Mesoamerica includes southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and parts of Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Coil Pots of the: Aztecs Mayans Olmec Chavín Nazca

Nazca Pottery of Ancient Peru Nazca Culture is known by many, thanks to the colorful ceramics that were found at the many cemeteries located along the banks of the Nazca River. The curiousness of these vessels is that they show in a very realistic way the ancient world of the Nazca men, showing mainly their everyday life, animals, plants, birds, and gods, stylized creatures, including zoomorphic and anthropomorphic designs that sometimes reach more than ten colors in just one vessel. The best examples of these Nazca ceramics can be seen today in museums . Killer Whale, Nasca Culture, Larco Museum. Lima, Perú

Peru Vessel 100 – 600 A.D. Earthenware with pigment

Nazca pottery is known for: Round, oval or egg shapes Visual themes of everyday life, aminals, birds and plants Painted on designs that repeat subject-matter but leave room for a more pictorial representation

Aztec Coil Pottery The Aztecs took pride in creating a variety of beautiful pottery. Other nations from around the lands often traded for the prized Aztec pottery. They made everything from small simple bowls to tall jars that were heavily decorated and painted.

White-ware from around 600 A.D.

Aztec pottery is known for: Geometric shapes that are intricately drawn, with repeating patterns Colors of red, orange, black and white Clay was used to make household items, earrings, masks and sculptures

Chavin Pottery

Chavin Pottery is known for : Raised smooth designs that are organic or geometric repeated patterns Backgrounds of texture A stirrup spout Earth toned colors

Olmec Pottery

Olmec Pottery is known for : Carved designs Smooth backgrounds Extremely thin walls and rims Earth toned colors

Mayan Coil Pottery The ceramics of the Maya consisted of various cylindrical vases, bowls, and shallow flat-bottomed plates with flaring sides. The Mayan ceramic artist used the coil building technique to create their vessels. Maya artisans were primarily concerned with religious, daily life and historical themes. Maya artisans used hieroglyphics and abstract symbolism along with images of humans and animals. Maya artists conveyed perspective and a sense of movement while depicting such activities as rituals, warfare, and scenes of everyday life.

Late Classic codex plate from Chaak.

Guatemala Late Classic, AD 550-950 Highly decorated ceremonial vessel on low ring base, the pictorial field decorated with two seated chiefs holding bowls, the panels separated by slanted columns with geometric design; painted in bright shades of red-orange and black on a white-cream ground, the interior a reddish brown.

The upper register in this vase displays a band of pseudo-glyphs or false writing. The pictorial part of this vase shows a character with his body painted black, holding a spear in one hand and a package in the other. He may or may not be related to the deity known to scholars as God M, the merchants' patron, who is also always depicted with a black-painted body.

This beautiful example of a codex-style vessel (so called because of the resemblance to codex pages) was found in an elite tomb in the Southern Campeche site of Calakmul. It displays an image of the Maize God being born from a seed. The upper band is a typical example of a Primary Standard Sequence, typically stating the use of the vessel and sometimes its owner and/or author. The lower band displays water imagery, typical of allusions to the Underworld.

Mayan Pottery is known for : Thin walls Painted pictorial designs The use of hieroglyphics to tell history Cylindrical forms Colors include red, black, orange, brown