Unit III: Indigenous Americas and Africa Flashcards
166 Black-on-Clack Ceramic Vessel
Culture: Maria Martinez (Pueblo SW US)
Date: Mid 20th Century C.E.
Medium: Blackware Ceramic (clay, manure, and guaco), 11 1/8 x 13 inches
The designs on the pots were inspired by pottery shards from a Pueblo ancestral site from the 12th century. Maria Martinez took note of the site and did a lot of drawings of them. On the designs of her actual pots, there are matte designs of rain clouds, bird feathers, corn, rivers, and other elements of the natural environment that surrounded the Pueblo people. The designs also show some art deco influence with the more geometric and abstract depictions because Martinez sold the pots to non-native people.
The Pueblo have a long history of making pots for utlitarian purposes, but with the growth of industrialization, less people were buying them, so Martinez made the pots for decorative use.
Maria Martinez is actually really only the sculptor, her husband painted the designs. The creation of a pots is a community endeavor with multiple people helping in the creation process.
Martinez considered herself a Pueblo person first so once she started gaining somewhat of a following, she would sign her name on the pots of other sculptors so they could sell.
The clay is locally sourced and it would be mixed with volcanic rock and shards of broken pieces of pots/ceramics. The black color of the pot is from manure and the designs were painted with guaco (which is a plant).
Sika Dwa Kofi
Asante People, 1700 CE, Present-day Ghana, a sacred gold-covered wooden stool said to be made in the heavens. Gold symbolizes royalty and the Asante people were leaders in the African gold trade. Osei Tutu unified the surrounding areas and formed the Asante people. The golden stool was said to have fallen from the heavens into Osei Tutu’s lap. Osei Tutu was the first Asantehene or the Asante king who has access to both the human and supernatural realm. The golden stool was so sacred it was given its own stool or chair to rest on next to the Asantehene. Many women are gifted stools when they come of age. These stools take on “soon soon” through frequent use. “Soon soon” is your energy/aura that gets passed on to well-used objects. To keep your “soon soon” intact, you would tip over your stool so that only you could sit on it. Stools show great significance in the Asante culture
City of Cusco
Inca culture, Central Highlands, Peru, c. 1140 CE (Convent added 1550-1650 CE), Andesite.
Dimensions: 11,200 ft elevation
Contextual Information:
- City of Cusco was axis mundi (center of existence) -> reflection of Inka power.
- Divided into two sections (the hanan (higher) and the hurin (lower)). For the upper and lower social divisions. Subdivisions of Cusco into quarters -> reflected four divisions of the empire.
- Qorikancha (“Golden House”) - Most sacred shrine of the Inca. Inti (sun god) -> Inca people claimed descent from the sun. Golden House is center point of the empire, -> radiated imaginary lines (ceques) which connected it to shrines throughout the Cusco valley.
- Doorways, windows, and wall niches of the Qorikancha in a trapezoid shape, and doorways double-jambed -> signifies the importance of the building.
- Inside Sun House: Miniature reproduction of world
Formal Qualities:
- Masonry
- Varied carving of stones -> stones slotted together -> allows for small amount of movement in a seismically active area.
- Golden House: Stones shaped into even courses of rectangular block -> polished -> walls covered in sheets of gold -> signifies the shrine’s dedication to Inti.
All T’oqapu Tunic
Culture: Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C./ Inka
Date: 1450-1540 C.E.
Medium/ materials: Camelid fiber and cotton
Dimensions: 90.2 x 77.15 cm
Contextual Information:
- The Inca were gift giving people. They gave lavish gifts and received precious textiles.
- Mutual beneficial agreements: when Inca gave a gift, the receiver owed them back an obligation of labor and products
- Inca garments were tunics made by acllacuna (women who made the tunic) that were worn by nobles
- Each tunic has a distinctive geometric pattern called a T’oqapu
- The emperor had all the designs on his T’oqapu
- Making tunics was labor intensive and required 300 threads per square inch which was a world record before the Industrial Revolution
Formal qualities
- Color: blue and red dies (red comes from bugs)
- Shape: geometric squares with individualized designs inside
- Texture: fine and smooth (baby alpaca belly fur made it smooth for the emperor)
- Composition: squares in a composition
Content
- Patterns in squares
Function- reveal meaning/ elicit emotion
- All the designs are a visual communication of the rulers ability to reign over the empire and assume responsibility over every facet of society
- The tunic allowed the emperor to exude power and status
- T’oqapu’s were diplomatic gifts to ensure the Inca accumulated materials and labor through trade and arrangements- giving and receiving was the culture
- The tunic would be burned as a sacrifice to the sun god in order to show worship, praise, and sacrifice for the gods in exchange for good fortune
- Tunics expressed identity and stood as a testament of clothing craftsmanship
Bandolier Bag
Culture: Lenape (Delaware tribe, Oklahoma)
Date: 1850 C.E.
Materials: hide, cotton cloth, silk ribbon, glass beads, wool yarn, metal cones.
Demensions: 87.6 x 30.5 cm
Contextual Information: These Bandolier Bag were based on the bags carried by European soldiers armed with rifles, who used the bags to store ammunition cartridges.
These bags were made by different tribes and First Nations across the Great Lakes and Prairie regions, and they all differ in their appearances. They were large in size and worn as a cross body bag with a thick strap crossing a persons chest. They even continued making them after they were forced to relocate because of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The women made these bags for the Men of the tribe. They used animal hides in addition to the cotton cloth, combining materials that had long been used among these groups (animal hides) with new materials (cotton trade cloth). These clothes had very intricate designs that took a long time to make. Lastly they used beads and silk on the bags too. The bags had a lot of bright colors and detailed designs.
Formal Qualities:
Color: They used a lot of different colors to make these bags. Red trimming around entire cloth and tassels at the end. Only one side was decorated and the other side was brown. Floral blue, black, green, and pink pattern on cloth
Shape: The bandolier is a long rectangle, would reach below the waist (but likely not to the knees)
Texture: Rough and soft because they used beads and leather and different types of clothes to make the bags.
Content:
Were removed from their ancestral lands by Indian Removal Act (during Jackson’s presidency) but kept their traditions in creating art. Bandolier bags are an example of the perseverance of their culture. Religion was animistic spirits (both helpful and harmful) were everywhere and should be treated with respect. Ceremonies throughout year to drive off evil spirits and celebrate good ones. Celebrations of maple tree and corn planting, harvest rituals. Shamans were important spiritual leaders (sometimes political too) The contrasting colors could represent Sky and Underworld realms. The design could also represent cardinal directions, as they go in four different directions.
Templo Mayor
Culture: Aztec/Mexica
Date: 1375-1520 CE
Content: Stone temple in the shape of a stepped pyramid. Two smaller temples sat atop the structure, as well as a podium. At the bottom of the steps, a brightly painted raised monolith depicts in relief the fallen, naked, and dismembered figure of Coyolxauhqui.
Function: Ritual sacrifices were performed at the temple on a regular basis for the purpose of recreating the myth of Huitzilopochtli, their patron god. Sacrifices would be killed atop the temple and their bodies sent tumbling down the steps to land on the Coyolxauhqui monolith, mirroring the myth at Coatepec (the mountain of the Serpent). The temple also served as the symbolic center, or Axis Mundi, of the Mexica world.
Form: Stylized sculptures of gods, animals, and people would have adorned the temple, all brightly painted and accompanied by colorful banners. The temple itself is built atop six smaller versions of the same structure, similar to a Russian Matryoshka doll in a way.
Context: The Mexica were a violent culture, which is reflected in their worship of the sun (Huitzilopochtli) and rain (Tlaloc) which together became atl-tlachinolli, or burnt-water. This concept, as well as the myth of Huitzilopochtli’s birth, were used to justify the Mexica’s violent way of life.
Lukasa
Date: 19th - 20th Century
Culture: Luba Kingdom (Modern Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Great Mosque of Djenne
Culture: Mali
Date: 1906-1907 C.E.
Medium/ materials: adobe mud bricks
Contextual Information:
- Djenne was a center for trade and Islamic learning
- Community used local materials
- Crepissage de la Grand Mosquée festival- re-plastering of the mosque
- Need of constant repair- adobe and mud need re-plastering or they will melt
- 3 iterations
- Despite pressure, the Djenne people have maintained their cultural heritage and the traditional structure/ materials of the Mosque
- Threats: environmental threats, urban development, and armed conflict and civil unrest
Formal Qualities:
- Form: basic form of a mosque
- Color: neutral brown color
- Shape: geometric square shape
Content:
- Entrance
- Courtyard
- Hypostyle hall
- Qibla
- Mihrab
- Minaret
- vertical buttresses
- minarets and columns in a majestic rhythmic effect
- conical extensions topped with ostrich eggs (symbolized purity and fertility)
- timber beams
Function- reveal meaning/ elicit emotion:
-Djenne communicated sacred space as it had..
height (monumentality & towering), was distinguished (dwarfs the city of Djenne with low rise adobe houses),
boundaries (limit access- exterior wall partly encloses the building, a court reserved for women), change in elevation (adding two towers, built on a platform over flood plain), entries (main entrance with earthen pillars that represent the graves of religious leaders), elaborate approaches (minarets and columns in a rhythmic effect, conical extensions topped with ostrich eggs (symbolize purity and fertility), timber beams, hypostyle hall, qibla, and mihrab), use of Light (roof has terra-cotta covered holes so light and air can come in (resembled the heavens appearing))
-The Mosque adds to the concept of sacred space as the replastering of it is a communal activity, held every year. This event of re-plastering demonstrates the communities devotion to God.
Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings
Culture: Anastasi
Date: 450-1300 CE
Medium: Sandstone
Location: Montezuma County, Colorado
Form
- Built directly into the cave
- Dwellings built both on top and in/along the mesas
- Over 600 structures
- Made of stone, mortar, and plaster
Function
- Continued use for ceremonies, though not specifically the Mesa Verde structures
- both residential and ceremonial
- Originally covered but now they do not have roofs
- The space around the buildings was used as a plaza
- Circular and rectangular/square rooms for living
- One room int that was facing the plaza usually used for family gatherings
- Smaller rooms off the hearth were used as storage rooms
Content
- (Kivas)- underground circular rooms used for ritual purposes
- Had a wooden roof held up by sandstone columns
- Had a firepit in the center
- small hole in the ground called a (sipapu) for ceremonial purposes
- Small rooms off the hearth (storage rooms) had holes large enough to squeeze an arm through to grab anything on may need
- Plastered and painted murals
- Murals and other paintings decorated the walls
- Geometric designs, plants, and animals
Context
- Mesa Verde means “green table” table refers to the mountains
- Ancestral Puebloans lived in the Mesa Verde for about 850 years (450-1300 C.E)
- 500-1300 CE, Ancestral Puebloans were mainly sedentary farmers
- Originally farmers lived closer to their crops but later they began to lie near sources of water and would walk farther to reach their crops
- Exact reasoning for the cliff dwellings is unknown, possibly provided protection from invaders, snow, and provided shade. There could also have been a ceremonial or spiritual reasoning
- Abandoned around 1300 CE probably due to drought, lack of resources, or violence
Ruler’s feather headdress
Ruler’s feather headdress (probably of Moctezuma II)
Artist unknown
1428-1520 A.D.
Aztec People, Mexico
Materials: Feathers, gold, plant fibers, wood, leather, paper, textiles, and gilded brass
3.8 feet tall, 5.75 feet wide
Feathers from quetzal and cotinga birds mounted on wooden sticks layered in semi-circles with small plates of gold
Function: Associated with ritualistic or festive purposes, was involved as a part of a costume
Context: Ruler’s headdress, communicated power via rare and vibrant feathers, which were made by special artisans dedicated to making these headdresses, belonged to the ruler of the Aztec Empire who ruled from Tenochtitlan or modern-day Mexico City.
Painted Elk Hide
Culture: eastern shoshone
Attributed to: Cotsiogo
Date: 1890-1900
Medium: elk hide, pigment
Contextual and Form:
Depicts the sun dance which was a dance to honor the buffalo however this dance was outlawed by the US government. To combat this Cotsiogo also included other depiction of dances.
Note the bright colors and elk hide. Traditionally before reservation life, the natives would have used buffalo hide and natural pigments, however, once on the reservation they had to buy commercially prepared hides and colors. This is a product of Indian removal.
A buffalo hunt is shown, as those who bought these hides (white tourists on the reservation) wanted to see how life was before they were forced on the reservation. The hides were made to be sellable.
Yaxchilán
Culture: Maya (In Chiapas, Mexico)
Attributed to: N/A
Date: 725 CE
Medium: Limestone (lintels)
Contextual and Form:
Yaxchilán was a significant Maya center, and many buildings still stand today. However, what makes the site famous is it’s stone lintel artwork. A series of lintels shows rituals performed by Shield Jaguar II and his wife.
In one lintel, Shield Jaguar is dominating a captive. In another, his wife is pulling a thorn rope over her tongue, in ritual connection with spirits and the gods. The queen is demonstrating both her moral and physical dedication; the process would have been excruciatingly painful.
There are also glyphs present, which name each figure present and the date when the aforementioned scene took place (709 CE).
The carvings are relief portraits, carved deep into the limestone. The artist has also created depth & shadow in their depiction, in addition to complex, stylized human forms. It would have originally been an ornate lintel.
Conical Tower and Circular Wall of Great Zimbabwe
Culture: Shona People, Zimbabwe
Attributed to: The Queen of Sheba
Date: 1000-1400 C.E
Medium: Stone Bricks, Stone slabs, exposed rock.
Form:
The Great Zimbabwe has fort-like structure, made of stone bricks and stone slabs locally sourced from nearby hills and cliff-sides, to be made into walls, towers, and other structures.
Function:
The Great Zimbabwe itself overlooked and covered portions of a very important trading hub, which was incredibly prosperous for the people and the city throughout the middle ages. Additionally, the Great Zimbabwe served as the Capital for the Queen and king, while the city itself displayed its power through the appearance of the high walls and structures.
Content:
The city contained many varying fortifications and structures, with the most prominent being the large walls, and the conical tower located within the walls. The city was also surrounded by caves and other geographical features such as the hill which the walls and tower were situated upon, and likewise the cliff-sides and exposed rock that provided a surplus of building material.
Context:
The name Zimbabwe translates in English to “The house of stone”, and the name of the structure became the influence for the modern nation of Zimbabwe due to the importance and value which the structure historically held as a source of power, and prosperity. The remains of the city still rest atop a hill to this day, and were supposedly “discovered” by Europeans in the year of 1871. The power, location, prosperity, and value which the structure holds makes the Great Zimbabwe a marvel of early African Society and heir-achy to this day, and a firm reminder to many of just how prevalent aspects of social status and established civilization were throughout the old societies of Africa.
Wall Plaque from Oba’s Palace
Wall Plaque from Oba’s Palace
Artist Unknown
Date: 16th century C.E.
Medium: Cast brass
Form:
Brass was a valuable metal and the crafting of it took a lot of skill. Trade was involved because brass was not in Benin
Function:
Plaques were made to decorate the palace wall. The plaque expresses royal power and explain the history of kingdom.
Content:
The plaque displays the king and other subjects. The kings head is bigger (hierarchy of scale) than the others and riding horseback representing his power. He also wears jewelry which signifies economic prosperity and control.
Context:
Britain wanted to make Benin a new trading partner but it wasn’t mutually beneficial so tension rises. Britain set in motion the Punitive Expedition of 1897 and seized Oba’s Palace, killing, burning, and looting throughout.
Wall Plaque from Oba’s Palace
Wall Plaque from Oba’s Palace
Artist Unknown
Date: 16th century C.E.
Medium: Cast brass
Form:
Brass was a valuable metal and the crafting of it took a lot of skill. Trade was involved because brass was not in Benin
Function:
Plaques were made to decorate the palace wall. The plaque expresses royal power and explain the history of kingdom.
Content:
The plaque displays the king and other subjects. The kings head is bigger (hierarchy of scale) than the others and riding horseback representing his power. He also wears jewelry which signifies economic prosperity and control.
Context:
