Amate Bark Paintings

1. Amate Bark Paintings

2. Aztec Empire

3. The people • Many years after the Mexica people first built their proud city, Tenochtitlan (later to become Mexico City), they formed an alliance with two other cities - Texcoco (Tetzcoco) and Tlacopan. This Triple Alliance was to rule the Valley of Mexico until the Spanish arrived. However, over time one city become the most powerful, Tenochtitlan. This was known as the Aztec empire, but it made up more then just the mexican natives.

4. Amate and its role over time, for the aztec empire • Amate (Spanish: amate from Nahuatl: āmatl) is a form of paper that has been manufactured in Mexico since the pre-Hispanic times. • The paper was used extensively and was used for record keeping and communications. • after the Spanish conquest, its production was mostly banned and replaced by European paper. • People in the mountains and where terrain was hard to get to, still kept the practice alive, so it never entirely died out. • Later on the Otami people heard the production of the paper was alive, purchased the paper and began to make crafts on the paper.

5. Folk art • Folk art is art that is made for the purpose of making money. Now, these paintings are made to make money. Originally, the paper was made and important historical events were painted on the paper • In the later part of the 20th century, folk artists began to paint on the Amate paper, to make money in the tourism industry.

6. Folk art, bark paintings

7. More folk art

8. More folk art

9. Student samples

10. Classical uses • This is a Mexican calendar, painted on Amate paper.