NATIVE ARTS OF THE AMERICA AFTER 1300 GARDNER 32-1 PP

 Tenochtitlan was the Aztec Capital city, and for the indigenous people who lived there, it was the heart of the Aztec world, and centre of the universe.  This Aztec Capital was a large city, located in a rich economic area, with many water ways and roads leading in and out of it. The Spanish saw this as a prime location, one that could flourish and have rewarding economic growth. The original city, as cited by the Spanish, was divided into quadrants, and built around a mass body of water in Lake Texcoco. These quadrants create a hierarchal concept of space, similar to that of ancient Roman cites, based on politics, social hierarchies, economics, and religion. The Spanish conquest, led by Hernan Cortes, was the cause of Tenochtitlan’s demise in early 16th Century. The destruction of Tenochtitlan led to the entire city being levelled, and Mexico city being placed directly on top of the indigenous Aztec capital.

FLASHCARD #157-1  The Templo Mayor (Spanish for "Great Temple") was one of the main temples of the Aztecs in their capital city of Tenochtitlan, which is now Mexico City.  Its architectural style belongs to the late Postclassic period of Mesoamerica.  The temple was dedicated simultaneously to two gods, Huitzilopochtli, god of war, and Tlaloc, god of rain and agriculture, each of which had a shrine at the top of the pyramid with separate staircases.  The spire in the center of the image in the next slide was devoted to Quetzalcoatl  The Great Temple devoted to Huiztilopochtli and Tlaloc, measuring approximately 100 by 80 m (328 by 262 ft) at its base, dominated the Sacred Precinct.  Construction of the first temple began sometime after 1325, and it was rebuilt six times. The temple was destroyed by Christians in 1521.

Model of the sacred precinct in Tenochtitlan (National Anthropological Museum, Mexico City)

FLASHCARD #157-2  THE COYOLXUAHQUI STONE Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City, Mexico) Mexica (Aztec) Volcanic stone  In Aztec mythology, Coyolxauhqui "Face painted with Bells") was a daughter of Coatlicue and Mixcoatl and is the leader of the Centzon Huitznahuas, the southern star gods. Coyolxauhqui ruled over her brothers, the Four Hundred Southerners, she led them in attack against their mother, Coatlicue, when they learned she was pregnant, convinced she dishonored them all.  The miraculous pregnancy of Coatlicue, the maternal Earth deity, made her other children embarrassed, including her oldest daughter Coyolxauhqui. As Coatlicue swept the temple, a few hummingbird feathers fell into her chest. Coatlicue’s child Huitzilopochtli sprang from her womb in full war armor and killed Coyolxauhqui and her other 400 brothers, who had been attacking their mother. He cut off her limbs, then tossed her head into the sky where it became the moon, so that his mother would be comforted in seeing her daughter in the sky every night.

Templo Mayor stone disk  A large shield-shaped stone relief reflecting this story was found at the base of the stairs of the Templo Mayor.  On this disk, Coyolxauhqui is shown spread out on her side, with her head, arms and legs chopped away from her body.  The orbiting full moon in the stone carving reflects her position as the moon goddess. She is distinguished by bells of eagle down in her hair, a bell symbol on her cheek, and an ear tab showing the Mexica year sign.  As with images of her mother, she is shown with a skull tied to her belt. Scholars also believe that the decapitation and destruction of Coyolxauhqui is reflected in the pattern of warrior ritual sacrifice. First, captives’ hearts were cut out. Then the bodies were cast from the temple. At the bottom of the stairs, near the Coyolxauhqui stone, the bodies were decapitated and dismembered

FLASHCARD #157-3  CALENDAR STONE, Tenochtitlan, (modern Mexico City), Mexica (Aztec), basalt  Circular shape reflects the cyclic nature of time  Place where rituals took place on certain days  Aztecs felt they needed to feed the sun god human hearts and blood regularly  Tongue in the center of the stone coming from the god’s mouth was a sacrificial flint knife used to slash open the victims  Used the Calendar Stone as an altar to sacrifice victims, and then threw them down the steps of the temple to the base where the Coyolxauhqui Stone rests

FLASHCARD #157-4  WATCH THE KHAN ACADEMY VIDEO  OLMEC-STYLE MASK, Tenochtitlan, (modern Mexico City, Mexico), Mexica (Aztec), jadeite  Found on the site of the Templo Mayor  Olmec works have a characteristic frown; pugnacious visage; headdress suggested  Shows that the Aztecs collected and embraced art work from other cultures

FLASHCARD #158  Moctezuma's headdress is a feather work crown which tradition holds belonged to Moctezuma II, the Aztec emperor at the time of the Spanish Conquest. However, its provenance is uncertain, and even its identity as a headdress has been questioned.  It is made of 400 quetzal and other feathers mounted in a base of gold studded with precious stones.  It is now in the Museum of Ethnology, Vienna, and is a source of dispute between Austria and Mexico, as no similar pieces remain in Mexico.  Moctezuma II ( Montezuma, Moteuczoma, Motecuhzoma), c – 29 June 1520, was the ninth tlatoani or ruler of Tenochtitlan, reigning from 1502 to  The first contact between indigenous civilizations of Mesoamerica and Europeans took place during his reign, and he was killed during the initial stages of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, when Conquistador Hernán Cortés and his men fought to escape from the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan. Ruler’s feather headdress, (probably of Motecuhzoma II), Mexica (Aztec), C.E., Feathers (quetzal and continga) and gold