Intro to Latin American Art ARH2613 Midterm Key Vocab

Tuxtla Mountains

The mountains where the Olmec quarried the stone for their large head monuments before transporting them 50+ miles back to where they lived.

Primary Standard Sequence

A series of glyphs included on every pot that contains information about the piece including a dedication phrase, surface treatment (carved or painted), what type of vessel it is (bowl, cup, pitcher), what is stored in it, and who it was made for

Maya Exceptionalism

The belief by Western historians that the Mayans were more advanced than other Mesoamerican civilizations

Teotihuacan

Ancient Mesoamerican city known for its pyramids, specifically the Temple of the Sun

Tezontle Stone

The material used to construct the Temple of the Sun. It's a porous, highly oxidized, volcanic rock used extensively in construction in Mexico. It is usually reddish in color due to iron oxide.

Chicomosztoc

The mythological "Place of the Seven Caves" central to the origin stories of the Aztec/Mexica and other Nahua peoples. It is a symbolic cave from which ancestral tribes emerged to begin their journey, with each of the seven caves representing a different lineage before their eventual migration to Central Mexico.

Aesthetics

A "science" of beauty. Created by a German man and dictated by Western standards

Cult of the Artist

The belief that the identity of the artist was necessary for the study of the art. The fact that Mayans included signatures on their work and were the only Mesoamerican society to engage with this belief contributed to the idea of Maya Exceptionalism

Paztory's 3 Periods

1. 16th-17th Centuries: Mesoamerican art was looked at with an intrigue of exoticism or scandal and was destroyed

2. 18th-19th Centuries: they were able to step back and try and gain historical insight into the cultures. As a result, a version of Mesoamerican art was invented that rivaled the ruins of Greco-Roman civilization.

3. 20th Century: Avant-garde western art movements caused the art community to reevaluate Mesoamerican art

Tenochtitlan

The island city in the river basin which became the capital of the Aztec Empire and is modern day Mexico City

Dyke

The Aztecs built this in Tenochtitlan to separate brackish water from their agricultural land

Chinampas

Floating platforms of agricultural land in Tenochtitlan

Causeways

Constructed in Tenochtitlan reaching to the North, South, and West so that they wouldn't have to boat back and forth to the city anymore

Aquifer

Constructed to bring clean drinking water to Tenochtitlan

Templo Mayor

A two-templed temple that represents duality in Aztec society: Balance between agriculture and military

Mexica

The people who founded the city of Tenochtitlan and were the dominant group of the Aztec Empire. They are often more commonly called the "Aztecs," a term that can be confusing as it is sometimes used to describe all Nahuatl-speaking groups or the empire as a whole.

Tlaloc

God of rain, fertility; one of the oldest Mesoamerican gods and not specific to the Mexica people

Huitzilopochtli

The guardian deity of the Mexica people who led them to Tenochtitlan and is also the God of war and the sun.

Coyoxuahqui

The sister of Huitzilopochtli who tried to murder his mother to prevent his birth. She was killed, dismembered, and thrown off Coatepec by him. Her body rests at the bottom of the Templo Mayor as a warning to enemies of the Aztec

Coatlicue

The mother of Huitzilopochtli who became miraculously pregnant when a feather fell on her or something. Had one daughter and 400 sons.

Coatepec

The mountain where Coatlicue gave birth to Huitzilopochtli and he killed Coyoxauhqui and threw her off. The site of Huitzilopochtli's origin.

Chimalli

An Aztec decorative shield made for prestigious soldiers or people to fight with

Amantecayotl

The art of featherworking

Repatriation

The return of historical artifacts to their country of origin.

Vertical Archipelago

to describe the native Andean agricultural economic model of accessing and distributing resources across differing elevations

Humbolt/Peru Current

A cold ocean current that flows north along the western coast of South America, bringing nutrient-rich waters from the southern Pacific up toward the equator.

Stone's Reasons for Using Quechua Terms

Respect for the culture you are studying and accuracy by avoiding approximations made by translations.

Entheogens

Psychoactive substances sometimes used in religious or spiritual rituals, commonly called hallucinogenic drugs but were said to increase your grasp on reality

Indicators of Chavin de Huantar Artwork

Pendant eyes, rubber band lips, snarling mouth, & big circular nostrils

Ritual Engagement vs. Viewing

The artworks in Javin de Huantar are meant to be fully experienced, usually as part of a ritual, not passively observed like most art is

Huaca

A sacred place or object

Chavin de Huantar

One of the earliest Andean highland sites we have with extreme religious and archeological significant. Comprised of an old and new temple.

Tinku

The convergence of two to make a third

Camay

Create, manifest, infuse with energy and embody

Camay

To create, manifest, infuse with energy, and embody

Lanzon

Huaca located at Chavin de Huantar, meant to be experienced ritualistically rather than viewed normally

Polygonal Masonry

Form of stonework used by the Inca involving irregularly shaped rocks fit super tightly together so that no mortar is necessary. Extremely sturdy and earthquake resistant.

Nibbling

Technique where you smack a rock against a bigger rock until the big rock has a uniformly textured surface

Korikancha

The most important religious location in Cusco. Gold domestic style temple ashlar Inca

Kancha

The basic unit of Inca architecture. Consists of a rectangular enclosure composed of 3 or more rectangular buildings placed symmetrically around a central courtyard. Includes trapezoidal doors and niches in the walls.

Ashlar Masonry

A form of masonry involving uniform, square, carefully cut stones that fit together perfectly. Mortar

Sacsayhuaman

Secondmost important location in Cusco. Most imporant military site in the Inca empire

"Living Rock" Throne

Reinforced the Incas relationship to their surroundings by intentionally leaving an important cultural object connected to the Earth. Also exemplifies Inca idea that stone could be living, sacred, and animate

Cyclopean Stone

Polygonal masonary really big rock at saqhuawoman

Machu Picchu

Famous Inca archeological site that was thought to be a lost city, but is more likely the royal estate of the Sapa Inca

Panaca

The royal lineage/family group of a Sapa Inca

Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui

the Sapa Inca, or leader, who began the Inca empire in A.D. 1438 and expanded it greatly. Also the one who owned and lived in Machu Picchu

camac

larger invisible force

Huaca

allows for connections between this world and others

Spoliation

The looting of already-worked stone from archeological sites and using them for new buildings.

The Florentine Codex

Written by a Franciscan friar, one of the most important documents for understanding indigenous communities before and during Spanish colonization. Written in both Nahuatl and Spanish.

Nahuatl

The language of the Aztecs

Ayni

two halves make a whole

Localization

The process of taking something and adapting it to your local culture.

Colegio de Santa Cruz

A school set up by the Franciscans to teach the children of the indigenous elite about poetry, Latin, philosophy, art, music, Christian theology, etc.

Lima

City established by the Viceroyalty of Peru using the Traza plan as a result of Cusco being too inconvenient location wise for the capital. Became a coastal hub for communication, trade, and navigation to Spain

Camasca

physical receiver

Peninsulares

Spanish people born in Spain. Held more social power.

Mestizo

Over time the communities shifted and mixed to create a community of mixed-race people

Cuzco School

The school for indigenous artists that emerged in Cuzco. It did not engage in racial politics or concern itself with European standards

Common Traits of art from the Cuzco School

brocateado, flowers, prioritization of decorative elements over the realistic, extremely close foreground, and subject matter of dressed statues on an altar

Brocateado

A gold leaf applied to the canvas in a way that is theoretically meant to look like golden ornament on their clothing, but the artists prioritized the decorative element of the gold rather than incorporating it into the folds and shadows of the fabric.

Tinku

Convergence of two to make a third

Uncu

A traditional men's knee-length tunic worn in the Inca Empire and later

Masapaicha

The royal crown and symbol of power of the Sapa Inca, the emperor of the Inca Empire. Worn by the Sapa Inca, it was a symbol of his ultimate political authority. Includes a red tassel on the forehead that was originally only worn by the Sapa Inca, but eventually everyone in the lineage began to wear it, expanding the meaning from king to nobility.

San Jose Cactus

The specific entheogen used by those as Javin de Huantar