Native Arts of the Americas before 13000

Art Survey I UoM

adobe

The clay used to make a kind of sun-dried mud brick of the same name; a building made of such brick.

Anasazi

A Native American people who once lived in cliff dwellings in Utah and Colorado.

Andean

Territory defined by the Andes Mountains in western South America. It is common to describe as Andean those people who developed complex societies in this vast region, especially those of coastal and upland Peru and Bolivia. The term may also be extended to include the ancient people who lived in present-day Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, and the northern highlands of Chile and Argentina.

appliqués

In the context of ceramics, adding low-relief clay forms to hard surfaces for embellishment.

aqueduct

An artificial channel for conveying water, typically in the form of a bridge supported by tall columns across a valley.

atlantad

A male figure that functions as a supporting column. See also caryatid.

atlatl

Spear-thrower, the typical weapon of the Toltecs of ancient Mexico.

backstrap loom

A simple Andean loom featuring a belt or backstrap encircling the waist of the seated weaver.

balustrades

A kind of low wall placed at the sides of staircases, bridges, etc., made of a row of short posts topped by a long rail.

bas-relief

A kind of sculpture in which shapes are carved so that they are only slightly higher than the flat background.

celt

In Olmec Mexico, an ax-shaped form made of polished jade; generally, a prehistoric metal or stone implement shaped like a chisel or ax head.

Chavin

A civilization that developed in the northern Andean highlands of Peru from 900 to 200 BCE. Their influence extended to other civilizations along the coast.

codices

Books constructed of sheets of paper, vellum, papyrus, or similar materials, with hand-written contents. Codex: singular.

effigy mounds

Ceremonial mounds built in the shape of animals or birds by native North American peoples.

embroidery

The technique of sewing threads onto a finished ground to form contrasting designs.

fret or meander

An ornament, usually in bands but also covering broad surfaces, consisting of interlocking geometric motifs. An ornamental pattern of contiguous straight lines joined usually at right angles.

gorget

A neck pendant.

hieroglyphic

A type of writing consisting of hieroglyphs, a largely pictorial character of the Ancient Egyptian writing system.

Huacas

In Quechua, a Native American language of South America, a huaca or waqa is an object that represents something revered, typically a monument of some kind. The term huaca can refer to natural locations, such as immense rocks.

jade

An ornamental rock with green and blue properties.

kero

A type of wooden drinking vessel produced by the Incas and earlier Andean cultures.

kiva

A large circular underground structure that is the spiritual and ceremonial center of Pueblo Indian life.

logographic

Type of written language in which the characters/pictures used represent complete words and ideas instead of syllables or sounds.

mansard roof

A roof with four sloping sides that become steeper halfway down.

Maya blue

A unique bright azure pigment manufactured by cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, such as the Maya and Aztec. Made from a combination of a particular kind of clay, indigo, and vegetable dye.

megalith

A gigantic stone, often weighing several tons.

Mesoamerica

A pre-Columbian cultural region extending from the southern part of Mexico to an area that comprises some parts of the countries of Central America. The region that comprises Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and the Pacific coast of El Salvador.

Mesoamerican ballgame

A sport with ritual associations played since 1,400 BC by the pre-Columbian peoples of Ancient Mesoamerica.

Mississippian

A mound-building, agrarian Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 to 1500 CE.

Mixtec

A Mesoamerican people who lived in southern Mexico before the rise of the Aztecs.

Moche

A civilization that flourished in northern Peru from about 100 to 800 AD, particularly noted for their elaborately painted ceramics, gold work, monumental constructions (huacas), and irrigation systems.

mound builder

Any of several Native American people who constructed large mounds for ceremonial or burial purposes.

New World

The term used by Europeans to describe the western hemisphere, specifically the Americas, during the "age of discovery" beginning in the early 16th century.

Olmec

Ancient pre-Columbian people living in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in roughly the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco.

phytomorphic

Having the attributes of a plant.

Preclassic period

Also known as the Formative period, dating roughly from as early as 1500 BCE to about 400 BCE.

pre-Columbian (adj.)

The cultures that flourished in the Western Hemisphere before the arrival of Christopher Columbus and the beginning of European contact and conquest.

Pueblo

A communal multistoried dwelling made of stone or adobe brick by the Native Americans of the Southwest; with cap. also used to refer to various groups that occupied such dwellings.

resin painting

A type of pottery decoration in which ceramics are painted after they are fired in a kiln with a sticky organic substance exuded by trees and other plants.

roof comb

In a Mayan building, a masonry wall along the apex of a roof built above the level of the roof proper.

slip painting

A type of pottery decoration in which a liquid mixture of clay and/or other materials suspended in water is applied to wet clay before it is fired in a kiln.

sonrientes

A type of ceramic figurine produced by the Veracruz culture. Literally translates to 'smiling' in Spanish.

stelae

Upright stone slabs or columns typically bearing a commemorative inscription or relief design, often serving as gravestones.

taludtablero

A design characteristic of Mayan architecture at Teotihuacan in which a sloping talud at the base of a building supports a wall-like tablero.

tapestry

A weaving technique in which the weft threads are packed densely over the warp threads so that the designs are woven directly into the fabric.

terracotta

Hard-baked clay, used for sculpture and as a building material. It may be glazed or painted.

trilithon

A megalithic post-and-lintel structure.

Wari

A Middle Horizon civilization that flourished in the south-central Andes and coastal area of modern-day Peru, from about 500 to 1000 CE.

warp

The vertical threads of a loom or cloth.

weft

The horizontal threads of a loom or cloth.

xeriscaping

Landscaping and gardening that reduces or eliminates the need for supplemental water from irrigation.