12-+Art+of+the+Americas++before+1300

Art of the Americas (before 1300)  - Connie Long



**The New World ** This chapter discusses the accomplishments of the cultures of these five areas: Mesoamerica, Central America, the central Andes of South America, the southeastern Woodlands and the great river valleys of NorthAmerica, and the North American Southwest. The shift to agriculture in the Americas was accompanied by a development of the arts body:
 * Peoples of Mesoamerica developed writing, astronomy, a complez calendar, and a system of mathematics
 * Central/South American Peoples had an advanced metallurgy, produced exquisite gold, silver and copper pieces
 * People of the Andes produced metal weapons and intricate basketry and weaving
 * Other peoples made tools of bone, ivory, stone, wood, obsidian



Ancient Mesoamerica encompasses the area north of the Valley of Mexico to modern Belize, Honduras, and western Nicaragua in Central America. The civilizations reflect the varied topography of the region but were linked by trade and displayed an overall cultural unity. Archaeologists divided MesoAmerica's history into 3 broad periods: Formative/Preclassic (1500 BCE-300BCE), Classic (300-900 CE), and Postclassic (900-1500 CE). //The Olmec // - the first major Mesoamerican art style, during the Formative/ Preclassic Period Teotihuacan - located about 30 miles from Mexico City - emerged as a significat center of commerce and manufacturing, the first large city-state in the Americas (1-750 CE) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">- it controlled a source of high-quality obsidian <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">- today it remains a legendary pilgrimage center
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">MesoAmerica **
 * San Lorenza <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">had the earliest Olmec ceremonial center: ball court
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">La Venta: built on high ground between rivers, an earth mound- The Great Pyramid which satnds at the south end of a large open court, arranged on a north-south axis, defined by long, low earth mounds. There was an elaborate drainage system fo stone troughs which may've been used as part of a ritual honoring of a water deity. Jade, serpentine stone and granite artifacts were found.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The Olmec universe had 3 levels: sky, earth surface and underworld
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Olmecs produced many monumental basalt sculptures: colossal heads, altars, seated figures
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Colossal heads ranged from 5-12 ft and from 5-20 tons. They are portraits of rulers, adult males wearing close-fitting caps, fleshy faces, and old grand mothers [[image:http://media.web.britannica.com/eb-media/56/4556-004-1703C415.jpg caption="Colossal Head"]]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Pyramid of the Sun- east of the main corridor, the largest architectural monument. 207 ft high, 720 feet on each side of its base, similar in size to the largest Egyptian pyramid of Giza, but not as tall. It's built over a 4-chambered cave with a spring, rises in sloping stemps to a flat platform, a monumental stone stairway led from level to level up. the exterior was faced with stone and stucco and was painted
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Pyramid of the Moon- not as large, stands at the north end
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Ciudadela- at the southern end, a vast sunken plaza surrounded by temple platforms
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Temple of the Feathered Serpent, exhibits the talud-tablero (sloped and panel) construction that is a hallmark of Teotihuacan architectural style, which supports a tablero (entablature) that rises verically, surrounded by a frame, filled with sculptured decoration. There are painted reliefs of the Feathered Serpent, otherwise known as the Storm god. The flat, angular abstract style is typical of Teotihuacan art.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Artists worked in true fresco technique, applying pigments directly on damp lime laster, the use of color was subtle
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Magurey Bloodletting Ritual- wall painting, depicts a man deressed as the Storm God who revitalizeds the earth with his own blood. The drops of blood from his right hand are indicated by the panel with conventionalized symbols for blook, seeds, and flowers. the sppech scroll symbolizes his ritual chant

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Maya <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">- includes Guatemala, Yucatan peninsula, Belize and Honduras <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">- the ancient Mayans are noted for a number of achievements, such as high agricutlural yields, hieroglyphic writing, documented accomplishments in monumental commemorative stelai, in books, on ceramic vessels, and human sacrifice <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">- the Mayan civilization reached its peak during the Classic Period <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Classic- Period Architecture at Tikal and Palenque <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">- the Diquis occupied fortified villages without monumental architecture or sculpture but produced fine featherwork, ceramics, textiles and gold objects <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">- the technique of lost-wax casting first appeared here
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">monumental builidings were examples of the use of architecture for public display and propaganda
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Tikal was the largest Classic-Period Maya Ciety
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">North Acropolis- contains royal tombs, the tallest pyramid as known as Temple of the Giant Jaguar which faces a companion pyramid Temple II. Temple I covers the temb of the ruler Ah Hasaw, rises above the forest canopy, the base has nine layers, reflecting the belief that the underworld had nine levels, corbel vaults. The crest that rises over the roof the temple, known as the roof comb was originally covered with brightly painted sculpture
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Palenque rose prominence in the late Classic Period, the powerful ruler Lord Pacal commissioned most of the structures visible today
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The Palace is a series of buildings on two levels around 3 level courts on a raised terrace.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The Temple of Inscriptions is a pyramid that rises about 75 feet. It also has nine levels, the shrine on the summite consisted of a portico with five entraces and a 3-part, vaulted inner chamber surmounted by a tall roof comb. There are inscriptions on the back wall of the portico and central inner chamber. There is a corbel vaulted stairway that descends almost 80 feet to a small subterranean chamber that contined the tomb of Lord Pacal[[image:http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2712/4076027735_8ff1d4b4e0.jpg align="right"]]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Sarcophagus Lid of Lord Pacal- lay in monolithic sarcophagus with a lid carved in ow relieft thatshows him balanced between the spirit world and earth. The message is on of death a rebirth; Lord Pacal will rise again join the gods after falling into heunderworld.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Elite men and women were the usual subjects of Maya sculpture. They favored low-relief carving with sharp outlines on flat stone surfaces, excelled at 3D clay and stucco sculpture. The ideal Mayan beautyas a sloping forhead, elongated skull, large curved nose, full lips, and open mouth
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Artists illustrated in codices- books of folded paper made from the Maguey plant[[image:http://www.library.ubc.ca/finearts/images/precolumbian/Maya_cylindrical-vessel.jpg width="151" height="153" align="right"]]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Book of Popol Vuh, history of the creation of the world and the first people
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Chichen Itza: the Pyramid of the Featered Serpent has a stairway on each side that leads to a square temple on its summent. At the spring and fall equinoxes, the setting sun casts an undulating serpentlike shadow that mimics the serpent on the stairway balustrades. The pyramid is lower and broader than the stepped pyramids, and his wider rooms. There is the use of pillars and colums as well. surviving works show brillantly colored relief sculpture and narrative scenes.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Chacmools are half-reclining figures, has sturdy forms, proportions and angularity of architecture. They probaly represent fallen warriros and were used to receive sacrifice
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Central America[[image:http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~fisher/hst140/ShamanWithDrumAndSnake.JPG align="right"]] **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The shaman with Drum and Snake- is a small, exquisite pendant that illustrates the sophisticated design and technical facility.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Disquis mythology serpents and crocodiles inhabit a lower world, humans and birds a higher one. their art depicts animals and insects as fierce and dangerous. The scrolls on the shaman represent his power to hear and understand the speech of animals. The gold figures may have been protectuve amulets, signs of high status, meant to inspire fear because gold was thought to capture the energy and power of the sun.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The Paracas and Nazca Cultures <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">- The Paracas culture of the Peruvian south coast are known for their stunning textiles, which were found in cemeteries wrapped in many layers around the dead. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">- weaving is of great antiquity in the central Andes. Fine textiles were a source of prestige and wealth. The textiles included repeated embroidered figures of warriors, dancers, and composite creatures such as bird-people. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">- The Nazcas are best known for //geoglyphs//- or collosal earth works. On great stretcheds of desert, they literally drew in the earth. By removing dark, oxidized stones, they exposed the light underlying stones, then edged the resulting lines with more stones. They creating gigantic images, made abstract patterns and groups of straight parallel lines that extend for up to 12 miles. each geoglyph was maintained by a clan.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">South America: The Central Andes **



<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The Moche Culture <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">- dominated the north coast of Peru <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">- they had exceptional potters and metalsmiths, developed ceramic molds, which allowed for mass production. They created realist portrait vessels and recorded mythological narratives and ritual scenes in intricate fine-line painting. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The Mound Builders <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">- before 1000 BCE, people living in the river of the Valleys of the American east began building monumental earthworks, or mounds, and burying their leaders with valuable grave goods. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">- the earliest of these earthworks are six concentric circles 3/4 of a mile across at Pverty Point in Louisiana <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">- the Hopewell carved their pipes with realistic representations of forest animals and birds <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The people of Mississippian culture continued the mound-builindg tradition. //<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The Great Serpent Mound // <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">- 1, 254 feet long, 20 feet wide, wriggles along the crest of a ridge overlooking a stream, with its head at the highest point. The serpent appears to open its jaws to swallow an enormous egg
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">the Moche Lord with a Feline is a ceramic vessel: the lord wears an elaborate headdress and large earspools and strokes a jaguar cub. the U-shaped spout is a motif on Moche vessels
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">a central theme is the sacrifice ceremony in which prisoners are captured and figures drink their blood.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Earspools made of gold and turquoise depicts 3 Moche warrirors
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">North America **



<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">- the Mogollon culture lcated in the mountains of west-central New Mexico and east-central Arizona. The Hohokam culture emerged around 550 built large-scale irrigation systems with canals that were deep and narrow to reduce evaporation and lined with clay to reduce seepage.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The American Southwest **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Pueblo Bonito was the most extensive great house was built in stages between the tenth and mid-thirteenth century within a perimeter wall that was 1300 feet long. The number of rooms far exceeds the evidence of human habitants and had more than 30 //kivas// (built in platforms seats around the perimeter, were a bkind of ritual assembly hall where men performed important rites and instructed youths in their adult rituals and social responsibilities.)

Check Out these Links! [|Cracking the Maya Code] [|Art of the Americas] [|Aztecs- Engineering an Empire]

The End :)