Unit 5 - Art of Indigenous Americas Flashcards

1
Q

Chavin de Huantar: Identifiers

A

Location: Peru
Date: 900-200 BCE

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2
Q

Chavin de Huantar: Form Old Temple

A

• Built by Chavin people (pre date Inca)
• Old temple: built 900 BCE, inward facing U shape with central court
* obelisks & stone monuments w/ low relief carvings
* maze of passageways, chambers & water conduits

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3
Q

Chavin de Huantar: Form New Temple

A

• constructed between 500 and 200 BCE
• relief sculptures more block life form
• long staircase led to upper landing
• below- sunken rectangular court
• hidden passageways & platforms allowed priests to miraculously appear before audiences

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4
Q

Chavin de Huantar: Function Lanzon Stela

A

• to honor a god: likely to ensure good harvest
• Lanzon means ‘great spear’ but likely refers to an agricultural tool, not a weapon

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5
Q

Chavin de Huantar: Function Nose Ornament

A
  • nose ornament: septum piercing, common in the Andes
  • upward looking eyes: shows wealth, power, and allegiance to Chavin religion
  • formed by hammering and cutting gold
  • transforms wearer into supernatural being during ceremonies
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6
Q

Chavin de Huantar: Content

A

• Lanzon: deity, human & animal features, fangs and talons (jaguar + caiman), eyebrows & hair made up of snakes
• deliberately confusing
• contour rivalry: 2 faces sharing one mouth

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7
Q

Chavin de Huantar: Context

A

• Andean Highlands of Peru: 10,330 ft. in elevation
• Near 2 mountains that allow passage between desert coast (west) & Amazon jungle (East): 2 rivers join into one, seen as powerful phenomenon
• chavin declined in 200 BCE: site influenced many people 700 years, worshippers & spread artistic style

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8
Q

Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings: Identifiers

A

Style: Anasazi
Location: Colorado
Date: 450-1300 CE

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9
Q

Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings: Form

A

• 1.62 miles above sea level
• made of stone, mortar, and plaster
• largest archaeological site in US: over 600 dwellings - 3 to 4 stories high
• logs build into walls to make beams for ceilings - access floors through ladders
• mostly built during 12th century
• climb cliff walls using toe holds

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10
Q

Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings: Function

A
  • pueblo built into sides of a cliff, housed 100 people
  • largest: cliff palace: 150 circular rooms, 20 circular rooms
  • house organized around Kivas: wood-beamed roof, roof supported by 6 engaged support columns of masonry, shelf-like bench, fire pit/hearth, ventilation shaft, deflector, sipapu
  • clans moved together for mutual support and defense
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11
Q

Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings: Content

A
  • mural 30 red against white wall theory:
  • geometric shapes represent landscape
  • red band at bottom is earth
  • white represents sky
  • top of red band forms horizontal line that separates sky and earth
  • triangle peaks are mountains
  • rectangle in sky: clouds, rain, sun, or moon
  • dotted lines represent cracks in earth
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12
Q

Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings: Context

A
  • farming done on the plateau above pueblo; everything had to be imported into structure; water seeped through sandstone and collected in trenches near reaer of structure
  • low winter sun penetrated pueblo; high summer sun did not enter interior, stayed cool
    Anasazi
    ○ Inhabited from 450 CE-1300 CE
    ○ Sedentary farmers – beans,
    squash, corn
    ○ Trade amongst many different
    groups, extending down into
    Modern day Mexico
    ○ Abandoned in 1300
    ■ Drought

● Mesa Verde means Green Table
● Rediscovery in 1888
○ Preservation for tourism
■ Mesa Verde National Park

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13
Q

Yaxchilan- Structure 40: Form

A
  • overlooks main plaza
  • 3 doors lead to a central room decorated with stucco
  • roof remains nearly intact, with a larger roof comb
  • ## corbel arch interior
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14
Q

Lanzon Stone: Function

A
  • served as cult figure
  • center of pilgrimage however few had access to it
  • stone acted as oracle? point of pilgrimage
  • importance of acoustics in underground chamber
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15
Q

Relief Sculpture: Content

A
  • shows jaguars in shallow relief
  • located on ruins of stairway at Chavin
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16
Q

Nose ornament: Context

A
  • elite men and women wore ornaments as emblems of their ties to religion and eventually buried with them
  • chavin religion related to appearance of fire large-scale precious metal objects; new metallurgical process
  • technical innovations express whole other nature of religion
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17
Q

Yaxchilan- Structure 40: Identifiers

A

Style: Mayan
Location: Mexico
Date: 725 CE

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18
Q

Yaxchilan- Structure 40: Form

A
  • 3 doors led to central room decorated with stucco
  • overlooks main plaza
  • roof remains intact, large roof comb (ornamented stone tops on roofs)
  • corbel arch interior
  • narrow, not meant to hold many people
  • intricate lattice work
  • carved lintels on underside of doorways
  • painted: remnants of blue and red, very detailed
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19
Q

Yaxchilan- Structure 40: Function

A

*advertise Bird Jaguar IV power dynastic lineage and thus right to rule
*built by ruler Bird Jaguar IV for his son, who dedicated it to him

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20
Q

Yaxchilan- Lintel 25: Content

A
  • bloodletting: loss of blood + burning incense = hallucinations, desired to gain access to other realm
  • Lady Xook kneels before a vision serpent from whose mouth emerges a figure, commemorate husbands rise to throne
  • holds a bowl w/ ceremonial items, runs a rope with thorns through her tongue, burns paper on a dish as gift to netherworld
  • commemorate accession of Shield Jaguar II to the throne
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21
Q

Lintel 25: Function

A
  • honor and feed the gods
    keep order in cosmos
  • act of rebirth
  • intended to relay a message of refoundation of site– long pause in buildings history
  • Shield Jaguars building program throughout city may have been a attempt to reinforce his lineage and right to rule
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22
Q

Great Serpent Mound: Identifers

A

Style: Mississippian
Location: Ohio
Date: 1070 CE

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23
Q

Great Serpent Mound: Form

A
  • southwest ohio
    1300 ft. long, 1-3 ft. in height
  • largest serpent effigy
  • not the only one ever made
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24
Q

Great Serpent Mound: Function

A
  • atypical, no artifacts
  • burials nearby
  • no evidence to suggest Gr. Serpent Mound is for burial
  • used to mark seasons, time, when to harvest? Lunar phases? compass or Halley’s comet?
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25
Great Serpent Mound: Content
* head is at east and tail at west * 7 winding coils * oval shape?: enlarged eye, hollow egg, frog about to be swallowed, appendages??? no one knows * head aligns with summer solstice, tail points to winter solstice sunrise
26
Great Serpent Mound: Context
* many mounds enlarged and changed over the years * effigy mounds popular in Mississippian culture associated with snakes and crop fertility * whoever built it: settled people, maize, beans, squash, stratified society, labor force, no written records
27
Templo Mayor: Identifers
Style: Aztec Location: Mexico Date: 1375 - 1520 CE
28
Templo Mayor Reconstruction Main Temple: Form
* pyramids built one atop the other, final form encases all previous pyramids * step-like series of setbacks, no smooth surfaced * covered in stucco *2 grand staircases leading to twin temples: dedicated to deities, water/rain - agricultural fertility, patron deity of Mexico- warfare, fire , sun
29
Templo Mayor Reconstruction: Function
* Tlaloc Temple: North, Mountain of Sustenance, or Tonacatepetl, produced high amounts of rain, thereby allowing crops to grow, Tlaloc = god of rain, agriculture * Huitzilopochtli Temple: South, symbolic of Coatepec, god of sun and war
30
Templo Mayor Reconstruction: Context
* Tenochtitlan laid out on grid, city seen as center of world 1325 * modern day Mexico City, Island in Texcoco * Templo Mayor rebuilt 6 times 1325-1519, corresponded with different rulers, destroyed by Spanish in 1520 * destruction of temple and reuse of stones by Spanish asserted political and spiritual dominance over conquered civilization * 4 major quadrants: Templo Mayor at center, reflects Mexica cosmos (4 parts around navel of universe axis mundi) * electrical workers discover in 1978
31
Templo Mayor- Coyolxauhqui: Form
* found at base of stairs * originally painted, carved in low , circular relief, 11 ft. in diameter * "bells on her cheeks" - golden bells on her cheeks - how it was named
32
Templo Mayor: Coyolxauhqui: Function
* portrays moment in myth after Huitzilopochtli vanquished Coyolxauhqui and threw her body down the mountain
33
Templo Mayor: Coyolxauhqui: Content
* Female deity * feathers in hair, elaborate earrings, sandals and bracelets * serpent belt w/ skull attached to back * monster faces found at joints - connect to other deities- trouble & chaos * naked, sagging breasts, stretched belly: mother * decapitated & dismembered
34
Templo Mayor- Coyolxauhqui: Context
* coyolxauhqui and brother plotted death of their mother, Coatlicue- became pregnant after tucking feathers down bosom * coyolxauhqui chopped off mother's head, child Huitzilopochtli, popped out of severed body fully grown, clothed- dismembered Coyolxauhqui, who fell dead at base of shrine * stone represents dismembered moon goddess, Coyolxauhqui, who is placed at base of twin pyramids of Tenochtitlan
35
Coyolxauhqui: Context Cont.
* celebrated Huitzilopochtli's triumph over Coyolxauhqui and 400 brothers * War captives: painted blue and killed on sacrificial stone, bodies rolled down staircase to fall atop Coyolxauhqui monolith * reenact myth: for enemies powerful reminder to submit to Mexica authority
36
Templo Mayor- Calendar Stone: Form + Function
* monolith * 12 ft. in diameter * originally painted * placed on the ground Function: to mark time using cultural symbols
37
Templo Mayor- Calendar Stone: Content
* in center - face - Tonatiuh, Sun God: represents origin of cosmos, wearing ear spools, open mouth- tongue represents a sacrificial blade, clawed hands may hold human heart * record of 5 eras or suns: 5th era called "four movement" * 2 fire serpents meet at bottom carrying sun across sky, associated with time/solar calendar
38
Templo Mayor- Calendar Stone: Context
* made by 2 gods agreeing to sacrifice themselves: sun brought into creation by 2 gods sacrificing themselves * gods killed themselves willingly, that humans need to be feeding through offering: animals, bloodletting, humans * aztecs felt they needed to fee sun god humans hearts an blood * tongue at center of stones coming from gods mouth is a representation of sacrificial flint knife used to slash open victims
39
Templo Mayor- Olmec-style Mask: Form
* made of jadeite * made over 1000 years prior to Mexica/Aztec * simplified facial features: pronounced nose, full lips, thin slits for eyes
40
Templo Mayor- Olmec-style Mask: Function
* burial suggests Mexica found it precious and historically significant * olmecs known for 20 ton stone heads represented rulers also knows for making and trading rubber
41
Templo Mayor- Olmec-style Mask: Context
* offerings buried at Templo Mayor: water (coral, shells, crocodile skeletons, vessels) and sacrifice (human skull masks, sacrificial knives) * shows aztecs collected and embraced artwork from other cultures, including early Mexican cultures such as Olmec and Teotihuacan, shows aztecs had a wide ranging merchant network that traded historical items
42
Ruler's feather headdress: Identifiers
Style: Aztec Location: Mexico Date: 1428 - 1520 CE
43
Ruler's feather headdress: Form + Function + Content
Form: made up of more than 450 male quetzal tail feathers, males produce only 2 feathers each * number 400 symbolizes eternity Function: Ceremonial headdress of ruler * part of an elaborate costume Content: pure gold ornaments
44
Ruler's feather headdress: Context
* only known Aztec feather headdress in the world * feathers indicate trading across Aztec Empire * headdress possibly part of a collection of artifacts given by Motecuhzoma to Cortez for Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire * replica- Mexico City: original is in Vienna * amanteca- feather workers taken to create Christian art for Spanish
45
City of Cusco: Identifiers
Style: Inkan Location: Peru Date: 1440
46
City of Cusco Plan: Form
* in the shape of puma, a royal animal * modern plaza in place where puma's belly would be * head, a fortress; heart, a central square * capital of empire, 11200 ft. elevation * 2 section: upper (hana) and lower (hurin), parallel to social division, then divided into 4 sections - each made of stone to fit
47
City of Cusco- Saqsa Wayman: Form
*stones much larger than those used in Cusco * part built by mit'a (labor tax), all able-bodied people of empire owed Inka * ashlar masonry * ramparts contain stones weighing up to 70 tons, brought from quarry 2 miles away
48
City of Cusco- Qorikancha: Function
* "golden house" * most sacred shrine: worship of sun "inti" : Qorikancha: golden enclosure once was the most important temple in the Inkan world * in the hurin (lower part of city) * at center point of empire
49
City of Cusco- Saqsa Wayman: Function
* fortress that looks down on city of Cusco - never finished, building interrupted by conquest? * unsure of function
50
City of Cusco- Curved Wall and Church: Function
* religious and secular uses * girls and young women worked as acallas (chosen women) weave cloth for gods and nobles * young men- educated and raised in Inca culture
51
City of Cusco- Qorikancha: Content
* fine masonry reserved for most important buildings * walls covered with sheets of gold * inside was garden that represented mini world: gold, silver jewels, people, animals, plants * spacing among stones allows for movement during earthquakes
52
City of Cusco- Qorikancha: Context
* Spanish conquest: Qorikancha changed into Christian monastery of Santo Domingo, build around and on top of original shrine * melted down metals of mini garden * placed at convergence of 4 main highways and connected to 4 districts of empire; temple cemented symbolic importance of religion, uniting divergent cultural practices that were observed in vast territory controlled by Inkas
53
Silver and Gold Maize Cobs: Identifiers
Style: Incan Location: Peru Date: 1440 - 1553 CE
54
Silver and Gold Maize Cobs: Form
* repousse technique * hollow and delicate * lifesize * individual kernels shows corn ready to be harvested but still in husk
55
Silver and Gold Maize Cobs: Function
* garden - offering to ensure successful harvest * full-sized metal sculptures placed alongside actual plants in Qorikancha garden * part of compact version of cosmos controlled by Inca State * symbolizes natural world is a possession of Inca, divine right to rule across Andes * vast range of ecosystems encompassed by empire * plants and animals in golden garden could not have grown and survived at every level of empire only at specific altitudes * maize = one of the most important foods, principal food source in the Andes
56
Silver and Gold Maize Cobs: Content
* gardens in courtyards of important temples * mini llamas, corn, flowers, etc. * Inca art favored abstract, geometric + naturalistic small scale metal objects
57
Silver and Gold Maize Cobs: Context
* spanish desired gold and silver * after defeat of Inca in 1530s Spanish raided and looted objects & sent them back to Spain * maize was celebrated by having sculptures fashioned out of sheet metal * black maize was common in Peru; oxidized silver reflects that
58
Machu Picchu: Identifiers
Style: Incan Location: Peru Date: 1450-1540
59
Machu Picchu: Form
* overlooks Urubamba River * 3 days walk from Cusco 8000 ft. high * system of stone channel drains: rain and spring water, channelled into stone fountains, one outside of the door of emperor's compound
60
Machu Picchu: Content
*each stone individually carved to fit * earthquake proof * thatched roof * 200 buildings, mostly houses, temples, palaces, and baths and observatory in trapezoidal shape * entryways and windows trapezoidal * people farmed on terraces
61
Machu Picchu: Function
* royal estate/retreat for first Inca emperor Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui: hosts feasts, perform religious ceremonies, administer affairs of empire, marked land for family after death * housing for elite, retainers, maint. staff, religious shrines, fountains, terraces 15th century Inka rulers * peaceful center, remote, prob not sued for administrative purposes in Inkan world
62
Machu Picchu: Context
* discovery 1911 yale professor hiram binham iii * covered by jungle but known to locals, he excavated it * emperor would only reside and site for part of year like beach houe * show of imperial power NE- high status residences SW- emperor's compound
62
Machu Picchu Observatory: Form
* 2 parts: upper curve stone enclosure w/ windows and niches * june winter solstice- white granite boulder * first morning rise of constellation Pleiades * cave beneath with niches: refer to place of underworld * highest point at Machu Picchu
63
Machu Picchu Observatory: Function
* used to chart sun's movements; aka Temple of the Sun * left windows: sun shines through on morning of winter solstice *right windows: sun shines through on morning of summer solstice * devoted to sun god * adjacent to royal residence * ruler claimed to be both descendant of sun and sun itself: divine right to rule, obligation of royal family- perform rituals that maintained relationships w/ supernatural forces that drove existence * emperor and family involved in religious function of empire
64
Machu Picchu Intihuatana Stone
* hitching post of sun: aligns with sun at spring and autumn equinoxes, when sun stands directly over pillar creates no shadow * Incan ceremonies held in concert with this event * carved boulder once found throughout Inca empire, only remaining * inca believed stone held the sun
65
All-T'oqapu Tunic: Identifers
Style: Incan Location: Peru Date: 1450-1540 CE
66
All-T'oqapu Tunic: Form
* spun finely, 100 thread/cm *single piece of cloth *slit in the middle for head, folded in half and sides sewn for arms *use animal wool for bright colors, easier to dye (alpaca) * cochineal red and indigo blue: very high status and prized, high level of skill
67
All-T'oqapu Tunic: Function
* royal gifts: to be worn by royal household, burned as a precious sacrifice to sun god Inti * wearing elaborate garment indicates status of individual * may have been worn by Inkan ruler
68
All-T'oqapu Tunic: Content
* black and white checkerboard: tunic pattern worn by Inca army, shows Sapa Inca military might * T'oqapu are square geometric designs * some designs related to various people, places or roles
69
All-T'oqapu Tunic: Context
* Textiles: very important before Inca came to power * more valuable than gold or gems * many different patterns * fibers collected as part of tax system * acallas- chosen women performed religious rituals *Qompi- finest cloth * Inca preference for abstract designs, standardization of designs, expression of unity and order
70
Bandolier Bag: Identifers
Style: Delaware Tribe Location: Lenape Date: 1850 CE
71
Bandolier Bag: Form
* heavily beaded pouch with slit on top * held at hip level with strap across chest Crossbody * constructed of trade cloth cotton, wool, velvet, or leather * colorful beads, silk ribbons, red wool fringe * made by women * animal hide * porcupine quills *trade w/ europeans influenced
72
Bandolier Bag: Function
* made for men and women; objects of prestige * compliment to ceremonial outfits, status symbol * more than 1 bag at a time * still worn today
73
Bandolier Bag: Content
* abstract, symmetrical * white beads acted as contour lines, contrasting colors- celestial meaning maybe cardinal directions
74
Bandolier Bag: Context
* beadwork not done in Americans before European contact * beads and silk ribbons imported from Europe * bags contained Native American and European motifs
75
Transformation Mask: Identifiers
Style: Kwakwaka'wakw Location: Canada Date: 1875 CE
76
Transformation Mask: Form
* brightly painted * metal tools changed form * bilaterally symmetrical * red cedar wood * months/years to make * birdlike exterior face; when opened, reveals a second human face on interior
77
Transformation Mask: Function
* display social status/rank * family symbols * ancestral entities + supernatural forces embody masks when worn by dancers * worn by native people of Pacific Northwest, centered on Vancouver Island * worn overhead as part of a complete body costume
78
Transformation Mask: Content
* trickster supernaturals: knowledge to disobey conventions * thunderbird- can cause thunder w/ wings and lighting from eyes, can become human * during ritual performance, wearer open and closes mask using strings, mask reveals face of ancestor
79
Transformation Mask: Context
* modern day Canada * could be used at potlatch, often used in winter initiation rites ceremonies * Kwakwaka'wakw: 4 clans; killer whale, raven, eagle, wolf, clans divided into groups- numayn- share common ancestor
80
Transformation Mask: Context Cont.
* colonization caused mask to change- metal tools * potlatches banned 1885-1950 * considered immoral by Christian missionaries * canadian govt. though this hindered economic development b/c people stopped working during celebration * masks confiscated- destroyed or in private collections
81
Hide Painting of Sun Dance: Identifers
Style: Eastern Shoshone Artist: Cotsiogo Location: Wyoming Date: 1900 CE
82
Hide Painting of Sun Dance: Form
* elks, deer, buffalo hides * natural pigments red ocher, chalk, paints, dyes * geometric and figural motifs * free hand painting and stenciling *either wall hanging or robe
83
Hide Painting of Sun Dance: Function
*remember the past * appeal to European/American tourists * generate revenue and financial support for struggling tribe
84
Hide Painting of Sun Dance: Content Dances
*Sun dance- sacred: men dance around a buffalo head, buffalos were sacred: took place near village, central pole- divine connection, honor creator Deity/ensure abundance *participants: seeking spiritual insight, did not eat or drink * wolf dance- non-religious: fast paced, faced past not present, drum beat
85
Hide Painting of Sun Dance: Content
* women rest near fire and more men on horses hunt buffaloes * warriors on horses shown returning to camp, celebrated with Wolf Dance * 2 tipis represent the camp * feathered war bonnets made of eagle feathers * warriors hunting with bows and arrows white riding, inreality Shoshone men had used rifles for some time
86
Hide Painting of Sun Dance: Context
* long-standing tradition in Great Basin and Great Plains 1800s * Cotsiogo member of Eastern Shoshone tribe: Wind River reservation: Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868 * tribe used to move with seasons * 1883- Sun Dance banned under federal law, outlawed until 1935
87
Black on Black Ceramic Vessel: Identifiers
Style: Puebloan Artist: Maria & Julian Martinez Location: New Mexico Date: 1950 CE
88
Black on Black Ceramic Vessel: Form
* clay * hand made no on wheel or kiln * thinner than functional pottery
89
Black on Black Ceramic Vessel: Function
*Decorative *serves as a record of Native pottery techniques *links modern Pueblo people to ancestral through pottery techniques and materials
90
Black on Black Ceramic Vessel: Content
*she and husband julian pioneered style of applying black matte design over polished black *design based on pottery sherds found at dig site- Bandelier Natl Monument *natural phenomenon rain clouds, bird feather, rows of corn, flows of rivers * design are exaggerated due to the round shapes of pot *Art Deco- bold geometric forms and colors
91
Black on Black Ceramic Vessel: Context
*Mari Martinez 1887-1980 lived 20 miles north of Sante Fe New Mexico * one of the best known Native potters of the 20th century *before arrival of railroad 1880s, pots used for food storage, cooking, ceremonies *1910s- selling to non-Native audience *communal activity * signature at bottom