Indigenous Americas: Ancient and Native American Visual and Contextual

Chavin de Huantar Visual

maze like tunnels underneath called galleries
dark underneath
half creature half human on the Lanzon
round eyes are looking upward
large mouth with fangs
figure’s left hand is pointing down, right hand is pointing up to heaven
both hands have talon-like fingernails
carved channel through the creature
eyebrows and hair is made of snakelike creatures
tunic has contour rivalry
two heads share a single fanged mouth

Chavin de Huantar Contextual

pilgrimage site that drew people and their offerings across South America
people took back ceramics and portable Chavin culture objects back to their home
acoustics of underground tunnels were tremendous
you can hear voices below ground
God is represented in the Lanzon, aka Great Spear
similar to the shape
God ensured the successful planting and harvest
you would pour a sacrificial liquid down the channel in the creature
fangs and talons come from the jaguar and a caiman (small gator)
contour rivalry is when two images share a part/outline
common in Chavin art
only elites and the priests will have access to tunnels underneath
nose ornaments are common
two serpent heads similar to Lanzon
worn by elites, made of gold
shows wealth and allegiance to the Chavin religion

City of Cusco Visual

city layout similar to a puma, a symbol of Inca might
originally, the shrine was covered in sheets of gold to reflect the sun’s rays
inside the shrine was a mini garden made of gold, silver, and jewels
different animals and plants
Santo Domingo was built with Spanish Baroque architecture

City of Cusco Contextual

Cusco is capital of Inca empire
axis mundi, center of the world for the Inca power
cusco means land of four quarters
city is divided in lower and upper class sections and by jobs
stones are peaked with tools and are fitted and placed
advanced because of earthquakes, the walls wouldn’t fall down this way
young girls aka chosen women, acallas, would be brought to Cusco
acallas would weave, find textiles, and make corn beer, chicha
worked in some shrines and sometimes married off
young men were also collected and brought to the city to be educated in the Inca ways
they would return to where they were from when they turned into men
spreads Inca traditions and power
Qorikancha is the sacred shrine dedicated to worshiping the Sun, Inti
means Golden House
most important
the Spanish seizes the Qorikancha in 1532 and melts down the metals
some is sent back to Charles V
builds a monastery and church in place of Qorikancha
Santo Domingo
Saqsa Waman walls are very large and withstand earthquakes

Silver and gold maize cobs Contextual

example of things found in Qorikancha garden
Inca art uses naturalistic forms and small scale objects
sent to Spanish king Charles V
reflective of the ecosystem in the area
used terracing to farm different crops up and down mountains
they practiced Qhapaq hucha, the sacrificing of children
trying to appeal to the supernatural

City of Machu Picchu Contextual

built by first Inca emperor, Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui
place where Inca emperor and family hosted feasts, run government, and performed religious ceremonies
housing for elites, servants, staff, etc
religious shrines, fountains, terraces
stone channel drainage system that ran from a spring to sixteen fountains
each piece of stone is peaked and fitted to withstand earthquakes
observatory to study astronomy and perform religious rituals
emperor claims that he is a descendant of the Sun
hitching stone, or hitching post of the sun
Intihuatana is a giant sundial
Hiram Bingham III is a Yale professor and gets permission to excavate Peru art to Yale
Peru requested to have objects returned, but federal courts must intervene?
famous tourist site

All T'oqapu Contextual

each square is a t'oqapu, represents different people
red and white represents military
tunic is only worn by elite and rich
fibers come from wool of camelid and cotton
collecting and spinning fibers was lots of work
tunic is very expensive
used cochineal to dye wool red
indigo dye is also expensive
chosen women acallas made these
performed religious rituals
Inca power is illustrated in the tunic
fine thread, colors, and weaving all represent power of one to order others to do the stuff
ruler has access to luxury dyes
shows military might of black and white squares

Yaxchilan Visual

two lintel
traces of colors like blue, turquoise, and red
lintels done in high relief
originally painted

Yaxchilan Contextual

Lord Shield Jaguar II rules for 60 years
he commissions many buildings
son is Bird Jaguar IV, continues the building tradition
Lady Xook is performing a blood sacrifice/blood letting
performed by royal women
blood from her tongue falls on a codex book
communication with gods
Mayans were created where gods let their blood create the human race
cycles back to origin
Lady Xook is demonstrating her moral and physical strength to the people
she is capable of being a Mayan royal
Shield Jaguar is holding a burning torch, a spear
held at night for light
Shield Jaguar has a human head on his head dress
shrunken battle trophy
bloodletting
honors and feeds gods
maintains order in the cosmos
maintains power and order in the community
Mayans drew blood with stingray???
Xook has a vision after the bloodletting
sees a serpent
she holds a bowl in her left hand and wears a patterned huipil (shirt) and a headdress with jewelry
made from jade
blood stained paper is burned to allow it to reach the gods
figure coming out of serpent’s mouth has a shield, breastplate, headdress, spear, etc
could be Shield Jaguar II
highlights importance of women in Mayan culture!
roof comb is an extension to make the building look bigger and taller
Bird Jaguar IV continues father’s building
shows his power
most prolific builder

Templo Mayor (Main Temple) Visual

Coyolxuahqui has saggy breasts
mature woman, is a mother herself
2 grand staircases
2 temples, Huitzilopochtli temple for brother (warfare, sun, fire)
other temple is for Tlaloc, god of water and rain
serpent imagery all over the temple
Snake Mountain
sacrificial stone in front of Huitzilopochtli temple
chacmool is laying on his back with a container for offering
human sacrifice is offering
center of monolith is face of solar deity, Tonatiuh
used as an Aztec calendar
Tonatiuh is holding human hearts, indicating that sacrifice creates balance
sacrificial knife is placed in his tongue
sacrifices are needed to keep order in the cosmos
4 eras of history
4 wind - humans turned to monkeys, earth destroyed by winds
4 rain - earth destroyed by rain of fire, humans turn into turkeys
4 jaguar - monsters devoured humanity
4 water - world flooded, people turned into fish
outer ring shows 18 months with 20 days
5 sacrificial days added in dots, aka Nemontemi

Templo Mayor (Main Temple) Contextual

1978, originally painted Coyolxuahqui stone was found
Templo Mayor was found
sister Coyolxuahqui \= Bells her cheeks
Coyolxuahqui is upset with mother Coatlicue because mother is pregnant
Coyolxuahqui tries to kill her mother with her 400 brothers
one brother, Huitzilopochtli, god of warfare, sun, and fire, throws Coyolxuahqui off the mountain and kills her
bones all break and is decapitated
Templo Mayor is main temple for Tenochtitlan
Lake Texcoco, MX city now
Templo Mayor was built in stages by successive rulers
building shows power
temple is supposed to represent mountain Coatepec, aka Snake Mountain
they reenacted story of Coyolxuahqui and brother with war captives
threw captives down
Tenochtitlan established in 1375
7 stages of building
axis mundi, center of world for Aztecs
war captives were painted blue, killed, and rolled off the staircase
fear technique to increase Aztec power
chacmool is older than the Aztecs
Aztecs called themselves Mexica
over 100 ritual deposits
Olmec mask is 1000 years older than Aztecs, from the Mayan culture
offering
Aztecs found it precious and historically significant
in 1521, Spanish conquer the Aztecs and the temple is destroyed and buried
spoilia, temple stones were used to build a cathedral

Ruler’s feather headdress (possibly of Moctezuma II) Contextual

Hernan Cortez sends Motecuhzuma’s headdress after conquering the Aztecs
sends to Charles V
over 400 feathers from male quetzal bird
each bird only has 2-3 feathers
rare
expensive and valuable
blue feathers are from cotinga bird
both birds are found in Central America and Costa Rica
they were not in Mexico…
either through tribute or exchanged through trade
indicates power and reach of Aztec empire
amanteca - feather workers who assembled headdresses
after Spanish conquest, amanteca make Christian art

Mesa Verde cliff dwellings Contextual

Anasazi \= ancestral Pueblos
built more than 600 structures into Cliff Palace
located in 4 corners of the US
Colorado, New MX, Arizona, and Utah meet
now a national park called Mesa Verde
Green Table
referring to flat topped mountains in the Southwest
used retractable ladders to climb into structures
made of stone, mortar, and plaster and wooden beams
Cliff Palace is the largest, has 150 rooms
some buildings have 1-4 stories
mostly made out of adobe
families lived in units organized around kivas
kivas are circular subterranean rooms
wood beam roof with 6 columns
fire pit, ventilation shaft, and small hole in floor for ceremonial purposes
murals were painted
sedentary, farmed beans, squash, corn from MX
lived in cliffs for shade/protection or spiritual significance
abandoned in 1300…

Great Serpent Mound Contextual

erected by settled people who grew crops
organized labor force
no written records
mounds are serpent shaped
head of serpent aligns with the summer solstice, tail points to winter solstice
marked time/seasons for when to plant, harvest, etc
curves in body represent lunar phases
Halley’s comet?
no artifacts, graves

Bandolier bag Contextual

made of tiny seed beads
based on bags carried by EU soldiers who carried bags to store ammunition
due to Indian Removal Act 1830, they were moved
Jackson signed the act
still continued to make bandolier bags after being relocated
crossbody bag
most men wore the bags, but women created them
originally intended to compliment a man’s ceremonial outfit
no pocket, pockets were added later on
originally made of animal skins and porcupine quills
Lenape gets seed beads from EU
glass seed beads allow for curved lines
decorated with silk ribbons from trade with EU
wool fringe from trade
used cotton cloth instead of animal hide
prairie style, used glass beads in floral pattern
reflects trade and contact with Europeans

Transformation Mask Contextual

usually represents transformation from an animal to a mythical being or to another animal
worn by dancers during ceremonies
when string is pulled, an ancestor’s face is revealed and opens up
worn during potlatch ceremonies for Kwakiutl tribe
host is trying to display his status
host would give away gifts to guests
shows his power?
masks were part of costume with a cloak made of red cedar bark
masks convey social position, only those with elite status could wear them
portrays family genealogy, family symbols are on masks
Kwakiutl believed that deceased ancestors roamed the world and transformed themselves in the process
when wearing masks, the spirit of ancestors are supposed to enter in the men
masks take months to years to make
decay quickly
most masks we have only date to 19th and 20th century
believed to have been used for thousands of years
potlatches are banned in 1885 until 1950 due to Christianity spreading
Christian missionaries saw them as immoral and thought cannibalism was occuring
Canadian gov believed potlatches hindered economic growth
people stopped working during ceremonies
masks were confiscated, upsetting tribes
masks were all natural at first, then were made using iron tools after meeting Europeans
synthetic paints
passed down between family members
shows rank and status

Hide painting of Sun Dance Contextual

hide painting dates back to thousands of years
records history
originally, natural pigments were used
later, people used synthetic European paints
Cody is already a part of a reservation
purposely made to affirm the Native identity
sold paintings to the tourists
included buffalo to appeal to the tourists
men wear feathered headdresses and are dancing
men refrained from eating and drinking to honor sun god
1904, US outlaws Sun Dance

Black on black ceramic vessel Contextual

used for food storage
after railroads, not used for food storage
sold pots to non Native audiences to make money and spread native culture
now something to look at,no other function
made by hand entirely
slip is placed on top
no kiln used, fire created by manure
communal activity
matte black design
design is based on ancient pottery shards
one design is birds in flight
art deco movement similarities
signs name on bottom to make more value
Pueblo style !
art object, not utilitarian