Art In Mexico and Central America

1. Art In Mexico and Central America

3. Olmec. Colossal Head. 1200 B.C. Basalt. 243.8 cm (8') high. Anthropology Museum, Veraeruz, Mexico

6. The Mayan city at Tikal included temples and other structures built with a cement-like compound made from burnt lime. The pyramids here are 230 feet high. Tikal, Guatemala. A.D. 150-700.The

8. the Mayan religion emphasized the equal importance of the two sexes. In the Mayan religious view, humans and animals were believed to share the surface of a world confined to a single branch of a ceiba tree. Royal Woman. Relief carving, Chiapas or Tabasco, Mexico. A.D. 650-750. limestone, stucco, paint. 220.3 x 76.8 x 15.2 cm (86% x 30'/4 x 6"). Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas. Foundation Originally, contrasting colors probably helped the viewer distinguish between this intricately carved figure and its elaborate background.

9. The Aztecs conquest was complete. Following a legendary prophecy that they would build a city where an eagle perched on a cactus with a serpent in its mouth, the Aztecs settled in the marshes on the west shore of the great "Lake of the Moon," Lake Texcoco.

10. The Aztecs were a warlike people driven to continuous combat by their religious beliefs. They believed that human sacrifices were necessary to keep the universe running smoothly. Against a backdrop of brilliantly painted architecture and sculpture, sacrifices of human hearts were made to ensure that the gods remained in good spirits. At the dedication of the great temple at Tenochtitlan, 20,000 captives were sacrificed. They were led up the steps of the high pyramid-temple to an altar where chiefs and priests waited to slit them open and remove their hearts. Aztec Sculpture Art was closely linked to these rituals. Statues to the gods were carved and placed in the temples atop stepped pyramids. There were even statues of priests and celebrants dressed in the skins of flayed victims who had been sacrificed. The sculpture shown here depicts a man dressed in this way. The artist has shown stylized flay marks and the slash in the skin where the victim's heart was removed.

11. This is a codex from which personal destinies were predicted. This codex reveals a taste for fantastic images created with clear, bright colors and flat shapes. There is no shading or modeling to suggest three­dimensional forms. Heads are large and torsos and limbs short. These paintings were never meant to illustrate people or events associated with the real world. The figures, most with humanlike heads, torsos, and limbs, do not represent human beings. Their poses and gestures communicate ideas and combinations of ideas. These paintings serve as both writings and pictures

12. The Incas demonstrated great organizational skills and managed to control their These were kept in a secure place at Cuzco.

13. Unlike the Aztecs, the Inca practiced human sacrifice only rarely; even the sacrifice of animals was relatively unusual. Because the Incan Empire was designed to be ruled by a small, elite group, Francisco Pizarro was able to overtake them with only 168 soldiers.

14. its inhabitants Inca. Aerial view of Machu Picchu. Peru. c.1Soo