art
TY0496
theAmericaschapter15.pptxArt of the Americas Chapter 15
American Areas
Mesoamerica
Extending from Valley of Mexico to Honduras, Belize, and Western Nicaragua
Olmec, Teotihuacan, Mayas
Central America
Mexico
South America
Peru
Paracas, Nazca, Moche
North America
Mississippi, Ohio, Illinois, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida
Mesoamerica multiple cities – unique but connected
Mesoamerica
Location: Valley of Mexico to present day Honduras, Belize, and western Nicaragua
Region ranges in terms of climate, but all developed similarly
Complex system of multiple calendars
260 ritual cycle and 365-day agricultural cycle
Divided into elite and commoner classes
Consists of the Olmecs, Teotihuacan, and the Mayas
Olmecs
Located in the swampy coastal area of present-day Veracruz and Tabasco
Raised earth mounds and constructed ceremonial centers
These centers most likely housed the elite
There are many known centers such as La Venta and San Lorenzo
No form of written language
Highly descriptive arts– showing beliefs
In art, has 3 levels
sky, earth, underworld
Sculpture and ceramics depict humans while taking the form of animals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTuab0SNuPA
Olmecs
Colossal Head, La Venta
900-400 BCE
7’5”
In Mexico
Made of Basalt
Closefitting caps, chin straps, pierced ear
Each is different, possibly suggesting they were of individuals
Colossal Heads from Mesoamerica
Map of Lake Texcoco
with Tenochtitlan
(at left)
Valley of Mexico
c. 1519
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHO7FeYEdpc
Model of the sacred precinct in Tenochtitlan
Templo Mayor (recostruction)
Tenochtitlan 1375–1520 CE
Coatlicue
c. 1500, Mexica (Aztec)
found on the SE edge of the Plaza mayor/Zocalo
in Mexico City
basalt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL7ybY26ZiA
Image published
in Antonio León y
Gama’s 1792 book,
Teotihuacan
About 30 miles northeast of present day Mexico City
Largest city in the Americas between 350-650 CE
population of 200,000
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFmaxZXZeNA
Pyramid of the Sun, Teōtīhuacān. Teōtīhuacān reached its peak from the 1st to the mid-6th century C.E. The main structures include the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, Avenue of the Dead, and the Temple of Quetzalcoatl (feathered serpent). Teotihuacan was home to as many as 125,000 people. The name Teōtīhuacān was given by the Aztecs long after the city had been abandoned in c. 550 CE. The original name is lost.
Teotihuacan
Temple of the Feathered Serpent
The Maya
Preclassic Period, Classic, and Postclassic
Located in tropical rain forest of the Yucatan
Developed hieroglyphic writing and had a sophisticated calendar “Maya Record Keeping”
In favor of low relief carvings
Artists had high status
Yaxchilán lintel 24
structure 23
after 709 CE Maya
limestone
Lady K'abal Xook pulling a thorned rope through her tongue (detail)
Yaxchilán lintel 24 after 709 CE Maya limestone
Shield Jaguar (detail)
Yaxchilán lintel 24 structure 23
after 709 CE
Maya
limestone
Temple of the Inscriptions
Palenque, Maya
5th-8th centuries
Pakal
South America
South America
The Central Andes: (primarily located in Peru and Bolivia)
Development of hierarchical societies with diverse artistic traditions
Area between Andes and Pacific Ocean contains one of the driest deserts in the world
Life depended on Sea and the rivers flowing from Andes
Nazca
Nazca culture dominated the south coast of Peru (200 BCE-600 CE)
Fine fabrics, multicolored pottery-images reminiscent to those of Paracas textiles
Best known for colossal earthworks (geoglyphs)
Geoglyphs drew into the earth, created gigantic light stoned images (such as a hummingbird- next slide)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T9Dam-FuEQ
Nazca
100 BCE- 700 CE
Beak is 120 feet long
Other animals include a whale, monkey, spider, and duck
Also made abstract patterns of straight, parallel lines that extend up to 12 miles
Each geoglyph maintained by a clan
Purpose of them is a mystery
Moche
Moche Lord with Feline
Moche Valley, Peru
c. 100 BC-500 CE
Painted ceramic
7 ½ inches
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1q-KlpSqaI
Machu Picchu, Peru
c. 1450–1540
Stone channel drain
Machu Picchu, Peru
c. 1450–1540
All-T’oqapu Tunic
Inka 1450–1540
camelid fiber and cotton
All-T’oqapu Tunic Inka
1450–1540
camelid fiber and cotton
North America
Great Serpent Mound
Adams County, Ohio c. 1070 CE
1254 feet long
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H54vrQoYgRM
Beaver Effigy Platform Pipe
Found in the Bedford Mound, Pike County, Illinois
Hopewell culture
c. 100-200 CE
Utilizes pipestone, river pearls, and bone
Combined realism with stylized simplification of the animal’s form
The Mississippian Period
This period originated in the Mississippi Valley and occurred approximately from 900 CE to 1700 CE
This era is typified by the construction of large, flat mounds that support a particular structure unlike the burial mounds of the Woodland Period
During this time, the indigenous people were developing a way to make pottery even more durable through the process of shell tempering which prevented the pottery from shrinking and cracking during the drying and firing process
Agricultural advancements led to increased dependence on maize crops while the population growth required a system of government to rule the people via a chiefdom
Mississippians lived in structures built of timber, mud, and thatch, however, the structures were created in a rectangular shape unlike the circular form of the Woodland Period houses
Cahokia
Central Cahokia reconstruction
Collinsville, Illinois.
Mississippian Culture.
c. 1000-1350 CE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIu6Sl7D0fA
Structures Within Cahokia
Monks Mound
Hamatsa Masks
Kwakwaka’wakw Mask
Kwakwaka’wakw potlatch c. 1914
