Arts of the Americas

Arts of the Americas

Professor A. DAscoli

Mesoamerica

Early Americas Aztec & Maya

Mesoamerican & Andean Civilizations30,000-8,000 BCE - stone age-highly mobile hunting and gathering groups in pursuit of large game8000-2000 BCE - hunters & gatherers-disappearance of large game leads to switch to small game, gathering, fishing, and beginnings of agriculture and village life3500-1700 BCE Valdivia culture -early ceramics -fertility figurines2000-200 BCE - improvements in agriculture, culture, and social structures (Called Pre-Classical Era)1300 600 BCE - Olmecs beginnings of hieroglyphic writing & calendar usage developments in art, ceramics, weavings, feline cult900 500 BCE Olmec monolithic stone heads at Chavn (La Venta)

Mesoamerican & Andean Civilizations250 BCE 1000 CE Mayan Civilization flourishes in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize and Honduras Mayans also built pyramids, focused on astronomy and believed time moved in cycles every 52 years, animalistic and nature based religion Palenque and Tikal become great cities ball games to the death - disappeared due to ecological disaster200 BCE 1000 CE is called the Classical Era - emergence of cities, social stratification; flowering of material culture200 BCE 600 CE Paracas culture-weaving & mummy bundles200 BCE 200 CE Nazca culture - Nazca lines, earth drawings200 BCE 700 CE Moche culture in Peru; pottery with realistic painting; built pyramids called huacas disappeared due to earthquake and subsequent ecological damage

Mesoamerican & Andean Civilizations300 900 CE Monte Albn culture -architecture (city on high, large platform)400 800 CE Zapotec culture100-800 CE Teotihuacan Culture -large urban center; Pyramids of the Sun and Moon; theocratic rule, disappeared due to ecological disaster600 800 CE Huari culture - rise of large urban cities & empires600 1000 CE - Tiwanaku culture -monolithic stone architecture

Mesoamerican & Andean Civilizations1000-1492 CE Post Classical Era - Urban, stratified, militarized, imperialistic; no important technological advances900 1200 CE Toltec culture - formation of militaristic empires, wars, invasions, population increase & pressure1000 1476 CE - Cholula, Tarascan, Texcoco and Chim cultures - very large city at Chan-chan with panaqa burial compounds1300 1532 CE Inca Civilization (Tawantinsuyu) - sophisticated and very efficient organizational and administrative structures, road engineering comparable to Romans, destroyed by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro1350 1521 CE Aztecs (Mexicas) - militaristic tribute empire, calendars, astronomy, human sacrifice destroyed by Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortez

Mesoamerican ArtColossal Head900 500 BCEChavin (La Venta), MexicoOlmec CultureThere are several of these gigantic heads that have been discovered; they are believed to be portraits of Olmec rulers

Mesoamerican ArtTeotihuacan350 650 CETeotihuacan, MexicoPyramid of the Sun is seen in the back of photoTeotihuacan was over 9 square miles and was home to approx 150,000 peopleTheir culture disappeared due to ecological disaster of depleting their land

Teotihuacan

Mayans

Mesoamerican ArtTikal700 CETikal, GuatemalaMayan CultureMayans performed their ritual in the open not in secretTikal covers 6 square miles and has 6 pyramidal buildings like this one

Mesoamerican ArtBallgame Field700 CETikal, GuatemalaMayan ballgames were part of ritual lifeThe winners were treated as heroesThe leader of the losing team was sacrificed

Mesoamerican ArtTemple of Inscriptions7th century CEPalenque, MexicoMayanThis temple is inscribed with the history of the Palenque kings and within it is the grave of Pacal, one of the kings

Mesoamerican ArtSarcophagus Lid683 CEPalenque, MexicoMayanLid to Pacals tomb inside the Temple of InscriptionsIt represents the fall to earth to the roots of the tree of life where the Mayans believed heaven was

Pacals Tomb

Mayan. Madrid Codex, leaves 1316 (of 56 total). ca. 1400.

Mesoamerican ArtPyramid of Kukulkan (El Castillo)800-1200 CEChichen Itza, MexicoEach stairway has 91 steps, plus the platform = 365On June 21 the stairway reflects the shadow of the serpent9 layers represent the region of the dead

Aztec Art - Serpents

Mesoamerican ArtObservatory (Carocal)800 1200 CEChichen Itza, MexicoThought by some to be an observation tower for the Mayans to follow the procession of the sun and stars

Mayan. Ball court at Copn, Honduras. ca. 711-36 CE.

Mesoamerican ArtChac Mool800-1200 CEChicen Itza, MexicoPossibly an early ruler of the Maya or ToltecsChaac is the rain god so possibly related

Aztec. Coatlicue. Fifteenth century.Height: 8 3.

Aztec. The Moon Goddess Coyolxauhqui, from the Sacred Precinct, Templo Mayor, Tenochtitln. ca. 1469.Diameter: 10 10.

Aztec tzompantli

Zapotec. Jade pendant, Zapotec, Monte Albn, State of Oaxaca, Mexico. Late pre-Classic, 200 BCE-100 CE.11" 6-3/4"

Typical Aztec Temple

Teotihuacn. Teotihuacn, Mexico, seen from the Pyramid of the Moon, looking south down the Avenue of the Dead, the Pyramid of the Sun at the left. ca. 350-650 CE.

Teotihuacn. The Pyramid of the Moon, looking north up the Avenue of the Dead. ca. 350-650 CE.

Mesoamerican ArtCoatlicue15th century CEMexico City, MexicoAztec cultureSerpent features and skull to show power and fear of Aztec gods

Mesoamerican ArtThe Founding of Tenochtitlan16th century CEAztec CultureFrom the Codex MendozaThe skull rack in the right center panel shows the Aztec affinity to human sacrificeShows the legend of the Eagle, cactus and serpent in founding the city

Mesoamerican ArtAztec Calendar14th centuryMexico City, MexicoAztecLike the Mayans, the Aztecs believed the world went in cyclesBoth calendars end on Dec 22 in 2012

Moche Civilization

Mesoamerican ArtHuaca del Sol (Pyramid of the Sun)500 CEMoche Valley, PeruMoche cultureThis was destroyed by the Spanish by diverting a river to find gold inside of itBuilt of over 143 million mud bricks

Andean ArtMoche Lord with a Feline100 BCE 500 CEMoche CivilizationThe Moche were famous for their pottery and gold artifactsThese vessels were buried with the dead

Moche Gold

Early Americas - Inca

Andean ArtMachu Picchu1450 CEMachu Picchu, PeruIncanBuilt as a citadel, high in the Andes, this city was never taken by the Spanish conquest but it was abandoned

Andean ArtHummingbird200 BCE 200 CENazca Plains, PeruHundreds of these designs cover the plain most cannot be seen except from the airLines point to water sources

Nazca Lines

Mesoamerican Erotic Art

Native American Civilizations40,000 -10,000 BCE Migrations from Asia into the Americas15,000 7,000 BCE Clovis people - Paleo-Indian hunters spread throughout the North American grasslands into the American Southwest. They manufacture unique projectile (fluted) points knows as Clovis, Folsom, and Sandia, named after respective archeological sites in New Mexico. These Clovis people are big game hunters and sought the mastodon, now extinct3500 BCE Oldest continuous culture in North America appears in Pacific Northwest; create totem poles (mortuary poles) and celebrate potlaches (elaborate ceremonies)2000 - 1500 BCE - People in what is now the American Southeast first make pottery

North American Civilizations1100 BCE - The canoe comes into regular use among Native American people in the eastern and northeastern sections of the area that is now the United States. 1000 BCE 1000 CE - In what is now the United States, mound building characterizes the Eastern and Midwestern native cultures.1000 BCE 1000 CE - In the Southwest: the Hohokam, Pueblo, Anasazi and Mogollan people build irrigation canals, agricultural villages, roads and complex ceremonial centers.1000 BCE 1000 CE - On the Plains, people hunt buffalo on foot and live in fortified, semi-sedentary villages. 200 BCE The Hopewell period begins for peoples of the central United States. Large earth mounds are constructed by various groups in the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys.

North American Civilizations700 - 1100 CE - The Anasazi culture evolves into its Pueblo period. This is a developmental stage that sees the use of adobe bricks, stone slabs, or mud and sticks in home building. Kivas (underground ceremonial chambers) and cotton fabrics come into use. Around 900, the pueblo (Chaco Canyon includes Pueblo Bonito, Casa Rinconada (kiva), Chetro Ketl) structures in the American Southwest are constructed.1100 - Hopis in the American Southwest (Chaco Canyon and Pueblo Bonito), use coal for cooking and heating. 1100 - 1300 - - The Pueblo culture (Anasazi) in the northern Arizona and New Mexico area reaches its height (Pueblo Bonito), with large apartment-type structures and many material goods. 1150 - The pueblo of Oraibi (north-eastern Arizona) is founded, the oldest continuously occupied town in the present-day United States. 1275 - - Many Southwest pueblos are abandoned due to drought and Athapaskan raiding parties from the north.

North American Civilizations1300 - - Hopis use coal for making pottery. 1300 - 1600 - - The great Temple Mound or Middle Mississippi civilization flourishes. The highly agricultural civilization is characterized by separate republics, each having a central city, temple mounds and a chief's house. This is one of the greatest North American native civilizations 1600 - Members of the Franciscan order from Mexico establish missions in Hopi areas (now Arizona and New Mexico)

Early Americas North America

Native American ArtHaida Mortuary Poles1878Skedans Village, CanadaPacific Northwest CultureAKA Totem PolesCarved to honor a leader on his deathServed spiritual functionFrom carved out canoes

Native American ArtMesa Verde1200 1300 CEMesa Verde, ColoradoAnasazi CultureBuilt around kivas circular ceremonial underground roomsThese villages were made of adobe mud brick and called Pueblos by the SpaniardsThe Anasazi farmed on the mesa above

Native American ArtGreat Serpent Mound600 BCE 200 CEAdams County, OhioMoundbuildersConsidered the most spectacular of the over 500 mounds in Ohio ValleyBuilt by Adena CultureBurial site but what it symbolizes is unknown

Native American ArtMonks Mound1050 1250 CECahokia, IllinoisMoundbuildersLargest of all the moundsBiggest earthwork constructed in North AmericaOriginally rose in 4 stages and reached a height of 100 feet covering 16 acres

Africa

African Civilizations6,000,000 2,500,000 BCE first hominids in East African Rift Valley600,000 200,000 BCE First use of fire; use of caves as dwellings; first homo sapiens; first stone tool usage25,000 10,000 BCE rock paintings in North and South Africa6000 4000 BCE The River People emerge along the Nile, Niger and Congo Rivers; The Isonghee of Zaire (Republic of Congo) introduce mathematical abacus; and Cyclopean stone tombs built in Central African Republic area; Spread of agriculture south of the Sahara Desert supporting a growing population, which mastered animal domestication and agriculture

African Civilizations5000 31 BCE Egyptian civilization flourishes3000 800 BCE Bantu, a linguistically related group of about 60 million people living in equatorial and southern Africa, probably originated in West Africa, migrating downward gradually into southern Africa. The Bantu migration was one of the largest in human history. The cause of this movement is uncertain.750 BCE 600 CE The Kush appear in Nubia ; place capital at Meroe; bronze; were a fierce rival of Egypt500 BCE 700 CE Axum; The Aksumites were a people formed from the mix of Kushitic speaking people in Ethiopia and Semitic speaking people in southern Arabia who settled the territory across the Red Sea ; rose to power from 400 700 CE500 BCE 200 CE Ancient Nok culture thrives in forests of central Nigeria. Claimed by the Yoruba peoples as ancestors, the Nok are justly revered for their art and terra cottas.

African Civilizations100 200 CE East African civilizations trade with the Romans and Arabs500 CE - 1203 CE Ghana Empire500 CE Takrur State created700 CE Gao established800 CE Chimu Empire founded900 1400 CE Great Zimbabwe1000 CE - Islam established south of Sahara 1087 CE - Muslims invade Ghana 1150 CE - Slaves were exported to North Africa from New Guinea

African Civilizations13th century to present Asante Kingdom1300 1480 CE Mali Kingdom1324 - 1325 CE Mansa Musa of Mali makes trip to Mecca spends so much gold it decreases in value temporarily1352 CE - Ibn Battuta visits Mali 1460 1591 CE Songhai Empire

African Civilizations15th 18th centuries CE Benin culture1500 CE - Compound houses on steep hillsides built by Dogon people in Mali 1541 CE Ethiopians defeat Muslims to slow spread of Islam in East Africa16th 19th centuries CE Slave trade to the Americas established in East Africa1807 CE - British ban slave trade1874 CE - Discovery of diamonds in South Africa

African ArtRock painting10,000 BCETassili, AlgeriaShows knowledge of natural environment and also shows that the Sahara once contained water and plenty of animal life

African ArtSt George Church12th centuryAksum, EthiopiaThis church and others like it were all cut directly from the rock surrounding themEthiopia was a Christian stronghold in AfricaIt also contains the only black Jewish community in the world

Rock Churches Ethiopia

African ArtHunchback3rd century BCEJos Plateau, NigeriaNok CultureNok culture is known for its terra cotta and stone masks and works of art

African ArtPendant Mask, Iyoba16th century CEBenin, NigeriaEdo peopleMade of ivory and copperThe Edo people were famous for their brass masks but ivory was also used

Ife Culture, Nigeria. Head of an Oni (King). ca. thirteenth century.11-7/16".

African ArtHead of an Oba18th century CEBenin, NigeriaMade of brass and ironAll Oba heads show the coral beads around the neck which is part of the royal costume still todayUsed same method of casting as the Romans called lost wax casting

African ArtAsante Gold Weights18th century CEGhanaAsante CultureThese weights were used to calibrate a system of weighing gold dustEven these small mundane objects were still decorated and designed with attention to detail

African ArtGolden Stool18th century CEGhanaAsante CultureAs a major producer of gold, the Asante king uses this throne still todayAccording to legend, it appeared from heaven to show support to the first Asantehene (king), Osei Tutu

African ArtGreat Zimbabwe13th century CEZimbabweBuilt without the use of mortar (drystone architecture)

African ArtDjingareyber Mosque1324-1327Artist: Mansa MusaTimbuktu, MaliMansa Musa was Emperor ordered it built (may have designed it)Mud brick

African ArtGreat Mosque of Djenne1907 CEDjenne, MaliA mosque was first built here in 1200, but this is a modern rebuilding of itBuilt of mud brick and earth

African ArtMeroe Pyramids300 BCE 300 CEMeroe, Nubia (Sudan)From Kush civilization, much smaller but heavily influenced by the Egyptians

African ArtObelisk300 CEAksum (Axum), EthiopiaSacrificial altar was at the base, served as a grave marker for the king

African Art

African Erotic Art

The end . . . Next lecture Early Middle Ages and Romanesque

*Slide concept by Anthony F. D'Ascoli FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY For publication, reproduction or transmission of images, please contact individual artists, estates, photographers and exhibiting institutions for permissions and rights.



Mayan. Madrid Codex, leaves 1316 (of 56 total). ca. 1400.Mayan. Ball court at Copn, Honduras. ca. 711-36 CE.Aztec. Coatlicue. Fifteenth century. Height: 8 3.Aztec. The Moon Goddess Coyolxauhqui, from the Sacred Precinct, Templo Mayor, Tenochtitln. ca. 1469. Diameter: 10 10.Zapotec. Jade pendant, Zapotec, Monte Albn, State of Oaxaca, Mexico. Late pre-Classic, 200 BCE-100 CE. 11" 6-3/4"Teotihuacn. Teotihuacn, Mexico, seen from the Pyramid of the Moon, looking south down the Avenue of the Dead, the Pyramid of the Sun at the left. ca. 350-650 CE.Teotihuacn. The Pyramid of the Moon, looking north up the Avenue of the Dead. ca. 350-650 CE.Ife Culture, Nigeria. Head of an Oni (King). ca. thirteenth century. 11-7/16".

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Arts of the Americas