Indigenous Americas Flashcards
The chavin we’re interested in symmetry, plazas, animal and human compositions. In Peru. On a mountain, was a religious pilgrimage site. By a river, must know plan. Lanzón stone: found in Old Temple center of maize hallways. Could represent farming plow or blade because thin. Flat relief sculpture, reason for pilgrimage and acted as Oracle. Morph of jaguar and human. Sculpture: Jaguar face and profiles, snakes on bottom. News ornament: transforms wearer into a supernatural being during ceremonies, for elite men and women. People thought as holy if they worked with metal.
Chavin de Huantar, Northern Highlands Peru, 900 to 200 BCE, stone, granite, hammered gold alloy
The Maya we’re on the Yucatan peninsula, liked pyramids figures of gods writing system and plaza. Chacmool means half sitting and laying. Urban complex with hieroglyphics and relief sculptures. Hidden by river. Structure 40: or looks mean plaza, corbel Arch, has a roof comb that goes over roof to make building appear large. Ruler was called bird Jaguar IV. Lentil 25, structure 23: relief sculpture that shows shield Jaguar’s wife lady xook who structure is for doing blood living ceremony. Looks at vision serpent with two heads, one for warrior and one for war god haloc. Ritual commemorates Ascension of shield Jaguar to throne. Structure 33 built by bird Jaguar IV, restored Temple in center of plaza, figure on roof comb could be bird Jaguar.
Yazchilán, Chipas, mexico, maya, 725 CE, limestone
Anasazi/puebloans means ancient ones, famous for pueblos. All pueblos faced religious and social plaza. built into side of cliff, many clans moved in together for support. Farming done at top of plateau. Rock provides shade and heat during seasons. Kiva is circular gathering room underground. Abandoned after water dried up.
Mesa Verde cliff dwellings, Anasazi, 450 to 1300, sandstone, Montezuma county, Colorado.
Mississippians did mounds and earthworks. Not created all at once changed and evolved over years. effigy mound, represents something. Snake could mean fatality of crops, comet or calendar because head faces summer solstice
Great serpent mound, Adams county, ohio, Mississippian, 1070, earthworks / mound
Aztecs in central Mexico, bloodletting ceremonies. Main temple: blue for rain and agriculture god tlaloc, bed for God of sun and war huitzitu pochiti. Went up with spring and Autumn equinox, rebuilt after destroyed by Spanish. Calendar stone: two calendar systems on stone, aka sunstone and was found on top of Temple. Person was sacrificed with blade, body thrown downstairs blood means happiness. Coyloxauhqui: “she of the golden pells” circular relief. Represents sacrifice, shows goddess killed by her brother a sun god after her mother got pregnant. Her body in Ocean head in sky. Olmec style mask: not normal Aztecs Style, recognizable omac face, offering to appease gods shows value in appreciating previous culture
Templo mayor, tenochiltlan, Mexico, 1378 to 1570, Stone, volcanic Stone, Jadeite, basalt
Made of quetqul feathers and cantinga. 400 feathers with mythological significance. Owned by Montezuma II,last ruler of Aztecs. Brothers signify eternity, given to Cortez to be given to Charlesu for Goodwill and respect. May have been taken forcefully
Rulers feather headdress, mexico, 1478 to 1520, feathers and gold
Inca empire, ashlar masonry. Historical capital of Inca empire. Plan: City light shaped like puma, people made pilgrimages to Cusco. Walls at saqsa waman: sandstone, ashlar masonry don’t holding up wall. Qorukancha and Santo Domingo convent: Old City used as foundations for modern structures after a Spanish invasion. Qorukancha was Temple for sun god, now foundation for San Domingo covenant. In privates, 4 highways meet to connect empire. Bachelor masonry, priest used to study Stars.
City of Cusco, central highlands, Peru, 1440, andesite
Represent technique where you Hammer sheet metal to create texture on reverse side. Maize is important food in Inca culture, use that political feasts. Could have been part of garden for God’s.
Maize cobbs, Inca, 1440 to 1533, sheet metal, metal alloys
Mountain peaks may have represented ancestral deities, retreat for royals, political feast in religious ceremonies. Housing for laborers, terraces for farming. Observatory: ashley, devoted to Sun God and track Sun movements, lines up with summer and winter solstice. Intihuqana stone: pillar aligns with sun at spring and Autumn equinox. When Shadow seen , ceremonies.
Machu Picchu, Central Highlands, peru, Inka, 1450 to 1540, granite
Worn by Incan ruler, alpaca fibers were easily dyed to use on loom. Symbol of loss of power if fabric was cut in multiple places, one slit forehead. Each square called t’oqapu. Picture of story, represents Incan abstraction.
All-T’oqapu tunic, Inca 1450-1450, camelid fiber and cotton
Native American nations, natural resources, nomadic. Europeans create demand for art and bring new materials. Warrant across the shoulder. Indian removal act caused reservations, blend of cultural ideas. Prairie style. Prestigious item worn by men. Beads strung together on fabric, from Europe and shows trade
Bandolier bag, lenape, Delaware tribe, 1850, beadwork on leather
Believe that deceased ancestors roamed Earth and transformed from humans to animals, part of costume. Raven because Ravens are tricksters that provide useful things to humans. Used by upper classes at potlatch event to show wealth. Governments topped because threatened. Mass open up to reveal human ancestral face.
Transformation mask, kwakwaka’wakw, northwest coast of canada, late 19th century, wood, paint, string
After reservation relocation, small nomadic tribes couldn’t travel to hunt and had to make money by selling art to Europeans. Had to change style to conform with consumers. Highlights accomplishments and would have been warned to tell a story. Teepees with pools that reach the spirit world, doors face East greet new day. European pigments, used what westerners think Indians are like to make money. Would not have actually been using bows and arrows, horses, bison. So Sundance and wolf dance. Sundance was out lawed by government
Painted elkhyde, attributed to cotsiogo, Eastern shoshani, wind River reservation, Wyoming, 1890 to 1900, painted Elkhide.
Modern with roots in Southwest pottery making, part of revival. Maria and Julian involved in excavation of puebluence site, saw things first hand. Incorporating ancestral patterns in glazing on pottery. Western influence on manufacturing makes them more decorative than utilitarian. Art deco influence, pinch pot method. Maria sculpted Julian painted.
Black on black ceramic vessel, Maria and Julian Martinez, puebloan, San lldefonso pueblo, New Mexican, MID 20th century, black wear ceramic
