Mesoamerican/Pre-Columbian Art

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Mesoamerican/Pre-Columbian Art
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The Aztecs
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Background

• The Aztec civilization dominated large parts of
  Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries.
  

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Background Continued

• Around 1300 CE, about 200 years after the Maya
  Indians disappeared, a wandering tribe of Indians
  wandered into the Valley of Mexico. These people
  were called the Aztecs. 
• When the Aztecs arrived in the Valley of Mexico,
  other tribes were already in residence.

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Becoming an Empire

• After a while, they began to conquer the
  neighboring tribes. They conquered first one
  tribe, and then another, and then another. They
  expanded and expanded until they had built an
  empire.  

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Decline

• Around 1500 CE, Spanish Conquistadors arrived.
• The Spanish brought guns, horses, huge fighting
  dogs, and disease.
• By the mid-1500s, the Aztec Empire had
  collapsed, and the Spanish took over. 

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Aztec Art

• Ancient Aztec art was primarily a form of
  religious expression and a means for paying
  tribute to their gods.
• The people of the empire had an appreciation for
  a wide variety of insects, birds, fish and
  animals. A lot of their art reflected this.
  Animals were common themes.

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Examples of Art

• - Aztec Pottery
• - Aztec Sculptures
• - Aztec Drawings (Pictographs)
• - Aztec Ritual Art (Masks Tattoos)
• - Aztec Idols
• - Aztec Double Headed figures
• Art could be made with gold, silver, copper,
  jewels, feathers, coral, clay and stone

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The Aztec Calendar
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Aztec Calendar

• It is perhaps the most famous Aztec sculpture in
  Aztec art history
• This sculpture weighs an amazing 22 metric tons
  and is 12 feet in diameter.
• The face of Tonathiuh, the Aztec Sun God can be
  found carved in the center of the stone.
• Surrounding the middle are 4 squares which are
  interpreted to be the 4 seasons.
• Circular bands symbolizing the heavens and the
  days are located around the face.

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Tlaloc The Rain GodHe Who Makes Things Sprout

• One of the oldest identifiable deities of
  Mesoamerica
• The god was believed to give rain at the
  beginning of each planting season
• Tlalocs shrine is in the Temple Mayor, the
  Aztecs main temple in Tenochtitlan
• This mask was typically painted blue and composed
  of spectacle-like disks for eyes, a twisted nose
  and fangs

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The Incas
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Background Information

• The Incas began as a tribe in the Cuzco area.
• Founded the Kingdom of Cuzco around 1200.
• They would be in current
• day Peru.

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Religion

• The Inca were polytheists which means they
  believed in many different gods.
• One of their main gods was Viracocha, who was
  believed to be the creator of the Inca.
• Another god, Inti, was the Sun God

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Religion

• They also believed silver was the tears of the
  moon, and gold was believed to be the sweat of
  the sun.
• The Inca felt they had a very good relationship
  with the gods.
• Priests were thought to be able to do the bidding
  of the gods, so they were highly honored and
  often part of the royal family.

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Religion

• Huacas were widespread around the Inca Empire.
• Huacas were entities that resided in natural
  objects such as mountains, boulders, streams,
  battle fields, other meeting places, and any type
  of place that was connected with past Incan
  rulers.
• The Inca were a deeply religious people. They
  feared that evil would befall at any time.
• They also believed in reincarnation, saving their
  nail clippings, hair cuttings and teeth in case
  the returning spirit needed them

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Government

• The rulers of the Inca civilization were members
  of royal dynasties or families.
• The emperor was called Inca. No other people
  really were called Inca, but over time this term
  came to mean the society in general.
• The high priest, governors, and generals were
  important members of the royal council.

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Art Work

• The Incan craftsmen achieved a high degree of
  respect and honor because of their skills in arts
  and crafts.
• They sculpted pottery which featured geometric
  designs painted in
• black, red, brown, yellow,
• and white.

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Art Work

• Incan weavers wove beautiful textiles from
  alpaca, llama, and vicuña wool and from cotton.

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Art Work

• Metalworkers make ornaments, tools, and weapons
  out silver, copper, gold, and bronze.
• Because llamas were very protected in the Andean
  region, lots of
• stylized llama figures
• were made by
• metalworkers.

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Art Work

• Female statues were often found with Incan
• offerings to the gods.

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Architecture

• Famous architecture
• This is called the MACHU PICCHU CITADEL. It is
  unsure exactly what this was designed for.

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Other- Nazca Lines
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Nazca Lines

• These lines are a series of giant ancient
  geoglyphs etched into the deserts of Peru
• The lines cover about 400 square miles, and about
  300 figures have been documented

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Nazca Lines cont.
-

• -Scholars believe that these lines were created
  by the Nazca people, who could also be considered
  Incan.
• -Many other people speculate that the lines
  could have been the work of aliens

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The Mayans
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Religion

• Maya religion of western Honduras, Guatemala,
  Belize, and Mexico (Chiapas and Yucatán) is a
  southeastern variant of Mesoamerican religion
• Mayan tales in which personified forces of
  nature, deities, and the heroes
• Mayan religion is a contradistinction to orthodox
  Roman Catholic

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Religion

• Polytheistic
• Offerings and Sacrifices
• Relations with the after-life
• Deer, dogs, quail, turkey, fish, on occasion
  humans
• Ritual Topography
• Mountains, wells, caves assigned to ancestors and
  deities
• Costumbre
• custom, habitual religious practice

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Architecture

• Houses
• Temples
• In honor of kings
• Courtyards
• Immense horizontal floors
• Steep stair cases

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Tikal
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Tikal

• Region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern
  Guatemala
• ti ak'al
• at the waterhole

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Mayan Painting

• Due to the humid and airy climate of central
  America few Mayan paintings have survived
• Bonampak Murals These bright and rich colored
  murals decorated the inside of a temple. The
  images depict scenes of nobility, battle and
  sacrifice.

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Bonampak Murals
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Mayan Sculpture

• The Mayans created a multitude of sculptures,
  using mostly stone, wood, stucco and jade.
• Most sculptures were either portraits depicting
  leaders disguised as Gods, stone lintels, or
  altars

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Portrait of K'inich Janaab Pakal I
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THE END
By Jess, Abby, Allie, Brian, Tony, Will and
Ricky