Ancient Meso- America By Sarah Breckenridge, Sophie Jardine, Mariam Syed, and Jaime DiDonato

BIG IDEAS: Art of the Indigenous Americas -Regions and cultures are referred to as the Indigenous Americas to signal the priority of First Nations cultural traditions over those of the colonizing and migrant peoples -art developed between c. 10,000 B.C.E. and 1492 C.E. (until europeans invaded) -Ancient Meso-america = what is now Mexico (from Mexico City southward), Guatemala, Belize, and western Honduras from 15,000 B.C.E. to 1521 C.E. (until the time of the Mexica (Aztec) downfall) -Meso-American culture included: -calendars -pyramidal stepped structures -sites and buildings oriented in relation to sacred mountains and celestial phenomena -highly valued green materials, such as jadeite and quetzal feathers -Ancient Central Andes = present- day southern Ecuador, Peru, western Bolivia, and northern Chile -Central Andes culture included: -an emphasis on surviving and interacting with the challenging environments -reciprocity and cyclicality (rather than individualism) -reverence for the animal and plant worlds

BIG IDEAS -Despite underlying similarities, there are key differences between the art of Ancient America and Native North America with respect to: -dating -environment -cultural continuity from antiquity to the present -sources of information -Colonization by different European groups (Catholic and Protestant) laid out distinct modern political situations for Amerindian survivors. -Persecution, genocide, and marginalization have shaped current identity and artistic expression -disease and genocide practiced by the European invaders and colonists reduced the Native American population by as much as 90 percent -Native Americans today maintain their cultural identity and uphold modern versions of ancient traditions in addition to creating new art forms as part of the globalized contemporary art world

Main Idea The art of Mesoamerican culture reflects its strong sense of tradition, evident self-pride, and the various forms of suffering it endured.

Chav í n de Huántar Functioning primarily as a religious center, Chavín de Huántar became an increasingly complex society, with a robust economy, social classes, job specialization, and an elite group of rulers. Between 500 and 200 B.C.E. the Chavín people made remarkable innovations in religion, the arts, engineering, architecture, and trade, and their advancements spread to other cultures throughout the Central Andes. The Chavín cult was responsible for uniting a large part of the region for the first time. The cultural influence of the Chavín helped the entire Central Andes region take a large step toward true civilization. Northern highlands, Peru, Chavin B.C.E- Stone, granite, and hammered gold alloy

Mesa Verde- Cliff Dwellings The cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde are some of the most notable and best preserved in the North American Continent. Sometime during the late 1190s, after primarily living on the mesa top for 600 years, many Ancestral Puebloans began living in pueblos they built beneath the overhanging cliffs. The structures ranged in size from one- room storage units to villages of more than 150 rooms. While still farming the mesa tops, they continued to reside in the alcoves, repairing, remodeling, and constructing new rooms for nearly a century. By the late 1270s, the population began migrating south into present-day New Mexico and Arizona. By 1300, the Ancestral Puebloan occupation of Mesa Verde ended. Montezuma County, Colorado, Anasazi C.E.- Sandstone.

Yaxchilán Yaxchilan was a large urban center and the dominant power of the Usumacinta River during the Classic Era. It was built on the curve of the Usumacinta River which proved a natural moat for protection. The settlement existed from 350 A.D. to 850 A.D. with the height of its power ranging from 650 A.D. to 800 A.D. There are more than 120 structures in the central area of Yaxchilan that make up three complexes: the Great Plaza, located in the lower part parallel to the river; the Grand Acropolis; and the Small Acropolis. All of these areas are skillfully adapted to the contours of the low limestone hills and attach to each other with the use of terraces, stairways, and platforms. Highly decorated temples, pyramids, and luxurious palaces clustered along the grand plaza extend along the shores of the Usumacinta River. The highlight of the buildings are the stelae, lintels, alters, stairs, bas-relief stucco carvings, and mural paintings. Almost every building has a doorway decorated with carved lintels that tell a story through some of the best preserved carvings in the Mayan world. The ancient name for the city was Pa’ Chan meaning “broken sky” but the Mayan name, Yaxchilán, means “green stones.” Today, some Lacandon Maya still make pilgrimages to Yaxchilan to carry out rituals to the Maya gods. Chiapas, Mexico, Maya. 725 C.E.- limestone

Machu Picchu-Peru Machu Picchu is often described as “mysterious,” but in fact a great deal is known about its construction and purpose. It was built as a royal estate for the first Inka emperor, Pachacuti Inka Yupanqui, in the middle of the 15th century, on a mountain saddle overlooking the Urubamba River (in modern day Peru). The location was approximately three days’ walk from the Inka capital of Cusco, and nearly 3,000 feet lower in elevation (7,972 feet / 2,430 meters), with a pleasant climate. It was intended as a place 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. The site was chosen and situated for its relationship to the Andean landscape, including sight lines to other mountain peaks, called apus, which have long been considered ancestral deities throughout the Andes. The site contains housing for elites, retainers, and maintenance staff, religious shrines, fountains, and terraces, as well as carved rock outcrops, a signature element of Inka art.

Great Serpent Mound Adams County, southern Ohio. Mississippian (Eastern Woodlands). c C.E. Earthwork/effigy mound Largest serpent effigy (representation). · Made by the Native American cultures along the fertile lands of the Mississippi, Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri Rivers · This serpent was 3000 long No really known why it was created Hypothesis include could of been used to mark the seasons or align with the solstices some think it could represents the sun most people thought that snakes have supernatural powers

Templo Mayor (Main Temple) Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City, Mexico). Mexica (Aztec). 1375–1520 C.E. Main temples in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan · Dedicated to two gods Huitzilophochtil (god of war) and Tlaloc (god of ran and agriculture) (both have their own temple on the top) · In the center of the city · The temple is divided into four main quadrants to represent the Mexico cosmos · The two deities parried together represent the Mexica concept of atl-tlachinolli, or burnt water, which connoted warfare—which is how the Mexica people acquired their empire · Offers here were used as tribute · After the Spanish conquest the temple was destroyed · The stones were used to build a cathedral

Coyolxauhqui Stone · Monolith · Figure coyolxauhqui (on the H side) · Base of the stairs · Dismembered part (decapitated) · Bones coming out of the legs · Naked · She is thrown off the mountain

Olmec Mask · One of the offerings was the Olmec mask · This was made of jadeite · This was made way before the Mexica · From Olmec culture (thriving 1500 years before the Aztecs) gulf of Mexico · Looking back to the Olmecs

Calendar Stone Modern day emblem of mexican culture · Rays emulating out · Placed on the ground · Unfinished · Ear spools · Tonatiuh (sun god) · Creation of the various suns (eras)

Ruler’s Feather Headdress (probably of Motecuhzoma II Mexica (Aztec). 1428–1520 C.E. Feathers (quetzal and cotinga) and gold. Replica à in Vienna( sent to Vienna by Cortés who defeated the Aztecs) · Overwhelmed by the beauty especially by the feathers à sent it backà nothing like it in Spain · Quetzal tail feathers only find in Central America (costa Rica) tribute items sent by to (bird only has two three tail feathers) · Long- distance trade o This would be tribute to Tenochitlan o Luxury items · Feathers part of a costume (part of rituals) · Costumes are importance o Able to transform the ruler o Your identity becomes less importance o Pure gold ornaments o People who made this (feather workers) highly regarded o After Cortes got it this becomes a type of artistic practiceà turns form headdress to Christian iconography

Qorinkancha- Santo Domingo Temple At the heart of hurin Cusco was the Qorikancha (“Golden House”), the most sacred shrine of the Inka, dedicated to the worship of the sun. While the Inka had many gods, they claimed descent from the sun, whom they called Inti, and held the sun’s worship above all others. The Qorikancha was the center point of the empire, and from it radiated imaginary lines, called ceques, which connected it to shrines throughout the Cusco valley. Rebecca Stone refers to the ceques as a “landscape calendar and cosmogram,” as the shrines were also a marker of time, with different noble families tending to and holding rituals at the shrines around the cequesystem throughout the year.

City of Cusco At the breath-taking elevation of 11,200 feet (roughly 3,400 m), the city of Cusco was not just the capital of Tawantinsuyu (“Land of the Four Quarters,” the Inka name for their empire in their native language, Quechua). It was an axis mundi—the center of existence—and a reflection of Inka power. The city was divided into two sections, hanan (upper or high) andhurin (lower), which paralleled the social organization of Inka society into upper and lower moieties (social divisions). Cusco was further divided into quarters that reflected the four divisions of the empire, and people from those sections inhabited their respective quarters of the city. In this way, the city was a map in miniature of the entire Inka empire, and a way for the Inka rulers to explicitly display their power to shape and order that empire. Some scholars think that the city was deliberately laid out so that it was shaped like a puma, symbol of Inka might, but this is still under debate. Saqsa Wayman looks down on the city of Cusco from the northwest. The structure, with its zig-zagging walls, is described as a fortress, although there are still many questions as to how it functioned in that capacity, and the purpose of some of its features is debated. It is possible that it was never finished, or that parts of it were left incomplete at the time of conquest, as Jean-Pierre Protzen has proposed. The stones used to construct it were much larger than those used in the streets and houses of Cusco, as can be seen in the photo at left. The stones were quarried and hauled into place using considerable manpower, obtained through themit’a, or labor tax, that all able-bodied people of the empire owed the Inka.

Bandolier bag. Lenape (eastern Delaware) tribe. c C.E. Beadwork on leather. -based on bags carried by European soldiers armed with rifles -vary in style across the regions and cultures of Meso-America -This specific bag was found along the Delaware River and originated in the Lenape tribe -Bandolier Bags are often large in size and decorated with a wide array of colorful beads and ribbons -worn as a cross-body bag--with a thick strap crossing the chest to allow it to rest on the hip -typically produced by women -used trade cloth, made from cotton or wool -often possible to see the exposed unembroidered trade cloth underneath the cross-body strap

Transformation mask. Kwakiutl, Northwest coast of Canada. Late 19th century C.E. Wood, paint, and string. (2 images) -usually an animal changing into a mythical being or one animal becoming another -Masks are worn by dancers during ceremonies, they pull strings to open and move the mask -wooden frame and netting that held the mask on the dancer’s head -When the cords are pulled, the eagle’s face and beak split down the center, and the bottom of the beak opens downwards, giving the impression of a bird spreading its wings -moments of transformation come from various myths and legends -color palette of mostly red, blue-green, and black -These transformation masks speak to the MesoAmerican spiritual culture and creativity.

Hide painting of Sun Dance. Attributed to Cotsiogo (Cadzi Cody), Eastern Shoshone, Wind River Reservation, Wyoming. c. 1890–1900 C.E. Painted elk hide. -painting on animal hides was a long-lasting tradition of the Great Basin and Great Plains people of the US -in tandem with oral tradition- functioned as record keeping -used elk, deer, or buffalo hides and natural pigments like red ochre and chalk -eventually paints and dyes obtained through trade -Cotsiogo’s hide displays elements of several different dances- the Sun Dance and the Wolf Dance -The Sun Dance surrounds a not-yet-raised buffalo head between two poles (or a split tree), with an eagle above it -Men dressed in feather bustles and headdresses—not to be confused with feathered war bonnets—dance around the poles, which represents the Grass Dance. With their arms akimbo and their bodies bent, Cotsiogo shows these men in motion. Men participating in this sacred, social ceremony refrained from eating or drinking.

Black-on-black ceramic vessel. Maria Martínez and Julian Martínez, Tewa, Puebloan, San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico. c. mid-20th century C.E. Blackware ceramic. -Maria and Julian Martinez pioneered a style of applying a matte-black design over polished-black -design was based on pottery sherds found on an Ancestral Pueblo dig site dating to the twelfth to seventeenth centuries -The Martinezes worked at the site, with Julian helping the archaeologists at the dig and Maria helping at the campsite -In the 1910s, Maria and Julian worked together to recreate the black- on-black ware they found at the dig, experimenting with clay from different areas and using different firing techniques -they discovered that smothering the fire with powdered manure removed the oxygen while retaining the heat and resulted in a pot that was blackened -less hard and not entirely watertight -The areas that were burnished had a shiny black surface and the areas painted with guaco were matte designs based on natural phenomenon, such as rain clouds, bird feathers, rows of planted corn, and the flow of rivers