NATIVE ARTS OF THE AMERICAS BEFORE 1300 GARDINER 14-3 PP. 387-391

Scholars divide the vast and varied territory of N Scholars divide the vast and varied territory of N. America into cultural regions based on homogeneity of language and social and artistic patterns Eskimo of Alaska Inuit of Canada Maize farmers of the Southwest Eastern woodland farmers NORTH AMERICA

MISSIPIAN The Mississippian culture emerged about 800 CE -> eventually encompassed much of the eastern United States Mound builders Mounds were enlarged and changed over the years Effigy mounds = mounds built in the form of animals or birds

GREAT SERPENT MOUND FLASHCARD #155 Great Serpent Mound, Mississippian, Ohio, ca. 1070 CE, 1200’ long, 20’ wide, 5’ high The largest and best known of the Woodlands effigy mounds Built by the Mississippian culture There are no burials or temples associated with this mound Uncertain of the exact meaning of this work Snakes are important in Mississippian iconography -> the earth and fertility Theory that it could be Halley’ Comet in 1066 GREAT SERPENT MOUND

ANCESTRAL PUEBLOANS (ANASAZI) The Ancestral Puebloans, formerly known as the Anasazi, reached their peak about 1000 CE Master builders known for their pueblos (urban settlements) scattered throughout the Southwest In 1200 due to drought the Ancestral Puebloans abandoned their open- canyon floor sites to move north to steep sided canyons and lusher environment in Mesa Verde in southwestern Colorado

CHACO CANYON, NEW MEXICO

MESA VERDE CLIFF DWELLINGS FLASHCARD #154 Cliff Palace, Ancestral Puebloan, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, ca. 1150-1300 CE Cliff Palace is wedged into sheltered ledge above a valley floor About 200 communal dwellings made of stone and timber -> once plastered inside and out with adobe Kivas = circular semisubterranean structures which once were roofed over and with a ladder through a hole in the roof -> spiritual centers and male council houses