Chavin de Huantar
Peru
Chavin
900-200 BCE
Stone, granite, gold
3-D stuctures,
Carved relief sculpture
Golden jewelry
Lanzon Stela (Stone)
“Blade (spear) Stone”
Flat relief
Only high ranking
people could see this
Nose Ornament
Golden jewelry, worn
under nose
Worn to make wearer
into a supernatural
being during
ceremonies
Housed about 250
people
3-D structure, building
Mesa Verde Cliff
Dwellings
Montezuma County,
Colorado
Puebloan(Anasazi)
450-1300 CE
Sandstone
Religious capital
Point of Pilgrimage
Kivas- Spiritual areas
Temple
Tunnels channel sound
for prayers
Depicts a powerful
figure that is part
human body/animal
claws & fangs.
2 snake heads on
either end
Sandstone pueblo built
into side of cliff
Jaguar sculpture
symbolizes power.
Temple used for rituals
Possibly acted as an
oracle
Worn to make wearer
into a supernatural
being during
ceremonies
Top ledges stored
supplies, keeping
things cool & dry.
Farming done on
plateau above,
everything was
imported into the
structure.
Use of Torons
(Compare Djenne)
Yaxchilan
Structure 40
Chiapas, Mexico
Maya
725 CE
City set on a high
terrace, plaza
surrounded by
important buildings
Carved Limestone
Lintel 25, Stucture 23
Structure 33
Limestone
Mayan Center
Flourished 300-800 CE
Tells part of a story or
ritual
Temple
Built by ruler Bird
Jaguar IV, or his son
who dedicated it to him
Show of power
Depiction of rituals
performed by Shield
Jaguar II and his wife
(Lintel 25, Structure
23)
Remains of roof comb
w/ perforations
Carved stone Lintels
made site famous
Holding bowl w
bloodletting
ceremonial items
Building dedicated to
Lady Xoc, bottom right
invoking the Vision
serpent to
commemorate her
husbands rise to
throne.
Mix of ancestry,
spiritual power.
Large central room w
corbel arch interior
Great Serpent Mound
Adams County, Ohio
Mississippian Art
1070 CE
Earthwork/Effigy
mound
Built in effigy shapes,
uncertain of meaning.
Effigy: A 3-D
representation of a
specific person or
thing.
Snakes associated
w/crop fertility
Depiction of a serpent
effigy, head facing east,
tail facing west.
Could this mound have
been used to mark time
or seasons, perhaps
indicating when to
plant or harvest
Temple Mayor
(Main Temple)
Tenochtitlan (Aztec)
Mexico City, Mexico
1375-1520 CE
Coyolxauhqui Stone
Geometric structure
Stone
Volcanic Stone
Carved Monolith
Relief Sculpture
Laid out in grid, seen as
center of the world
Story telling carved
stone monolith.
(a single stone serving
as a monument)
2 Temples on top, each
w/separate staircase.
North: God of Rain
(Tlaloc)
South: God of sun &
war
(Huitzilopochtli)
displayed the Mexica
(Aztec)* goddess
Coyolxauhqui, or BellsHer-Cheeks,
Dismembered Moon
Godess… the sister of
the Mexica’s patron
god, Huitzilopochtli
(Hummingbird-Left),
who killed his sister
when she attempted to
kill their mother
Nakedness=Humility
Sun rises between the
2 during spring and
autumn equinoxes
Fires burned on top
This monolith led to
the discovery of the
Templo Mayor, the
main Mexica temple
located in the sacred
precinct of the former
Mexica capital, known
as Tenochtitlan (now
Mexico City).
Aztecs sacrificed
people and then threw
them down the steps of
the temple,
dismembered.
Calendar Stone
“The Sun Stone”
Olmec Style Mask
Ruler’s feather
headdress
(probably Moctezuma
II)
1428-1520
Basalt
Carving
Jadeite
Olmec Culture
1200-400 BCE
Reflected cyclic nature
of time
Very representative of
sacrifice
Snakes on outer ring
“make time happen”
Buried in specific
offerings,
Looking to honor
cultures before them
Part of ritual, part of
performance
Feathers
(quetzal and blue
cotinga)
Gold
Symbolic of eternity
Transforms ruler into
something different
Prophesizing death by
earthquakes
Tongue in mouth was
anthropomorphic, a
flint knife used to slash
open victims
Polished, upturned lips,
baby face, almond eyes, Collecting items from
cleft in head
all over, “looking to the
past”
Reverence for cultures
before the Aztec
Depicts bright and
bold colors & gold
Elaborate Patterns
Taken by Cortez for
Charles V of Spain
(Holy Roman Empire)
City of Cusco
Peru (Inka)
1440 CE
City, geometric
standing structures
Historical capital of
Inkan Empire
Center of existence and
reflection of Inka
power.
Qorikancha (Inka Main
Temple)
Santo Domingo
(Spanish colonial
convent)
Sandstone
Walls at Saqsa Waman
(Sacsayhuaman)
Sandstone
“Golden House”
Shrine of the Inka
dedicated to workship
the sun
Described as a fortress
In the shape of puma,
royal animal
The “head” is a
fortress, the “heart” is a
central square
Qorikancha was one of
many Inka shrines
Exemplified walls
turned into a Christian
which tapered upward, holy space. The
Inkan Trapezoidal
monastery and church
architecture
of Santo Domingo were
built around and on top
of the original shrine,
incorporating the old
structure into the new
one
Placed outside complex
of city, at the head of
Stones are massive,
the puma.
weighing up to 70 tons,
taken from quarry 2
miles away.
Maize Cobs
Inka
1440-1533 CE
City of Machu Picchu
Central Highlands,
Peru
Inka
1450-1540 CE
Observatory
Sheet metal/repousse
Gold & silver alloys
Celebrated Maize in
sculptural form
Principal food source
in Andes
Repousse:
Metalwork hammered
into relief from the
reverse side.
Glorified important
resources
Showed wealth
Royal Estate for the
first Inka Emporer
place where the Inka
emperor and his family
could host feasts,
perform religious
ceremonies, and
administer the affairs
of empire, while also
establishing a claim to
land that would be
owned by his lineage
after his death
Contains housing for
elites, and
maintenance staff,
religious shrines,
fountains, and
terraces, as well as
carved rock outcrops,
a signature element of
Inka art.
“Temple of the Sun”
Calculate June Solstice
& important
constellations
Finely cut masonry,
that supports a
building w/o use of
concrete
Naturalistic Form
Granite
Architectural complex
Possibly may have
been part of a garden
in which full sized
sculptures of maize
and other items were
placed alongside
plants, ensuring a
successful harvest.
Very remote, not
used fro administrative
purposes…more of a
retreat.
cave beneath the
enclosure may refer to
the place of the
underworld in Inka
myth, making the
Observatory a building
that embodied
cosmological thought
as much as it
facilitated
astronomical
observation
name refers to the
idea that it was used
to track the passage
of the sun throughout
Intihuatana Stone
All-T’oqupu Tunic
1450-1540 CE
Camelid fiber & cotton
(alpaca)
“hitching post of the
sun”
Color, Pattern, Rhythm,
Shape.
Slit in center for head,
sides sewn for arms, to
be worn
Warm colors
Organic shapes
Carved boulder in
ritual area
T’oqapu are the
square geometric
motifs that make up
the entirety of this
tunic. These designs
were only allowed to
be worn by those of
high rank in Inka
society
T’oquapu are symbolic
of indiviuals, places, or
events.
Bandolier Bag
Lenape tribe
c. 1850
Beadwork on leather
Pattern, color, shape,
texture, form
Store ammunition
cartridges by soldiers
Glass beads, acquired
from European traders.
the year, part of the
reckoning of time used
to determine when
religious events would
take place and similar
to the Observatory.
Finely-made textiles
from the best materials
were objects of high
status among nearly all
Andean cultures, much
more valuable than
gold or gems. The AllT’oqapu Tunic is an
example of the height
of Andean textile
fabrication and its
centrality to Inka
expressions of power.
Mostly worn by men,
created by women.
Contrasting
colors represent the
Celestial/Sky and
Underworld
realms. The designs
on the sash may also
be read in relation to
the cosmos…branch
into the four cardinal
directions and the
division of the (earthly)
realm into four
quadrants.
Transformation Mask
Kwakwaka’wakw
Northeast coast of
Canada
19th C CE
Wood, paint, string
Mask
Worn over head as a
part of a complete
body costume.
Ritual performance
Wearer will usually
turn back to audience
to conceal the opening
action and heighten
mystery
Mask is opened,
revealing another face
inside.
shows activities of
daily life
women rest near a fire
and more men on
horses hunt buffaloes.
Warriors on horses
are also shown
returning to camp,
which was celebrated
with the Wolf Dance
elements of several
different dances,
including the important
and sacred Sun
Dance and nonreligious Wolf Dance
pronounced
Kwak-wak-ah-wak
Painted elk hide
Attributed to Cotsiogo
(Cadzi Cody)
Eastern Shoshone
Wind river
Reservation, Wyoming
1890-1900 CE
“co SEE ko”
Hide Painting
natural pigments like
red ochre and chalk,
and eventually paints
and dyes obtained
through trade
“Sun Dance”
subject matter that
“affirmed native
identity” and appealed
to tourists. The
imagery placed on the
hide was likely done
with a combination of
free-hand painting and
Sun Dance was
intended to honor the
Creator Deity for the
earth’s bounty and to
stenciling
Black on Black
ceramic vessel
Maria Martinez &
Julian Martinez
Tewa, Puebloan
New Mexico
20th c CE
Blackware Ceramic
Contrasts shiny/matte
black finishes
Vessel
ensure this bounty
continued.
Maria made the pots
Julian painted them
Revival of mythic
figures and designs.
Based on natural
forms : Rain, clouds,
brid feathers, rows of
corn.
Exceptional symmetry,
walls are
eventhickness,
surfaces are perfect.