set on a high terrace, plaza surrounded by important buildings

Mayan CenterFlourished 300-800 CE

Built by ruler Bird Jaguar IV, or his son who dedicated it to him

Carved stone Lintels made site famous

YaxchilanLintel 25, Structure 23

Carved Limestone

Tells part of a story or ritual

Depiction of rituals performed by Shield Jaguar II and his wife

Holding bowl w bloodletting ceremonial items Building dedicated to Lady Xoc, bottom right invoking the Vision serpent to commemorate her husbands rise to throne

YaxchilanStructure 33

Limestone

Temple

Remains of roof comb w/ perforations

Large central room w corbel arch interior

Great Serpent MoundAdams County, Ohio

Mississippian Art1070CE Earthwork/Effigy

mound

Built in effigy shapes, uncertain of meaning. Snakes associated w/crop fertility

Depiction of a serpent effigy, head facing east, tail facing west.

Mark time or seasons, perhaps indicating when to plant or harvest

Temple Mayor Tenochtitlan (Aztec)Mexico City, Mexico 1375-1520 CE

Laid out in grid, seen as center of the world

2 Temples on top, each w/separate staircase.North: God of Rain (Tlaloc) South: God of sun & war(Huitzilopochtli)

Sun rises between the 2 during spring and autumn equinoxes Fires burned on top

Templo Mayora) Coyolxauhqui Stone

Volcanic StoneCarved MonolithRelief Sculpture

Story telling carved stone monolith.(a single stone serving as a monument)

Content & Context..??

Templo Mayorb) Calendar Stone“The Sun Stone”

Basalt Carving

Reflected cyclic nature of time…Very representative of sacrificeSnakes on outer ring “make time happen”

Prophesizing death by earthquakes

Tongue in mouth was anthropomorphic, a flint knife used to slash open victims

https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/ap-art-history/indigenous-americas/v/sun-stone

Templo Mayorc) Olmec Style Mask

JadeiteOlmec Culture 1200-400 BCE

Buried in specific offerings, Looking to honor cultures before them

Polished, upturned lips, baby face, almond eyes, cleft in head

Aztecs collected items from all over, “looking to the past” Reverence for cultures before the Aztec

Rulers Feather Headdress

(probably of Moctezuma II)1428-1520 CE

Feathers(quetzal and blue cotinga) Gold

Part of ritual, part of performance Symbolic of eternity Transforms ruler into something different

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City of CuscoPeru (Inka) 1440 CE

City, geometric standing structures

Historical capital of Inkan Empire Center of existence and reflection of Inka power.

In the shape of puma, royal animal

The “head” is a fortress, the “heart” is a central square

City of Cusco a) Qorikancha (Inka Main Temple)Santo Domingo (Spanish colonial

convent)Sandstone

“Golden House”Shrine of the Inka dedicated to workship the sun

Exemplified walls which tapered upward, Inkan Trapezoidal architecture

Qorikancha was one of many Inka shrines turned into a Christian holy space. The monastery and church of Santo Domingo were built around and on top of the original shrine, incorporating the old structure into the new one

Cusco Cityb) Walls at Saqsa

Wayman(Sacsayhuaman)

Sandstone

Described as a fortress

Placed outside complex of city, at the head of the puma.

Stones are massive, weighing up to 70 tons, taken from quarry 2 miles away.

Maize CobsInka

1440-1533 CESheet metal/repousseGold & silver alloys Repousse:Metalwork hammered into relief from the reverse side. Naturalistic Form

Celebrated Maize in sculptural form

Principal food source in Andes Possibly may have been part of a garden in which full sized sculptures of maize and other items were placed alongside plants, ensuring a successful harvest.

City of Machu PicchuCentral Highlands, PeruInka 1450-1540 CE

GraniteArchitectural Complex

Royal Estate for the first Inka Emporerplace where the Inka emperor and his family could host feasts, perform religious ceremonies, and administer the affairs of empire, while also establishing a claim to land that would be owned by his lineage after his death

City of Machu Picchua) Observatory

“Temple of the Sun”Calculate June Solstice & important constellations

Finely cut masonry, that supports a building w/o use of concrete

a building that embodied cosmological thought

City of Machu Picchub) Intihuatana Stone

“hitching post of the sun”

Carved boulder in ritual area

Name refers to the idea that it was used to track the passage of the sun throughout the year,part of the reckoning of time used to determine when religious events would takeplace and similar to the Observatory.

All-T’oqupu Tunic1450-1540 CE

Camelid fiber & cotton (alpaca)

Color, Pattern, Rhythm,Shape.

Slit in center for head, sides sewn for arms, to be worn T’oqapu are the square geometric motifs that make up the entirety of this tunic. These designs were only allowed to be worn by those of high rank in Inka society T’oquapu are symbolic of indiviuals, places, or events.

Bandolier BagLenape tribe c. 1850Beadwork on leather

Pattern, color, shape, texture, form

Store ammunition cartridges for soldiers

Glass beads, acquired from European traders

Mostly worn by men, created by women.Contrasting colors represent the Celestial/Sky and Underworld realms. The designs on the sash may also be read in relation to the cosmos…branch into the four cardinal directions and the division of the (earthly) realm into four quadrants.

Transformation MaskKwakwaka’wakw

Northeast coast of Canada 19thc CE pronounced Kwak-wak-ah-wak

Worn over head as a part of a complete body costume. Ritual performance

Wearer will usually turn back to audience to conceal the opening action and heighten mystery

Mask is opened, revealing another face inside.

Painted elk hideAttributed to Cotsiogo (Cadzi Cody)

Eastern ShoshoneWind river Reservation, Wyoming1890-1900 CE

Hide Painting natural pigments like red ochre and chalk, and eventually paints and dyes obtained through trade

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Black on Black ceramic vessel

Maria Martinez & Julian MartinezTewa, Puebloan New Mexico20th c CE

Blackware CeramicContrasts shiny/matte black finishes

Maria made the potsJulian painted them

Revival of mythic figures and designs. Exceptional symmetry, walls are even thickness, surfaces are perfect.