NATIVE ART OF THE
AMERICAS
By Eddie Yang, Michael Huang, and Nikhil Srikumar
Introduction to Native Arts of the
Americas
• This chapter studies the art of pre-Columbian
(before arrival of Columbus and Europeans)
Mesoamerican, South American, and North
American.
• The principal regions of pre-Columbian
Mesoamerica would consist of the northern
region of modern day Central America, and
while being in North America, its art is not
considered North American Art.
• The Spanish conquests of Cortes and Pizarro
cause for the rapid decline and destruction of
Native America.
Importance of Olmec Culture in
Mesoamerican Art
• The diversity of the vast region of Mesoamerica
all seemed to have roots from the Olmec Culture.
The Olmec Culture acted as a mother culture of
Mesoamerica. The reason for this, is that main
parts of Mesoamerican culture, such as religious,
social, and artistic traditions came from Olmec
Culture. As seen so many times in history before,
the culture of the time impacted the art. Even
though new cultures arrive in this region, Olmec
culture had a strong influence on them.
Teotihuacan and Monumental Architecture
• In traditional Olmec culture, there are embryonic civic centers,
however this changed with the building of the Teiotihuacan.
The Teiotihuacan was a monumental Metropolitan area at an
Olmec site. This city was supposedly the sixth largest city in
the world at it’s peak. The city was planned out like Greek and
Roman cities. One of the main aspects of the city is a grand
avenue down the middle of the city that leads to a temple
called the Pyramid of the Sun. The variety of buildings in the
city, and the city plans show one of the first examples of
monumental and planned architecture in Mesoamerica.
Besides monuments, the city also had a grand variety of bright
mural paintings that appeared on buildings and walls. The
streets of Teotihuacan must have been brightly adorned,
during the peak of the city.
Mayan Civilization in Mesoamerica
• Aspects from Olmec tradition and Teotihuacan, can both be
shown in the Classical Maya period. The Mayans built a great
variety of monumental architecture, such as temple-pyramids,
palaces, plazas, and ball courts. The buildings usually had
large symbols or images that showed the purpose of the
building. All of these monuments were then fully adorned in
Mayan paintings and sculptures. Mayan paintings and
sculptures usually glorified the greatness of their rulers and
gods, the Mayans used vivid colors and extravagant props to
emphasize this. Besides architecture and art, the Mayans were
also skilled in science and astronomy, with records of the
movement of the moon and sun. Overall, the Mayan culture
differed from the Olmec culture in many ways, but influence
from the Olmec culture is still seen.
Art of South America
• South American culture predates even the oldest of Mesoamerica. The
indigenous people of Andean South America also created a grand variety of
monuments, sculptures, paintings, and much more during the peak of their
civilization. The central region of Andean South America was in between
Ecuador and Chile and contained a variety of cultures.
• On of these cultures was the Chavin culture who created large U-shaped
buildings with flat tops. Some of these grand structures were as high as
twenty stories tall, which is quite a feat as the Chavin culture thrived at a
relatively early point in the history of Pre-Columbian South America.
• Coastal Cultures such as the Paracas, Nasca, and Moche also thrived in
South America, and they all showed a grand variety of different art. These
cultures produced remarkable ceramics, textiles, and turquoise that was inlaid
with gold. These pieces also did not focus on only one topic, as the subject of
these pieces varied from depictions of humans and animals, to depictions of
great rulers.
• The Tiwanaku and Wari were Northern South American cultures that thrived
in modern day Bolivia and Peru. The Tiwanaku culture created monumental
architecture, and the Wari people created intricate and colorful tapestries.
Art of North America
• The cultures of early Native America called for lots of movement. The
Eskimo culture specifically called for this, which is the reason why all of
their art is small and compact, as it needed to be easily transported.
Their artwork consisted of small ivory and stone statues.
• The Adena people that settled in the woodlands east of the Mississippi
lived in large urban areas, and stayed in one place unlike the Eskimos.
The Adena people built great mounds, one of these mounds in Southern
Illinois was to believed to be an Urban area that once housed about
twenty thousand people. The Adena people also created mounds that
resembled animals or birds. Another example of monumental architecture
like these great mounds is the Cliff Palace that was made by the
Puebloans (Anasazi) in modern day Colorado. This monumental
structure is wedged into a ledge, which helped the Puebloans keep warm
in winter and cool in summer.
• Besides the Nasca and Moche cultures in South America there was also
a great tradition for ceramics in the Mimbre culture in what is now
Southwestern U.S.A. The black and white painted bowls that were
produced by the Mimbres are arguably the finest ceramics of any of the
Native American cultures.
Image of Serpent Mound made by the Adena
Major Art and Architecture
N: Colossal Head, Olmec, La Venta, Mexico
D: 900-400 BCE
P/S: Mesoamerica, Olmec/Preclassic West Mexico
A: Unknown
M/T: Basalt, Subtractive Carving
F: Evoke Awe When Seen
C: This is one of over a dozen similar huge basalt
heads found in Mexico. Depicts ruler of Olmec rulers.
DT: Massive (weighs about 10 tons), Full round,
symmetrical, neutral colors (gray), shows perspective
Ideas: The huge head is meant to express the great
power of the Olmec leaders. The individualized
features and distinctive headgear as well as the
Mayan practice of carving portraits of their rulers
suggests that this head represents a ruler rather than
a deity.
N: the Castillo, Maya, Chichen Itza, Mexico
D: 800-900 BCE
P/S: Mesoamerica, Postclassic Mexico
A: Unknown Mayans
M/T: Stone, layering of stone
F: Temple dedicated to Kukulkan
C: A result of the Mayans experimenting with building construction and materials. Example of
monumental architecture that has some influence from Teotihuacan.
DT: Tall, total number of steps total 365 (matching days of a year), During winter and summer
equinoxes the sun casts a shadow along the northern staircase of the pyramid
Ideas: Putting temple on top elevates it to a god-like level.
• N: Ear ornament, Moche, from tomb at Sipan, Peru
• D: 300 CE
• P/S: South America before 1300s; Moche Civilization
• A: Unknown
• M/T: Gold and turquoise, Subtractive technique
• F: Ornament to decorate the ear
• C: Showed the wealth of the Moche civilization, which only the Greeks and Mayans surpassed in
prosperity. Reveals much about Moche culture along with other things found at the tomb. An
example of a turquoise and gold work from this region.
• DT: Shiny gold color, shiny texture, smooth texture, has perspective and uses foreshortening, gold
and turquoise contrast each other nicely, four and four fifths inches tall.
• Ideas: Shows a warrior priest dressed similar to the Lord of Sipan. Priest is in the center and is
larger compared to the two less significant figures in the back to show he is the center of the
artwork.
Comparisons to Greek Art
Colossal head, La Vente, Olmec
New York Kouros
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Similarities
Both sculptures are examples of subtractive method.
Both sculptures are also sculpted in high relief.
Both sculptures seemingly show emotionless faces.
Collosal head
Created in Mesoamerican Olmec culture where four of these 10 ton
heads were discovered
Sculpted out of basalt
Made to portray a ruler and a not deity due to the particular headwear
and features that hint toward being a ruler.
Kouros
Sculpted from marble
Created during the early archaic period of Greece
Artist is not known but what they had in mind was to portray a young
man or otherwise known as “kouros”
Clenched fists of the figure suggest power as borrowed from the
Egyptians and similar, the Olmec head’s sheer sizes as well as strong
expression that show power as well.
Both sculptures are carved in full round
Greek idea of a perfect body is evident in the full nude of the figure