INDIGENOUS AMERICAS INDIGENOUS AMERICAN ART

INDIGENOUS AMERICAS Indigenous Americas Great Serpent Mound, Southern Ohio. Mississippian (Eastern Woodlands). c Earthwork / effigy mound. Serpent Mound is a man-made earthwork in the shape of a long, uncoiling serpent nearly 1,200 feet long and about 5 feet high. Created between AD for unknown purposes, it is now protected in a state park in Ohio. Two different cultures contributed to the Serpent Mound site. The earliest is the Adena people, who lived in this area from about the 6th century BC to the early 1st century AD. Based on stone axes and other artifacts, we know that the Adena built the two conical burial mounds near the serpent. Other Adena burial mounds in the area indicate that they buried their dead in log tombs or clay-lined basins; important individuals were painted in red ocher and buried with valuable grave goods.

INDIGENOUS AMERICAS Indigenous Americas Walls of Saqsa Waman (Sacsayhuaman), City of Cusco, Central highlands, Peru. Inka. C Sandstone. Inca architecture includes some of the most finely worked stone structures from any ancient civilization. Sacsayhuaman is a walled fortress complex on the northern outskirts of the city of Cusco, Peru, the former capital of the Inca Empire. Like many Inca constructions, the complex is made of large polished dry stone walls, with boulders carefully cut to fit together tightly without mortar. For example, the zig-zag walls at Saqsa Waman create triangular shadows which seem to mirror the shadows created by the mountain peaks in the background.

INDIGENOUS AMERICAS Indigenous Americas Walls of Saqsa Waman (detail), Central highlands, Peru. Inka. C Sandstone. This stone has 12 angles and illustrates the great precision Inca masons employed in ensuring their stone blocks fitted so well together that no mortar was needed. (15th century CE).

INDIGENOUS AMERICAS Indigenous Americas Temple of the Stun (Observatory), Machu Picchu. Peru. Inka. c Granite. Machu Picchu is also known as the “City within the clouds” because it is located high in the Andes. Its location provided unobstructed view of astronomical phenomenon. The Intihuatana Stone, the Temple of the Sun and the Room of the Three Windows are three structures in the citadel of Machu Picchu that the Incas built in order to observe celestial events. These structures were dedicated to the greatest deity, the Sun or Inti. Buildings and windows were strategically placed in order to observe astronomical events of importance to the Incas. These observations served to predict changes of season and were used as an agricultural calendar. For survival these events had to be carefully tracked.

INDIGENOUS AMERICAS Indigenous Americas Temple of the Sun (Observatory), Machu Picchu. Peru. Inka. c Granite.

INDIGENOUS AMERICAS Indigenous Americas Transformation mask. Kwakiutl, Northwest coast of Canada. Late 19 th century. Wood, paint, and string. A transformation mask is a large mask with movable parts that can be opened and closed. These complex masks are worn by Kwakiutl dancers in special ceremonies. The use of transformation masks is rooted in ancient Kwakiutl traditions. According to Kwakiutl creation stories, there was once a time when birds, fish, animals and humans differed only in skin covering and had the ability to transform themselves at will. All living beings were unified and animals could take on human form, just as humans could become animals, birds, fish, and mythical creatures. According to Kwakiutl belief, when dancers are wearing these masks, they are transformed into the spirits represented on the mask.