Art History: Chapter 6 - Early Indigenous Art of the Americas

Background

• Prehistoric people used North Atlantic, Bering Land, and Australia-South America route to get to the Americas

• Ice caps caused people to be cut off from other regions 

• Artwork is referred to as Pre-Columbian

Clovis Period (16000 - 8000 BC)

• North America was last continent to be inhabited by people

• Had nomadic lifestyle with hunter gatherers

• Animals were extinct besides camels

• Ice melting created the Great Plains

• Archaic Period: Projectile points, stone & pottery artifacts

• Woodland Period: Increased settlements and agriculture

Archaic Period (8000 - 3000 BC)

Deer/Bighorn Sheep

Visual 

• Made of willow twigs

• Depicts animals such as deer and bighorn sheep

Iconographic 

• Made during the Archaic Period

• Found in Arizona

• Is the earliest art in North America

• Purpose unknown but most likely used in hunting rituals or as children’s toys

Petroglyphs

Visual 

• Made of sandstone 

• Are rock paintings depicting large geometric shapes, animals, and humanoid figures

Iconographic 

• Made during the Archaic Period 

• Found in Nevada

• Were carved into sandstone with a harder rock

Woodland Period (3000 BC - 1000 AD) 

• In the east/midwest

• Had lots of mound building 

• Mound building used as platforms for temples

• Could also be burial mounds

• Sometimes part of massive earthworks

Watson Brake 

Visual 

• Made with earth and clay

• A village that was a circular site with mounds

• Largest mound is 25 ft tall

Iconographic 

• Made in the Woodland Period 

• Found in Louisiana 

• Most likely built before the Great Pyramids of Egypt

• No public access to the mounds 

• Projectile points, fire-earthed blocks, and other artifacts were found

• Unknown why all the mounds were made

Poverty Point

Visual 

• Semicircular plot with a large mound at the top & a ball court 

• Mound A is 72 ft tall 

• 1.3 km wide and used 238500 cubic meters of soil to build 

Iconographic 

• Made in Woodland Period

• Found in Louisiana 

• Mound A took thousands of people 30-90 days to build

• No evidence of erosion or vegetation shows it took little time to build 

• Some form of leadership needed to organize the mound building

• Mound A was most likely used as a temple

• Arrowheads, ceramic vessels, and adornments (beads & gorgets) were found 

• Gorgets had incised lines and were worn at the throat

• Beads were in animal shapes (birds and pigs) 

• People here were first in Louisiana to use pottery

• Most clays weren’t mixed with anything, but some had plant fibers to stop cracking from firing

• Marking the pot when it was hard gave it artistic appeal 

Soapstone Bowls

Visual 

• Made of quarry stone

• Simple, naturalistic

• Low intensity hue of brown

Iconographic 

• Made in Woodland Period

• Found at Poverty Point in Louisiana 

• Were sent out for trade after being hardened 

Clay Figures

Visual 

• Made of clay

• Depicts women in different varieties; some without hair, some without heads, some pregnant 

Iconographic 

• Made in Woodland Period 

• Found at Poverty Point in Louisiana 

• Unknown significance 

• Possibly symbols of fertility, used as children’s toys, or depicts ancestors 

Hopewell Culture (100 BC - 500 AD)

• Part of the Woodland Period

• Mordecai C. Hopewell: A farm owner who owned the land where significant earthworks were excavated in 1891 

• Resting place was only for leaders

Beaver Effigy Platform Pipe 

Visual 

• Made of pipestone, river pearls, and bone 

• Beaver is naturalistic 

• Bone is teeth and pearls are eyes 

• Beaver’s on a platform with a hole on top

Iconographic 

• Part of the Hopewell Culture 

• The pearls have a spiritual association 

• Hole at the top is to put tobacco in 

• Animals represented clans/families 

Vessels

Visual 

• Made of pipestone 

• Depicts birds of all varieties 

• Are naturalistic and idealistic

Iconographic 

• Part of the Hopewell Culture 

• Used for storage, cooking, and holding offerings for burial purposes 

• Birds linked the human world with the sky (world of spirits and deities 

Kolomoki Mounds

Visual 

• Made of earth 

•  57 ft tall temple mound

• Two small burial mounds

• Several ceremonial mounds 

Iconographic 

• Part of the Hopewell Culture

• Is the largest/oldest woodland nature American Site

• Inside, leaders were surrounded with sacrificed family and servants 

Burial Mound Pottery 

Visual 

• Made of clay & grid tempered limestone

• Depicts unknown male, ducks/birds with cutoffs 

Iconographic 

• Part of the Hopewell Culture

• Unknown significance, but most likely used for ceremonial purposes

Hohokam Culture (50 - 1450 AD)

• Part of Woodland Period

• “Those who have vanished”

• One of the earliest agriculture societies 

• Developed irrigation & canal networks, had ball courts, & pottery connected with Mesoamerica

• Had scarlet macaus, stone balls, mosaics, etc.

• In pre-classic period, red ware ceramics & irrigation increased

• In classic period, ceramics and cremation increased

• Motifs and symbols starts as civilization evolves

• Markets were made

• In later classic period, markets & ball courts decline

• Salado religion is embraced 

• Redware Pottery: Earliest of Hohokam artworks

• Red on Buff Pottery: Later artworks with motifs 

Mesoamerica

• Consists of Tlatico, Olmec, Colima, and Zapotec 

• Earliest civilizations developed close to the equator for warmth (agriculture)

• Lots of geology/habitats

• Jade was the equivalent to gold due to polish and color

• Yax: Blue-green jade that was most preferred

Tlatico Period (1250 - 800 BC)

• “Place of hidden things”

• Nearby lake was an important food source

• Had maize domesticated and people settled in villages 

• Over 3000 burials that contained small ceramic figures 

• Animal vessels were replicated in ceramics 

• No record for why these were made

Tlatico Figurines

Visual 

• Made of clay

• Are bifurcated, with either two faces/heads but 3 eyes or two heads and one body

• Hair & nose incised with sharp instruments 

• Some depicted scenes of daily life

Iconographic 

• Made in Tlatilco Period 

• Found in burials 

• More intimate than earlier Mesopotamian art due to scenes depicted

• No written record for why these were made 

Duality Mask

Visual 

• Made of ceramic clay

• Has both alive and skeletal (dead) side

• Animal side looks animal-like with its tongue out 

• Is small enough to fit in hand

Iconographic 

• Made in Tlatilco Period 

• Found in burials

• Duality in Mexico could be cycle of life and death or regeneration 

• No written record for why these were made 

Female with Dog

Visual

• Made of clay

• Depicts a woman holding a dog

• Woman has traces of black, yellow, and red pigment 

• Dog is painted with white pigment

• Incised lines helped shape features  

Iconographic 

• Made in Tlatilco Period 

• Unknown significance

• Most likely a Tlatilco figure that depicts a scene of daily life

Tlatico Bowl

Visual

• Made of ceramic and blackware clay

• Shade of black 

Iconographic 

• Made in Tlatilco Period

• Were special bowls made for burials

Olmec Empire (1500 BC - 400 AD)

• Earliest of Mesoamerican civilizations 

• Built the first cities in Mesoamerica along the Gulf Coast

• Success due to freshwater and fertile soil 

• Used slash and burn farming 

• Had a diet of veggies, fish, birds, possums, deer, and dogs (for protein) 

• Oldest Western civilization to use calendars, compasses, and a written language

• Lots of ball courts with 9-pound balls 

• Used trade networks to obtain rate materials like obsidian due to durability 

• Population started to decline around 400 BC

Colossal Heads

Visual

• Made of basalt 

• Depicts males with close fitted caps, chin straps, and carpools that pierce the ear

• Realism as it depicts different people & caps

• Ranged in height (4-12 feet)

Iconographic 

• Made in Olmec Empire 

• Could represent leaders, priests, or ball players

• Early religious rites

• Were transported into cities

• 17 have been found; 10 in San Lorenzo and 4 in La Venta

• Some were mutilated and burned

Ballcourts

Visual

• Made of stone

• Flattened to earth and parallel rectangles with stones on top

Iconographic 

• Made in Olmec Empire 

• Oldest known court in a sacred city precinct 

• Strong associated with warriors and war captives

• Players were betted on and winners got trophies

• Some trophies found in graves (possible link to the afterlife but not likely) 

Great Pyramid + Plaza

Visual

• Made of earth 

• Has large ceremonial center built at the top and stone-carving workshops

Iconographic 

• Made in Olmec Empire

• Found in La Venta

• Took double the labor of Poverty Point 

• People gathered to see things happening at the center

• Artificial sacred mounds aligned with the cosmos (linked to cosmology)

• Not tombs, but had artifacts buried underneath

Offering 4

Visual

• Made of jade, greenstone, granite, and sandstone 

• Depicts nude, slouched bodies with elongated heads and holes in ears

• Has marking on the celts

• Cleaned in pure white sand 

Iconographic 

• Made in Olmec Empire

• Found below the Great Pyramid arranged on a sandy floor

• Greenstone symbolizes fertility 

• Markings on celts are difficult to understand 

• Were covered in put in cinnabar pigment (red/orange) and hematite

• Pure white sand symbolizes that this was a high value offering 

Babies

Visual

• Made of ceramic with white cayline clay 

• Depicts life-sized (10-14 ft tall), hollow, pudgy, expressive babies

• Are nude but has no genitals (androgynous)

• Has oversized heads with helmet-like headdresses

Iconographic 

• Made in Olmec Empire 

• Were made from 1200 - 900 BC

• Some show duality, signifying that these may show regeneration symbolism

• Oversized heads depict artificial cranial deformation, a practice that shaped the head in a certain way at a young age

• Unknown where these came from and why the practice of making them stopped

Lord of Las Limas 

Visual

• Made of greenstone

• Depicts baby in the hands of a man

• Baby and man have multiple inscriptions and patterns 

Iconographic 

• Made in Olmec Empire 

• Were found by kids

• Baby is a rain deity with were-jaguar facial features 

• Mythological connection of infants & fertility of agriculture 

• Adult could possibly be a shaman, a spiritual healer who’s an intermediary between the human and spirit world 

• Function of sculpture unknown, but may have been a portable object for rituals 

Kunz Axe

Visual

• Made of jade

• An 11 inch carved figure 

• Very large head in high relief (over 50% of the figure) 

• Humanlike almond eyes and flat nose

• “Jaguar-shaped” mouth with holes on the side 

• Body is in shallow relief & is simplified compared to the stylized head

• Most likely had clothes at one point 

• Two hands gripping unknown object 

Iconographic 

• Made in Olmec Empire

• Never used as an axe

• A votive used for ritualistic purposes in honoring the gods

• Large, high relief head symbolizes the importance of the head in Olmec culture

• No metal tools for drilling, so abrasion was used 

• An overall symbol of an Olmec god that’s possibly were-jaguar

Olmec Mask

Visual

• Made of jadeite (transparent jade) 

• Incisions of cleft marks 

• Naturalistic and idealistic 

Iconographic 

• Made in Olmec Empire

• Not an actual mask because there’s no holes for the eyes or mouth

• Cleft marks symbolize that this is an Olmec Maize God

• Represents the earth from which maize sprouts and grows 

Colima Period (300 BC  - 300 AD) 

• Thrived in the west & south (mostly in West Mexico)

• Has artifacts dating back to 12000 

• Artifacts found in underground chambers with numbers figurines, vessels, etc surrounding leaders

• Ceramics are naturalistic animals & men

• Women were barely depicted 

Dog

Visual

• Made of pottery & red slip clay

• Depicts hairless dog with round body and perky ears in a short-squat position

Iconographic 

• Made in Colima Period

• Represents dogs that were eaten at feasts to assist the dead in the journey to the afterlife 

Warrior 

Visual

• Made of pottery

• Naturalistic and animated with a geometric body 

• Has a special hat and pendant around its neck

Iconographic 

• Made in Colima Period

• Representation of a warrior 

• Likely served a ceremonial for funerary purposes 

Horned Figure

Visual

• Made of pottery and red-brown slip clay

• Depicts seated male figure with strapped, stylized horns, stubby arms and legs

• One hand is in a closed fist

Iconographic 

• Made in Colima Period 

• Horns probably a symbol of leadership

• Most likely represents a shaman who’s a guardian/protector in the afterlife 

Ring of Figurines

Visual

• Made of solid clay

• Depicts 3 men extending arms around a central figure

• Central figure’s holding an unknown object

• Figures are abstract and exaggerated with long arms and coffee bean eyes 

Iconographic 

• Made in Colima Period 

• Figures were pinched into their shapes

• Has an unknown meaning and function 

Zapotec Period (700 BC - 1521 AD)

• Oaxaca highlands are where the Zapotec thrives

• Ditched the nomadic lifestyle & settled in villages

• Monte Alban known for pyramid platform plazas, stone monuments, residential terraces, ball courts, defensive walls, and network of roads

• Rulers controlled the hundreds of villages & towns and were laid to rest in an alter that had around 170 royal tombs

• Mitla (Iyova) known as “place of the dead” due to Zapotec and Aztec bloody war

• Mitla was an important religious center for Oaxaca Valley people

• Zapotec writing system hasn’t been fully unencrypted

• Had unique structures, pottery, sculptures, and irrigation canals

• Knowledge of their daily life & religious beliefs come from Spanish conquistadors and priests (later Zapotec society)

• Zapotec split into classes of nobility and commoners

• Nobles were allowed feather garments, jade earplugs, and eating deer meet

• Commoners, especially successful merchants, could amass more wealth than nobles

• Nobles acted as religious heads with men undergoing religious trainings

• Zapotec religion was animistic, with a Supreme Being that people couldn’t pray or interact with

• People could pray to other supernatural forms of nature like lightning, clouds, rain, etc.

• Deities often represented in the forms of animals like jaguars and bats

• Bats were extremely important to the Zapotec 

Ancestor Figure

Visual

• Made of pottery with brown clay

• Is a naturalistic and idealistic artwork  

• Has a mask and glyphs/early writing 

Iconographic 

• Made in Zapotec Period 

• Unknown if these are ancestors or deities 

• Could be figural pots, offering vessels, or funerary urns 

• Unknown what was contained in these

• Mask had potent supernatural forces

• Glyphs could depict a day in the Zapotec calendar

Zapotec Mask 

Visual

• Made of jade 

• High intensity hue of green 

• An idealistic and styilzed mask

• Most likely depicts a vampire bat 

Iconographic 

• Made in Zapotec Period

• Found in Oaxaca

• Has unknown use

• Bat deities were related to the sacred world for the dead/underworld

• Nightfall was the world for spirits and death

• Vampire bats feed on the blood of mammals, which is associated with rites of bloodletting and sacrifices 

South America: Peru 

• Consists of Cupisnique, Salinar, Paracas, and Nasca 

• Complex societies developed 

• Sandwiched between east and west coast

• Has monumental architecture and textiles that’s around 3500 years old

Cupisnique Culture (1500 - 500 BC)

• The mother culture (Culvin evolved from them)

• Evidence of early Pre-Columbian culture 

Feline Head Bottle

Visual

• Made of ceramic and pot-fired paint 

• Depicts several faces in generalized animal styles

• Feline face on right side

• Left side is tongue/tail and eye/ear depending on how you’re looking at it

• Pendant iris, which is hanging from the top of the eye, is a black pupil

Iconographic 

• Part of Cupisnique Culture 

• Was used to pour things

• Was painted before fired, signaling its delicacy

• Used for ritualistic purposes

• Could symbolize shamanic vision of peaceful spirit animals as the rules 

• If you could read it, you belonged in the group

Salinar Culture (200 BC - 300 AD) 

• Existed on south coast of Peru

• Has lots of spider imagery

• Spider’s ability to catch & kill live prey were linked to warfare and ritual sacrifice

• Spiders also represented agricultural fertility and rain 

• Had vessels of animals & people that ranged in colors of orange to brown 

Nose Ornament with Spiders

Visual

• Made of gold

• A semicircular ornament of geometric shapes with spiders in each of them

Iconographic 

• Part of Salinar Culture

• Done with the repousse method

• Repousse Method: Hammering gold into a metal sheet to shape its appearance 

• Hung from the septum of the nose

• Is lightweight like a cobweb

• Were fashionable among high-level men, signaling a shift in personality

Vessel of Monkey 

Visual

• Made of ceramic

• Naturalistic

Iconographic 

• Part of Salinar Culture

• Accurate details means the person has seen real monkeys

• Monkeys were kept as pets

• Unsure of any vessels’ significance

Paracas Culture (600 BC - 200 AD)

• In South Mexico

• Early textiles and fabrics were made with fibers by weavers

• Weavers used both old & new techniques

• Cotton and camelid fibers came from alpacas and llamas

• Textiles were popular in wrapping deceased bodies, sometimes having multiple wrapped in one body (as much as 2000)

• Fabrics retained its complexity and color despite being centuries old

• Embroidery used cotton and camelid fibers for decorative messages

• More complex textiles and fabrics were more expensive

• All unknown reasoning for art

Border Fragment

Visual

• Made of cotton and camelid fiber 

• High intensity hues of red, yellow, green, and blue 

• Depicts two naturalistic & abstract figures with arched backs that switch positions, depicting motion 

Iconographic 

• Part of Paracas Culture

• Represents skeletonized figures 

• Unsure what they’re doing (maybe flying?)

• Would be brought over the shoulders to wear

Mantle with Double Fish Pattern

Visual

• Made of cotton and camelid fiber

• Depicts lots of “fish”

• Shows composite view of “fish” as eyes are shown frontally and from above 

• Also (maybe) shows family patterns with baby fish 

Iconographic 

• Part of Paracas Culture 

• Made using the block-color style 

• Block-Color Style: Stitches outline shapes then fill them in with color, creating a linear style 

• Pairs of animals are probably sharks and not fish due to gills behind the eyes

• Probably symbolizes mythological transformation from shark to human due to arms projecting from fish body

• Most likely worn by men 

Flying Figure Bowl

Visual

• Made of ceramic and pot-fired paint 

• Depicts supernatural Paracan figure, an abstract pompous cat, and black sloth-looking animal 

• Supernatural Paracan figure has serpent head with fangs coming out 

• Has curvelinear lines of red and orange 

• Green steps 

Iconographic 

• Part of Paracas Culture

• Not a daily bowl & was probably used for ritual purposes

• Paracan figure is an ovulate due to overly large eyes

• Paracan figure represents the Burrowing Owl

• Pompous cat is a common motif of a guardian being inside the cat

• Cats were possibly also kept as pets

• Sloth-looking figure depicts power and fertility 

Nasca Culture (1 - 800 AD) 

• Neighbored the Paracan people

• Shared their love for textiles and multicolored pottery

• Pottery was mostly animals or vessels in their shapes

• Pottery had more color variations than other Pre-Columbian cultures

• Agriculture was life 

• Known for massive geoglyphs/earth drawings consisting of animals 

Earth Drawings

Visual

• Made of earthy material

• Depicts several symmetrical animals

• Massive, single-lined artworks

Iconographic 

• Part of Nasca Culture

• Drawn with no tools but hands

• Discovered in 1939 by a pilot flying over the geoglyphs

• Used for people to dance along the lines and pray to appease the Gods enough to bring rain

Nasca Pottery (Drum)

Visual

• Made of ceramic

• Depicts fat-bodied figure shaped into the instrument, with the legs curved into the round body

• Has a snake under the chin

• Has profiled killer whales around the eyes

• Has headband with horn-like projection

• Hair is serpents with long tongue

Iconographic 

• Part of Nasca Culture 

• Was a sounding chamber 

• Figure was upside down when played 

• Used in ceremonies, most likely for religious significance (probably for rain) 

• Horned-like projection most likely shows leadership 

Mantle

Visual

• Made of cotton and camelid fiber 

• Depicts many humans and animals, with some in duplicates and some by themselves 

• Some are holding severed heads 

• Has leaves and feathers attached to border

Iconographic 

• Part of Nasca Culture 

• Used cross-looping to help efficiently weave

• Used warp-wrapping to make geometric faces 

• Severed heads have mythological meaning, with sacrifices giving way to fertility 

• Illegally exported in 1931-1933