Pre-Columbian Americas Flashcards
Colossal Head, San Lorenzo, Mexico. Olmec culture, c. 1200-900 BCE
basalt, 7’5” high, monumental sculpture, material quarried and transported; 10 at San Lorenzo, from 5’ to 12’- high, 5-20 tons each
all adult males- (patriarchal society) caps w/chin straps; large, round earspools; almond-shaped eyes; flat, broad noses; thick, protruding lips; down-turned mouths
oversized character of iconic portrait, abstracted, like Portrait of Constantine (315-330 CE)
Bloodletting Ritual, Fragment of a fresco from Teotihuacan, Mexico, Teotihuacan culture, c. 550-650
found in domestic interiors; fresco- pigment on lime plaster
spiritual & ritual activities to ensure gods satiated, usually through bloodletting, revitalize earth by giving blood back to it
style: flat, angular, abstract, often procession of similar figures in rows, seen in profile; colors: either bright polychrome or monochromatic red
bloody maguey (agave americana) plant- spires for bloodletting- canine headdress + quetzal bird feathers- high status- blood from R hand, from mouth, chants
Shield Jaguar and Lady Xok, Lintel 24. Yaxchilan, Mexico. Maya culture, 725.
Mayan sculpture is of elites, not gods
stelae- low relief, logographs identify figures & scene- Lady Xok- wife/queen of Shield Jaguar the Great (681-742)- like stelae from Amarna Period in Egypt- Akhenaten & Nefertiti
bloodletting ritual to maintain rule and continue human life, satisfy gods- torch held by King (with headgear of shrunken human head victim) illuminates at night, kneeling queen, queen pulls rope of thorns through perforated tongue, required of royalty
like Egypt- shown in profile AND frontally
Earth Drawing Of A Hummingbird, Nazca Plain, Southwest Peru. Nazca culture, c. 1-700
Nazca- known for woven fabrics, multicolored pottery, geoglyphs (Earth drawings)
massive designs/motifs- produced on ground, involved removal of dark, oxidized stones, exposing light underlying stones
often animals: killer whale, monkey, spider, duck- up to 12 miles long- ceremonial pathways? like Stonehenge? When walk pathway prepare psychologically for going from area of living to area of dead
Pyramid of the Sun, Teotihuacan, c. 100-650 (Huaca del Sol)
adobe brick construction- sun baked blocks of clay mixed with straw- worship of Sun, Sun god
1,100’ long X 500’ wide X 59’ high
Spanish diverted river nearby to mine gold in burials which cause damage to structure
originally brightly painted polychromed; exterior stucco with reliefs of deities, captives, warriors; stone stairway led from level to level, pyramids enlarged several times
part of complex- major urban center, city designed around grid with “apartment compounds” and Avenue of the Dead (Aztec term); became pilgrimage center for Aztecs who believed sun and moon created here
Earspool, from Sipan, Peru. Moche culture, c. 300
from tomb of warrior priest
earspool worn by elite, approx. 3”- gold, turquoise, quartz, shell- of 3 Moche warriors, also w/ earspools, headdresses resemble sacrificial knifes used in blood ritual- ritual involves sacrifice of captured prisoners; Moche lords and ladies assume roles of Warrior Priest, Bird Priest or Priestess; used crescent-shaped knife to slice victim’s throat, then drink blood
crescent-shaped nose ornament also found with removable gold club/shield, necklace of owl’s head beads; shows what Moche wore, how carried out rituals
Calendar Stone, Mexico, Aztec, c. 1500
complex calendar system- calendar dates destruction of 4 previous eras; end of each period of 52 years considered dangerous- required fire-lighting ritual (like Egyptians)- and bloodletting, human sacrifices to ensure continued rising of sun
Sun god (as night sun in underworld), with clawed hands, flint tongue of earth gods
cartouches: 4 previous suns destroyed= 4 previous eras
Aztec symbol for sun
20 day signs- 260 days of ritual calendar- bottom-2 fire serpents encircle calendar where heads meet- human faces emerge from mouths
Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, c. 830-1250
largest of pueblos- multi-storied buildings- 30 square miles, 9 great houses/pueblos- Pueblo Bonito is largest, “D” shape, built in stages, 800 rooms, 5 stories
shape makes it defensible, 32 kivas= circular rooms/pits for ceremonies/rituals- cooler areas- like earlier submerged pit houses
indentation of floor directly below ladder= “navel of the earth” where ancestors emerged from; roof=meeting place; Pueblo Bonito links to 70 other communities; also pilgrimage site for whole region
Hunter’s Mural, Nine Mile Canyon, Utah. Fremont people, 800-1300
Petroglyph- pecked/engraved, scraped through layer of varnish created through millenia of rainwater- reveals lighter stone underneath
hunter w/ bow & arrow on flock of bighorn sheep, armless figure w/horned headdress mingles w/ animals- shaman?
like cave paintings of hunters taunting deer in Neolithic Turkey- interpretation-assure survival of herds, humans had animal ancestors, images had magical properties, rituals/dance, bring beast under control of man? Unknown- animals depicted not primary food source, no written record of people
The Goddess Coatlicue, Mexico. Aztec, c. 1500
Aztec sculptures= monumental, powerful; 8’6’, basalt, over life-sized goddess
Coatlicue= “she of the serpent skirt”
Coatlicue is mother of Huitzilopochtli (sun & war god); moon and stars conspire to kill him- but H. emerges fully grown (like Athena from brow of Zeus), armed, and kills moon goddess
Mother dies, decapitated- Serpents (symbols of gushing blood) emerge from neck stump- fangs, eyes form face; around neck stump- necklace of human hands, hearts, dangling skull= representations of death
leans forward, looming over viewer, originally brightly polychromed
blocky angularity of Mayan sculpture- but Aztec’s subject is gods, not elite
A View of the World, Page from Codex Fejervary-Mayer. Mexico. Aztec or Mixtec, c. 1400-1519
paint on animal hide, each page 6 7/8” X 6 7/8”
Mesoamerican codex unlike Near East/European- screenfold/accordion-pleated-each page connected to 2 others adjacent= flexibility of viewing- 2 pages, unfold to 6 or 8, juxtapose different sections
important in showing Mesoamerican cosmology- 5 key directions- NSEW + center
Xiuhtecuhtli- god of fire, time, calendar in center- each cardinal direction has own color, god, tree
260 dots- trace path- Mesoamerican divinity calendar- sacrifice to different gods, use different colors- ensure world existence
unity of space/time in Mesoamerican worldview
Machu Picchu, Peru, Inca, 1450-1530
Built as warmer, lower-altitude summer royal retreat for Inca to support personnel (servants, soldiers, courtiers) who served him, like Louis XIV’s Versailles
9000’ above sea level, between two peaks, everything survives in city except perishable wood & thatch roofs- great example of Inca domestic design and remains popular tourist destination to today
Inca- linguistically & ethnically diverse empire held together w/religion, efficient bureaucracy, and labor taxation
Feathered basket, California. Pomo culture, c. 1877
willow, brush, fern, feather, shells, glass beads; 5.5” tall, 12” diameter; clamshell/woodpecker quail feathers decorative, used for ritual not domestic
coiling- sewn together, spiraling foundation of rods
prized possession- cremated with individual at death
basket weaving tied to Pomo cosmology- earth dark, then ancestral hero stole sun, brought to earth and keeps moving it, why sun moves
Battle Scene, Hide Painting, North Dakota. Mandan, 1797-1800
Men painted hides to show exploits, earliest given to Lewis & Clark
tanned buffalo hide, dyed porcupine quills, & red, green, yellow, brown pigment; 7’10” x 8’6”; battle scenes w/ multiple figures on horses, led by man w/eagle feather headdress and pipe=chief
horses shown in profile, stick legs, C-shaped hooves; men= torsos, heads fleshed out- stick arms and legs
worn draped around shoulders of warrior, recording his deeds, moves as wearer moves
Grizzly Bear House-partition Screen, From the house of Chief Shakes of Wrangell, Canada. Tlingit people. 1840
carved & painted partitions separating chief’s quarters from rest of family, often in form of ancestral animal
cedar, paint, human hair- 15’ X 8’
NW style: ovoid shapes (bent rectangles w/rounded corners) + form line (shape-defining line- grizzly head)
family crest=grizzly bear; rearing grizzly w/smaller bears
matriarchal figure who gives birth to clan
hole is symbolic vagina: re-enact birth of family from ancestral spirit (twice life-sized)
Attributed to Willie Seaweed, Kwakwaka’wakw Bird Mask, Alert Bay, Vancouver Island, Canada. Prior to 1951.
N. American tribe art mostly spiritual/religious purpose
ritual dance ceremonies, dancers wear Hamatsa Masks- winter ceremony, initiate 25-year-old males, re-enact taming of cannibal spirit in bird form; “birds” search for victims in audience; audience imitates attack with blood packets simulating injuries; strings manipulate beaks
initiates then pretend to eat human flesh, forced to drink seawater until vomit to remove toxins; cleansed/tamed can now join clan
Canadian gov’t outlawed in 1885; tribes refused to stop
Hosteen Klah, Whirling Log Ceremony, Sand painting; tapestry by Mrs. Sam Manuelito. Navajo, c. 1925- Klah is shaman-singer, 3rd gender, trained by mother & sister, offended many locals when made paintings, b/c sand paintings traditionally were temporary, not for public consumption
wool- illustrates Creation myth- Holy People create earth’s surface- divide into 4 parts, create humans w/ beans, squash, corn, tobacco (4 sacred plants)
elongated figures=Holy People; each quarter has male and female and 1 plant; intended to please spirits
Rainbow Maiden in sky- forms 3 sides of tapestry
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, The Red Mean: Self-portrait, 1992
comments on the place of Native Americans in Western canon of art
autobiographical- figure with arms outstretched- on chest is bumper sticker “Made in USA”- tribal newspapers in background
Red “X” over figure symbolizes nuclear radiation- uranium mines placed on reservations, repositories for nuclear waste- like NA- locked away/thrown away on reservations
reminds also of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian man- considered one of the West’s greatest artists- provocative in considering Native American artists in relation to Western masters
