Chapter 30 Before and after the Conquistadors Native Arts of the Americas after 1300

1. Chapter 30 Before and after the Conquistadors Native Arts of the Americas after 1300

3. Borgia Codex A 15th-century Mayan book, one of a group of codices treating primarily ritual subjects. Mictlantecuhtli and Quetzalcóatl illuminated page from the Borgia Codex from Puebla/Tlaxcala, Mexico ca. 1400-1500mineral and vegetable pigments on deerskinapproximately 10 5/8 in. x 10 3/8 in.

5. Only 500 years ago where the huge megalopolis of Mexico City sprawls today, there was a large, shallow freshwater lake: Lake Texcoco. On the largest of the many islands in this lake there was the Aztec capital of Techochtitlan which was conquered and largely destroyed by the Spanish in 1521.

6. In the center of the city was the Great Temple, a temple-pyramid honoring the Aztec god Huitzilopochtli and the local rain god Tlaloc. It symbolized the victory of Huitzilopochtli over his sister and 400 brothers, who had plotted to kill their mother. The myth signifies the rise of the sun at dawn and the sun’s battle with the forces of darkness, the stars and moon. Great Temple Aztec (Reconstruction Drawing) Tenochtitlán, Mexico City ca.1400 - 1500

7. Techochtitlanwas laid out on a grid plan in quarters and wards, reminiscent of Teotihuacán.

8. Huitzilopochtli chasing away his brothers and dismembering Coyolxauhqui, the moon goddess. Stylistic attributes The relief has a complicated composition and a dreadful, yet formal, beauty. Within the circular space, the design’s carefully balanced, richly detailed components are placed so that they seem to have a slow turning rhythm. The carving is on a single level, a smoothly even, flat surface raised from the flat ground. Coyolxauhqui from the Great Temple of TenochtitlánMexico City, Mexico ca. 1469stoneapproximately 10 ft. 10 in.

9. Coatlicue, also known as Teteoinan, "The Mother of Gods“ is the Aztec goddess who gave birth to the moon, stars, and Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war. Coatlique from Tenochtitlán, Mexico City, Mexico 1487-1520andesite11 ft. 6 in. high

10. Inka Art

12. Quipu was a record-keeping device made of fiber with a main cord and other knotted threads hanging perpendicularly off it. The color and position of each thread, as well as the kind of knot and location, recorded numbers and categories of things (people, llamas, crops).

13. Clothing communicated the social status of the person wearing the garment. Some believe that bands of small squares of repeated abstract designs in Inkan clothing had political meaning, connoting membership in particular social groups. Such motifs completely covered the Inka ruler’s tunics, perhaps to indicate his control over all such groups.

14. The major significance of Machu Picchu is that it is completely invisible from the valley below. The accommodation of its architecture to the landscape is so complete that Machu Picchu seems almost a natural part of the mountain ranges that surround it. Machu Pichu Peru 15th century

15. The Temple of the Sun in Cuzco was constructed and decorated as the stones were laid in regular horizontal courses. The interior was veneered with sheets of gold, silver, and emeralds. The remaining hewn stones, precisely fitted and polished, form a curving semi-parabola and were set for flexibility in earthquakes. Wall of the Golden Enclosure (surmounted by the church of Santo Domingo), Inka, Cuzco, Peru, fifteenth century.

16. South America

17. Tairona Art

19. pendant in the form of a bat-faced man from northeastern Colombia after 1000gold5 1/4 in. high

20. Chavín Art

22. NORTH AMERICA KivaThe spiritual center of Anasazi life, the male council house. They were decorated with elaborate mural paintings representing deities. Anastazi The dominant culture of the American Southwest during the centuries preceding the arrival of the Europeans. They built great architectural complexes like Chaco Canyon and Cliff Palace. Katsina Benevolent supernatural spirit personifying natural elements and living in mountains and water sources.

23. Anasazi Art

25. Two groups that belong to the so-called Pueblo Indians: Hopi of northern Arizona Rio Grande Pueblos of New Mexico Cliff Dwelling Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado ca. 1150-1300

26. Canyon Dwellings Hovenweep National Monument, Utah/Colorado border ca. 1150-1300

27. Navajo Art

28. Three stylistic characteristics of sand paintings: Created from natural materials such as corn pollen, charcoal, sand and varicolored powdered stones. The paintings are destroyed in the process of the ritual. Highly stylized: formed by simple curves, straight lines, right angles, and serial repetition. The purpose of Navajo sand painting was that the temporary paintings, constructed to the accompaniment of prayers and chants, are an essential part of ceremonies for curing disease.

29. Hopi Art

30. Otto Pentewa Katsina Figurine before 1959cottonwood root1 ft. high

31. Pueblo Art

32. In 1918 Maria Martinez and her husband, San Ildefonso Pueblos, invented black-on-black ware that was compatible with contemporary Art Deco style. It became highly collectible. She signed her name with her neighbors’ names on the pots so that they might share in her good fortune. Maria Montoya Martínez Jar from San Ildefonso PuebloNew Mexico ca. 1939blackware11 1/8 x 13 in.

33. Kwakiutl Art

35. Two purposes of the masks carved by Northwest Coast artists: Used in healing rituals. Used in dramatic public performances during the winter ceremonial season. Eagle Transformation Mask from Alert Bay late 19th centurywood, feathers and stringapproximately 1 ft. 10 in. x 11 in.

36. Tlingit Art

38. The function of a Chilkat blanket was they are robes worn over the shoulders. Alaskan Tlingit men designed them They were prestige items of ceremonial dress during the 19th century. Some recurrent stylistic characteristics found in objects created by the historic inhabitants of the Northwest Coast: • Symmetry and rhythmic repetition • Schematic abstraction of animal motifs Eye designs Regular swelling and thinning line Chilkat blanket with stylized animal motifs early 20th centurymountain goat’s wool and cedar bark6 ft. x 2 ft. 11 in.

40. War helmet collected 1888-1893wood1 ft. high

41. Haida Art

43. Reconstruction of a 19th century Haida village with totlem poles Queen Charlotte Island, Canada 1962

44. Haida house frontal or “totem” poles serve as expressions of a Clan groups, expressing prestige and family history.

45. Three types of figures that may be included in such poles: A crest. An animal. A supernatural being who figures in the clan’s origin story.

46. Yupik Art

48. Face:The spirit of the north wind Hoop: The universe Paired human hands: The wearer’s power to attract animals for hunting Rattling appendages: The spirit’s voice White spots: Snowflakes Mask from Alaska early 20th centurywood and feathersapproximately 3 ft. 9 in. high

49. Plains Peoples Art Prior to 1830, artists painted tipis, tipi linings, and buffalo-skin robes with geometric and stiff figural designs. After 1830, they gradually introduced naturalistic scenes, often of war exploits, in styles adapted from those of visiting European artists.