ANCIENT AMERICAN ARTOlmec Art. Mayan Art. Toltec Art. Aztec Art.

Isabel Teotico 1AD-7

OLMEC CIVILIZATION1500 BCE 400 BCE

Olmec - a Pre-Columbian civilization in south-central Mexico. *Flourished during Mesoamerica s Formative period. *Laid many of the foundations for the civilizations that followed. *Olmec first practiced ritual bloodletting and played the Mesoamerican ballgame.

*Most familiar aspect of the Olmecs is their artwork, particularly the colossal heads. *Olmec artworks are considered among ancient America's most striking and beautiful, and among the world's masterpieces.

OLMEC ART *Colossal heads. *Olmec artworks considered among ancient America's most striking and beautiful, and among the world's masterpieces. *Olmec culture was first defined as an art style.

*Used a large number of media: jade, clay, basalt, and greenstone, etc; *Reveals fantastic anthropomorphic creatures. *Highly stylized, using an iconography reflective of a religious meaning. *Motifs include downturned mouths and a cleft head, both of which are seen in representations of were-jaguars *Adept at animal portrayals.

Stone monuments - Most recognizable feature of Olmec culture. Four classes of monuments:

Colossal heads - theorized to be ballplayers >Accepted as portraits of rulers, perhaps dressed as ballplayers; made from basalt Rectangular "altars" (more likely thrones)

Free-standing in-the-round sculpture, such as the twins from. Stelae - introduced later than the colossal heads, altars, or free-standing sculptures. Moved from simple representation of figures toward representations of historical events.

OLMEC CULTURE Bloodletting and sacrifice speculations No explicit representation of Olmec bloodletting in the archaeological record, there is nonetheless a strong case that the Olmecs ritually practiced it. Instituted human sacrifice is significantly more speculative.

No Olmec or Olmec-influenced sacrificial artifacts have yet been discovered and there is no Olmec or Olmec-influenced artwork that unambiguously shows sacrificial victims. Writing First civilization in the Western Hemisphere to develop a writing system. Dating to 650 BCE and 900 BCE

Mesoamerican ballgame Olmec "rubber people" in the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs are strong candidates for originating the Mesoamerican ballgame so prevalent among later cultures of the region and used for recreational and religious purposes.

"The Wrestler" an Olmec era statuette 1200 800 BCE.

Colossal Heads Left: Monument 6, San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan Right:Monument 1, one of the four Olmec colossal heads at La Venta. This one is nearly 3 metres (9 ft) tall.

Animal Portrayal Left:Fish Vessel, 12th9th century BCE. Height: 6.5 inches (16.5 cm). Right:Bird Vessel, 12th9th century BCE

HollowBaby white ware figurine probably produced in southern Puebla.

"Olmec-style" face mask in jade

Altar 5 from La Venta. The inert were-jaguar baby held by the central figure is seen by some as an indication of child sacrifice. In contrast, its sides show bas-reliefs of humans holding quite lively were-jaguar babies.

Las Limas Monument 1, considered an important realisation of Olmec mythology.The youth holds a were-jaguar infant, while four iconic supernaturals are incised on the youth's shoulders and knees

The jade Kunz Axe, first described by George Kunz in 1890. Although shaped like an axe head, with an edge along the bottom, it is unlikely that this artifact was used except in ritual settings. At a height of 11 in (28 cm), it is one of the largest jade objects ever found in Mesoamerica.

MAYAN CIVILIZATION1500 B.C. to 250 A.D.

MAYA CIVILIZATION Noted for the only known fully developed written language, its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Established during the Pre-Classic period (c. 2000 BC to 250 AD)

Maya cities reached their highest state development during the Classic period (c. 250 AD to 900 AD), and continued throughout the Post-Classic period until the arrival of the Spanish. Shares many features with other Mesoamerican civilizations due to the high degree of interaction and cultural diffusion that characterized the region.

Advances such as writing, epigraphy, and the calendar did not originate with the Maya; fully developed them. Outside influences are found in Maya art and architecture, result from trade and cultural exchange rather than direct external conquest.

MAYA ART Most sophisticated and beautiful of the ancient New World. Carvings and the reliefs made of stucco Showing a grace and accurate observation of the human form Hints of the advanced painting of the classic Maya;

Mostly what has survived are funerary pottery and other Maya ceramics, Ancient murals that survived by chance. A beautiful turquoise blue color that has survived through the centuries due to its unique chemical characteristics is known as Maya Blue or Azul maya The use of Maya Blue survived until the 16th century when the technique was lost.

Maya architecture spans many thousands of years Most dramatic and easily recognizable as Maya are the stepped pyramids Cave sites that are important to the Maya.

Built flat limestone plains/ used Limestones Required abundant manpower. Remaining materials seem to have been readily available.

Ceremonial platforms - limestone platforms; less than four meters; accented by carved figures Palaces - highly decorated; close to the center of a city E-Groups - complexes are oriented and aligned according to specific astronomical events; observatories; accompanied by iconographic reliefs

Pyramids and temples - religious temples sat atop the towering Maya pyramids; extensive use of pyramids as tombs; contain burials. Observatories - keen astronomers and had mapped out the phases of celestial objects; doorways and other features aligning to celestial events; Round temples Ball courts - were constructed throughout the Maya realm and often on a grand scale

WRITING SYSTEM Combination of phonetic symbols and logograms. 10,000 individual texts have so far been recovered inscribed on stone monuments, lintels, stelae and ceramic pottery. The Maya also produced texts painted on a form of paper

Writing was done with brushes made with animal hair and quills. Codex-style writing was done in black ink with red highlights; land of red and black.

Left: Temple of the Cross atPalenque; there is an intricate roof comb and corbeled arch Right: The ruins of Palenque

Right: Maya mask. Stucco frieze from Placeres, Campeche. Left: A stucco relief from Palenque depicting Upakal K'inich

TOLTEC CIVILIZATION800-1000 CE

TOLTEC CIVILIZATION Dominated (ca 800-1000 CE). Aztec culture saw the Toltecs as their intellectual and cultural predecessors and Nahuatl language the word "Toltec" came to take on the meaning "artisan".

"Toltecatl" (Toltec) was originally used by the Nahua which means a nomadic hunter-gatherer Mixteca-Puebla style of iconography; The existence any meaning of the Mixteca-Puebla art style has also been questioned. Toltec art is characterized by walls covered with snakes and skulls, images of a reclining Chac-mool (red jaguar), and the colossal statues of the Atlantes, men carved from great columns

An expressive orange-ware clay vessel in the Toltec style.

Columns in the form of Toltec warriors in Tula

Toltec pyramid at Tula, Hidalgo

Stucco relief at Tula, Hidalgo depicting Coyotes, Jaguars and Eagles feasting on human hearts.

Depiction of an anthropomorphic bird-snake deity, probably Quetzalcoatl at the Temple of Tlahuizcal pantecuhtli at Tula, Hidalgo

View of the Columns of the Burned Palace at Tula Hidalgo, the second Ballcourt is in the background

AZTEC CIVILIZATION14th, 15th and 16th centuries

AZTEC CIVILIZATION Ethnic groups of Mexico Aztec culture had rich and complex mythological and religious traditions; remarkable architectural and artistic accomplishments.

AZTEC ART Song and poetry were highly regarded; presentations and poetry contests at Aztec festivals. Dramatic presentations that included players, musicians and acrobats.

Remarkable amount of this poetry survives, having been collected during the era of the conquest. "Poetry" was in xochitl in cuicatl a dual term meaning "the flower and the song" and was divided into different genres.

City-building and architecture City plan was based on a symmetrical layout that was divided into four city sections called campans. City was interlaced with canals which were useful for transportation

The Aztec Pyramid at St. Cecilia Acatitlan, Mexico State.

Aztec jade mask depicting the god Xipe Totec.

Large ceramic statue of an Aztec Eagle Warrior

Aztec cosmogram in the pre-Hispanic Codex FejrvryMayer - the fire god Xiuhtecuhtli is in the center.

Up: Jaguar warrior, from the Codex Magliabechiano Down: Aztec feather headdress, often described as the crown of Moctezuma II its actual owner is unknown, but the feathers must have been brought from tropical rainforest areas far away from the Aztec capital.

The Aztec Sun Stone, also known as the Aztec Calendar Stone,

The Aztec goddess of Coatlicue, mother of earth

Human sacrifice as shown in the Codex Magliabechian

A painting from Codex Mendoza showing elder Aztecs being given intoxicants

This ornament features a turquoise mosaic on a carved wooden base, with red and white shells used for the mouths. Probably worn across the chest, this ornament measures 20 by 43 cm (8 by 17in). It was likely created by Mixtec artisans from an Aztec tributary state. 14001521, from the British Museum

Turquoise mask. MixtecAztec. 14001521

A painting of Tlaloc, as shown on page 20R of Codex Rios