Exhaustive Guide to Indigenous Americas, African, and Asian Art

Strategies for Art History Essay Success

  • Identify tasks: Answer all tasks in order and separate them by paragraphs.
  • Vocabulary: Use the specific words from the prompt to start each task.
  • Avoid Vagueness: Use specific evidence from the artwork itself.
  • Comparison Example:     - Don't: "Pepon Osorio’s artwork challenges the idea of machismo because he puts in pictures that aren’t very masculine."     - Do: "Pepon Osorio’s artwork challenges the idea of machismo by juxtaposing masculine and emasculating imagery including videos of men crying on small TVs alongside a wall of car rims."

Chavín de Huántar (Item 153)

  • Dates and Identification: 900–200 B.C.E.900\text{--}200\text{ B.C.E.} Stone (architectural complex); granite (Lanzón and sculpture); hammered gold alloy (jewelry).
  • Geography and Location:     - Sits at 10,330 feet10,330\text{ feet} in elevation between the eastern and western ranges of the Andes.     - Located near two mountain passes allowing passage between the desert coast (west) and the Amazon jungle (east).     - Situated near a confluence where two rivers join.
  • Religious Significance: Served as an important religious center where various rituals occurred between 900900 and 200 B.C.E.200\text{ B.C.E.}
  • Architectural Features:     - A group of rectangular buildings, some reaching 40 feet40\text{ feet} in height.     - U-Shaped temple enclosing a rectangular court on three sides, open to the east.     - Rebuilt and extended over time with additional buildings and a new court.
  • Pilgrimage Experience:     - People traveled from the West on pilgrimages.     - Initial view: A vast blank wall with stone heads (3×3\times life-size) staring out.     - Path: Descend to the river, climb stone-faced terraces to the court with a sunken circular plaza.     - Capacity: The plaza could hold approximately 500 people500\text{ people}.
  • Priesthood and Rituals:     - Priests likely lived permanently in windowless structures and emerged to conduct rituals on platforms.     - Sculptures: Jaguar sculptures protruded from temple walls; carved relief jaguar panels in plazas (Jaguars symbolize power).     - Interior: A maze of passages, galleries, and small rooms ventilated by small shafts. Inaccessible to average people; only elites (priests) knew the interior.
  • The Lanzón Stone:     - Innermost sanctum houses a 15 foot15\text{ foot} stone.     - Imagery: Carved body part human, part animal. Shape resembles a spear, agricultural tool, or digging stick.     - Positioning: Left hand points down, right hand raised upward (encompassing heaven and earth). Hands have long, talon-like fingernails.     - Offerings: A channel runs from the top to the forehead, possibly for liquid offerings poured from above.
  • Artistic Technique: Contour Rivalry     - Two heads share a single fanged mouth. Images share parts or outlines to create a complex, deliberately confusing style.     - Purpose: Acts as a barrier between believers (who see the true form) and outsiders.
  • Shamanism and Oracles:     - Scholars hypothesize the stone acted as an oracle (god speaking through the form).     - Sensory manipulation: Music played inside the temple would reach the courtyard through airshafts. A hole above the Lanzón allowed disembodied voices of hidden priests to filter down.     - Ritual drugs: Priests likely used hallucinogenic drugs to induce shamanistic trances.     - Agricultural link: If shaped like a digging stick, the deity may have been sought for good harvests.
  • Jewelry: Gold alloy nose ornaments worn by both males and females. Held in place by a semi-circular top section; intended to transform the wearer into a supernatural being.

Templo Mayor: Tenochtitlan (Item 157)

  • Identification: Mexica (Aztec), 1375–1520 C.E.1375\text{--}1520\text{ C.E.} Stone temple located in modern Mexico City.
  • Dual Deities:     - North Temple: Dedicated to Tlaloc (Local rain god). Symbolizes Tonacateptl, the Hill of Sustenance.     - South Temple: Dedicated to Huitzilopochtli (Sun and war god). Symbolizes the Hill of Coatepec, his birthplace.
  • Architecture:     - Stepped pyramid standing 90 feet90\text{ feet} high.     - Huge platform with two temples side by side; two great staircases sweeping from plaza level to the summit sanctuaries.     - Decoration: Large carved serpent heads at the bottom of stairs; figures holding standards with banners at the top.     - Solar alignment: During spring and autumn equinoxes, the sun rises precisely between the two sanctuaries.
  • Construction History: Added onto 66 times by subsequent rulers. Excavation revealed 77 shells of earlier walls nested inside later ones.
  • Ritual Practice:     - Included incense burning, dancers in colorful attire, actors, and musicians (conch-shell trumpets, drums, rattles, bells, whistles).     - Human sacrifice occurred at almost every Aztec festival.
  • Mythology and the Coyolxauhqui Stone:     - Mythology: Coatlicue became pregnant (feathers in her bosom). Her children (Coyolxauhqui and 400400 sons) tried to murder her. Huitzilopochtli was born during the attack, slaughtered Coyolxauhqui and most of his brothers, and threw her dismembered body down Mount Coatepec.     - Ritual Re-enactment: Slaves were sacrificed and thrown down the temple stairs to land on the relief stone, mimicking the myth.
  • Olmec Mask at Templo Mayor:     - An Olmec head (1200–400 B.C.E.1200\text{--}400\text{ B.C.E.}) was found at the site (valued nearly 2000 years2000\text{ years} later).     - Attributes: Characteristic frown, heavy-lidded eyes, holes on forehead for headgear.     - Significance: Shows Aztecs collected and valued historically significant art from earlier cultures.
  • The Calendar Stone:     - Records the Aztec creation myth and historical eras (Five Suns).     - Current Era: The 5th Sun ("Four Movement"). Represented by four squares ("movement") and surrounding dots ("4").     - Previous Eras: Glyphs inside squares show deaths by jaguar, high winds, fire rain, and water.     - Prophecy: The 5th era is predicted to end by earthquake.     - Duty: "People of the Sun" must wage cosmic war to provide blood/hearts ("nourishment") to prevent the sun from disappearing.     - Calendar specifics: 2020 glyphs for dates of the month, 18 months18\text{ months} per year, plus 55 "nameless" days. Ritual calendar is 260 days260\text{ days}. Both align every 52 years52\text{ years} (new century).     - Other details: Inscription of Moctezuma II Glyph helps dating; Fire Serpents represent time.

Great Serpent Mound (Item 156)

  • Location and Origin: Adams County, southern Ohio. Mississippian (Eastern Woodlands), c.1070 C.E.c. 1070\text{ C.E.} Earthwork/effigy mound.
  • Dimensions: Approximately 1,300 feet1,300\text{ feet} in length; 1 to 3 feet1\text{ to }3\text{ feet} in height.
  • Society: Built by a stratified society that cultivated maize, beans, and squash; no written records remain.
  • Form and Interpretation:     - Crescent-shaped; head at east, tail at west, 77 winding coils.     - Interpretations of the head: Enlarged eye, hollow egg, or a frog about to be swallowed. Some suggest the lower jaw indicates appendages (lizard rather than snake).
  • Celestial Alignments:     - Head aligns with summer solstice sunset; tail points to winter solstice sunrise.     - Curves may parallel lunar phases or align with solstices and equinoxes.
  • Cultural attribution: Likely designed and refurbished over time by several indigenous groups.

Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings (Item 154)

  • Identification: Montezuma County, Colorado. Anasazi (450–1300 C.E.450\text{--}1300\text{ C.E.}). Sandstone.
  • Layout: More than 600 structures600\text{ structures} (residential, storage, ritual) built into cliff faces of the Four Corners region.
  • Site Features:     - Translation: "Mesa Verde" means "Green Table," named for the plateau above where they farmed.     - 150 rooms150\text{ rooms}, 1 to 4 stories1\text{ to }4\text{ stories} high, built into natural stone alcoves using stone, wood, and mortar.
  • The Kiva:     - Circular, subterranean room evolved from pithouses.     - Features: Wood-beamed roof, 66 masonry support columns, shelf-like banquette, firepit/hearth, ventilation shaft, deflector wall, and a sipapu (ceremonial floor hole).
  • Domestic Life: Families had one room; rooms fanned out around plazas and kivas.
  • Abandonment: Inhabited for only about 100 years100\text{ years} before sudden departure (possibly due to drought or conflict).

Transformation Mask (Item 164)

  • Identification: Kwakwaka'wakw, Northwest coast of Canada. Late 19th century C.E.19\text{th century C.E.} Wood, paint, and string.
  • Context: Used in ceremonies like the Potlatch (opulent feast where wealth is displayed by giving away/destroying possessions).
  • Clan Identity: Each House traces identity to a mythical animal founder who became human. Masks represent these animals and are passed from father to son (family heirlooms).
  • Function: Conveys social position and genealogy (displaying crest symbols); helps determine new clan leaders.
  • Performance: The mask physically transforms from bird to human. Danced in firelight to drumming.
  • Artistic Style: Formline style (symmetrical, using ovoid shapes, S-forms, and U-forms).
  • Historical Suppression: Banned by the Canadian government (influenced by missionaries) from 1876–15911876\text{--}1591. Today practiced as tradition.

City of Machu Picchu (Item 161)

  • Identification: Central highlands, Peru. Inka, c.1450–1540 C.E.c. 1450\text{--}1540\text{ C.E.} Granite.
  • Physicality: 9,000 feet9,000\text{ feet} above sea level; covers 22 acres22\text{ acres}; population 500–1000 people500\text{--}1000\text{ people}.
  • Engineering: Ashlar masonry (stones shaped to fit without mortar around existing rocks); irrigation systems for high altitudes.
  • Religion and Royalty:     - Devoted to the Sun God (Mountaintop observatory).     - Likely the estate of Inka Emperor Pachacuti.     - Maize grown on terraced fields for ritual liquor.
  • Specific Structures:     - Observatory (Temple of the Sun): Maps sun movements.     - Intihuantana Stone: Aligns with spring and autumn equinoxes; at noon, it casts no shadow.     - Hierarchy: Highest ranking people/rituals at the top; lowest ranking at the bottom.

City of Cusco and Qorikancha (Item 160)

  • Identification: Central highlands, Peru. Inka, c.1440 C.E.c. 1440\text{ C.E.} Sandstone.
  • City Plan: Shaped like a puma (royal animal). Local leaders were compelled to live here to control home populations.
  • Qorikancha (Main Temple):     - Center point of the empire; from it, imaginary lines ("ceques") radiated to shrines throughout the valley.     - "Qorikancha" translates to "Golden Courtyard."     - Walls: Masterful ashlar masonry originally covered with 700700 solid-gold sheets (each weighing 2 kg2\text{ kg}).     - Contents: Miniature golden garden with life-size gold figures (corn, animals, altars). Silver/gold corn was "planted" in rituals.     - Rituals: Mummified bodies of previous kings were fed and brought out into the sun daily.
  • Saqsa Waman (Sacsayhuaman):     - Complex outside Cusco forming the head of the puma.     - Stones weigh up to 70 tons70\text{ tons}; brought from 2 miles2\text{ miles} away.
  • Inkan Economy: Money existed in the form of labor tax; workers built roads and fortresses in exchange for food and clothing.
  • Maize Cobs Sculpture: Made with repoussé (beating metal from the back). Chicha (corn beer) was a high-status drink offered to gods.

Yaxchilán (Item 155)

  • Identification: Chiapas, Mexico. Maya, 725 C.E.725\text{ C.E.} Limestone.
  • Ruler History: Splendor reached under Lord Shield Jaguar, Lady Xok, and Bird Jaguar IV.
  • Structure 33: Overlooks main plaza; features a high roof comb (wall for height) and a hieroglyphic stairway.
  • Lintel 25 (Structure 23):     - Lady Xok performing a bloodletting ritual.     - Hallucinatory stage: She conjures a vision of a Teotihuacan serpent (potential vision of her husband, Lord Shield Jaguar, rising to power).     - Significance: Shows the Queen's vital role in connecting with the gods through royal blood sacrifice.

All-T’oqapu Tunic (Item 162)

  • Identification: Inka, 1450–1540 C.E.1450\text{--}1540\text{ C.E.} Camelid fiber and cotton.
  • Textile Values: Prized above gold; gifted to cement political relationships. Threads were organized by fiber taxation.
  • Production:     - Woven by "acllas" (chosen women).     - Thread count: 100 wefts per centimeter100\text{ wefts per centimeter}.     - Woven on backstrap looms in a single piece to preserve "camac" (spirit existence).
  • Design ("T’oqapu"): Square geometric motifs.     - Checkerboard pattern: Specifically represents the Inka army/military might.     - Royal Status: Wearing a variety of t’oqapu motifs marks the Sapa Inka, claimant to all peoples and places.

Ruler’s Feather Headdress (Item 159)

  • Identification: Mexica (Aztec), 1428–1520 C.E.1428\text{--}1520\text{ C.E.} Feathers (Quetzal and Cotinga) and gold.
  • Construction: Over 450450 tail feathers from the resplendent Quetzal; mounted on vegetal fibers/wood. Originally included a golden bird's beak.
  • Context: Created by amantecas (guild of featherworkers). Quetzal feathers were tribute from conquered tropical regions.
  • Symbolism: Links the ruler to Quetzalcoatl (the feathered serpent).
  • Provenance Dispute: Often linked to Moctezuma II's gifts to Hernán Cortés, but not found on official ship lists. Now in Austria.

Plains Indian Art

  • Painted Elk Hide (Item 165):     - Attributed to Cotsiogo (Cadzi Cody), Eastern Shoshone, c.1890–1900 C.E.c. 1890\text{--}1900\text{ C.E.}     - Function: Traditionally recorded history on robes. This hide was made at the Wind River Reservation to sell to tourists.     - Imagery: Affirms native identity using iconic (but then-past) scenes like buffalo hunts and Sun Dances (hidden within the wolf dance).
  • Bandolier Bag (Item 163):     - Lenape (eastern Delaware), c.1850. C.E.c. 1850\text{. C.E.} Beadwork on leather.     - Origin: Inspired by European ammunition bags.     - Materials: Silk ribbons and thousand of glass "seed beads" from trade; replaced traditional porcupine quills.

Black-on-Black Ceramic Vessel (Item 166)

  • Identification: Maria Martínez and Julian Martínez, San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico. Mid-20th century C.E.20\text{th century C.E.}
  • Process: Maria hand-built the pots; Julian painted designs based on Ancestral Pueblo shards.
  • Firing: Smothering the fire with powdered manure removes oxygen, blackening the pot. Burnished areas become shiny; slip-painted areas remain matte.
  • Imagery: Traditional Pueblo symbols interpreted in a contemporary Art Deco style.
  • Community: Production became a communal enterprise to allow everyone to profit from the art market.

Architecture of Zimbabwe and Mali

  • Great Zimbabwe (Item 167):     - Shona people, c.1000–1400 C.E.c. 1000\text{--}1400\text{ C.E.} Coursed granite blocks.     - Prosperity: Trade center with beads/pottery from Persia, China, and the Near East.     - Great Enclosure: Walled structures up to 30 feet30\text{ feet} high. Conical tower likely represents a granary (symbol of royal power/generosity).
  • Great Mosque of Djenné (Item 168):     - Mali, founded c.1200 C.E.c. 1200\text{ C.E.} (rebuilt 1906–19071906\text{--}1907). Adobe.     - Features: Qibla wall (eastern facade) with three towers; finials capped with ostrich eggs (fertility/purity).     - Torons: Projecting wooden beams used for scaffolding during annual replastering.     - Tradition: "Mudding" the mosque is a major community/religious event.

Nigerian and West African Arts

  • Wall Plaque from Oba’s Palace (Item 169):     - Edo peoples, Benin (Nigeria), 16th century C.E.16\text{th century C.E.} Cast brass.     - Technique: Lost-wax casting; metal sourced from Portuguese manillas (trade weights).     - Composition: Hierarchy of scale (Oba is largest); heraldic composition; Oba wears coral rings signifying wealth.
  • Sika dwa kofi (Golden Stool) (Item 170):     - Ashanti peoples (Ghana), c.1700 C.E.c. 1700\text{ C.E.} Gold over wood.     - Legends: Summoned from the sky to rest on Osei Tutu's knees; contains the nation's "sunsum" (spirit/soul).     - Status: More sacred than the king; sits on its own chair on its side.
  • Veranda Post of Enthroned King and Senior Wife (Item 180):     - Olowe of Ise (Yoruba), c.1910–1914 C.E.c. 1910\text{--}1914\text{ C.E.} Wood and pigment.     - Power Dynamics: King holds overt power; Senior Wife holds covert spiritual power (represented by the bird on the crown). She places the medicine-filled crown on his head.
  • Ikenga Shrine Figure (Item 176):     - Igbo peoples, 19th to 20th century C.E.19\text{th to 20th century C.E.} Wood.     - Meaning: "Place of strength." Represents the "power of the right hand" (success, manual skill, war).     - Attributes: Pair of horns (male aggression); sword/knife in right hand.

Central African Power and Memory Objects

  • Ndop Portrait Figure (Item 171):     - Kuba king Mishe miShyaang maMbul, c.1760–1780 C.E.c. 1760\text{--}1780\text{ C.E.} Wood.     - Characteristics: Naturalistic; head is 1/31/3 of total size (seat of intelligence). Identifying symbol: drum with a severed hand.
  • Lukasa Memory Board (Item 177):     - Luba people, Mbudye Society. Wood, beads, and metal.     - Function: Mnemonic device read by "men of memory" to recount oral history, lineage, and myths.
  • Nkisi N’kondi (Power Figure) (Item 172):     - Kongo peoples, late 19th century C.E.19\text{th century C.E.}     - Function: Resolved disputes, oaths, and healing. Activated by a "nganga" who inserts "bilongo" (medicine) into a belly cavity sealed by a cowrie.     - Interaction: Nails or screws driven into the figure to seal agreements or summon spiritual forces to "hunt" (konda) wrongdoers.
  • Reliquary Figure (Byeri) (Item 179):     - Fang peoples (Cameroon). Guardian for bark boxes of ancestral skulls. Juxtaposes infant features (large head) with adult muscles (vitality and death).

African Masquerade Traditions

  • Bundu Mask (Item 175):     - Mende peoples, Sande Society. Represent ideal female beauty (demure eyes, small mouth, oily dark skin, neck fat rings for fertility).     - Unique Trait: Danced by women for female initiation ceremonies.
  • Female (Pwo) Mask (Item 174):     - Chokwe peoples. Honors female ancestors. Danced by men dressed as women with slow, precise steps.     - Features: Kaolin (white powder) around closed eyes (second sight).
  • Aka Elephant Mask (Item 178):     - Bamileke (Cameroon). Used by the Kuosi (Elephant Society) of warriors/officials.     - Materials: Glass trade beads; term "mbap mteng" means "a thing of money."
  • Portrait Mask (Mblo) (Item 173):     - Baule peoples. Idealized artistic double of a real person (e.g., Moya Yanso). Performance honors community members.

East Asian Imperial and Burial Arts

  • Terra Cotta Warriors (Item 193):     - Qin Dynasty, c.221–209 B.C.E.c. 221\text{--}209\text{ B.C.E.} Painted terra cotta.     - Ruler: Qin Shihuang (First Emperor), obsessed with immortality.     - Scope: 7,000 warriors7,000\text{ warriors}, horses, and chariots. Built using an assembly production system.     - Tomb: Hill-shaped; rumored to contain mercury rivers and gem-star skies. Took 720,000 laborers720,000\text{ laborers}.
  • Funeral Banner of Lady Dai (Item 194):     - Han Dynasty, c.180 B.C.E.c. 180\text{ B.C.E.} Painted silk.     - Registers:         - Top: Heaven (sun with crow, moon with toad, primordial deity).         - Middle: Earthly realm (Lady Dai and attendants; bi disk with dragons).         - Bottom: Underworld (ritual vessels, fish, strange creatures).
  • Gold and Jade Crown (Item 196):     - Silla Kingdom, Korea. 5th to 6th century C.E.5\text{th to 6th century C.E.} Metalwork.     - Symbolism: Shamanistic tree-shaped crown ("world tree" axis mundi); antler protrusions; gogok (jade ornaments) representing ripe fruit/fertility.

Buddhist Monuments

  • Great Stupa at Sanchi (Item 192):     - India, c.300 B.C.E.–100 C.E.c. 300\text{ B.C.E.\text{--}100 C.E.} Mandala structure.     - Features: Toranas (gateways) with yakshis (fertility spirits). Pilgrims perform circumambulation (walking clockwise).     - Elements: Harmika (terrace of gods), Yatsi (axis of universe), Chatras (three jewels).
  • Longmen Caves (Item 195):     - Luoyang, China. Tang Dynasty, 493–1127 C.E.493\text{--}1127\text{ C.E.}     - Patron: Empress Wu Zetian. Contains Central Vairocana Buddha (55 feet tall55\text{ feet tall}) representing the supreme deity over infinite universes.
  • Todai-ji (Item 197):     - Nara, Japan. Rebuilt c.1700c. 1700. World's largest wooden structure; houses the largest metal Buddha statue (Daibatsu).     - Kei School: Sculptors Unkei and Keikei known for muscular, austere guardian figures.
  • Borobudur Temple (Item 198):     - Java, Indonesia. Sailendra Dynasty, c.750–842 C.E.c. 750\text{--}842\text{ C.E.}     - Structure: Base (desire), 55 square terraces (form), 33 circular platforms (formlessness), and a central stupa.     - Iconography: 504 Buddha statues504\text{ Buddha statues}; reliefs in "horror vacui" style depicting various sutras.

Hindu Art and Architecture

  • Shiva as Lord of Dance (Nataraja) (Item 202):     - Chola Dynasty, c.11th century C.E.c. 11\text{th century C.E.} Cast bronze.     - Symbols: Upper left hand (flame of destruction); upper right hand (drum of creation); right foot (crushes dwarf of ignorance).     - Context: Small holes in base for carrying in processions (Darshan).
  • Lakshmana Temple (Item 200):     - Khajuraho, India. Dedicated to Vishnu.     - Features: Shikhara (mountain-shaped tower); Garba Griha (inner sanctum with murti idol).     - Imagery: Exterior features erotic sculptures representing Kama (sexual love) and Tantric philosophy of male/female coexistence.
  • Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom (Item 199):     - Angkor Wat: Dedicated to Vishnu as King Suryavarman II's mausoleum. Features the "Churning of the Ocean of Milk" (birth of amrita elixir).     - Angkor Thom: Built by Jayavarman VII (Buddhist). Bayon temple features towers with faces of the "God-King."

Mughal Architecture and Painting

  • Taj Mahal (Item 209):     - 1632–1653 C.E.1632\text{--}1653\text{ C.E.} White marble with pietra dura (inlaid stones).     - Function: Mausoleum for Mumtaz Mahal commissioned by Shah Jahan.     - Symbolism: Four-part garden (Char Bagh) represents Islamic paradise with four rivers (water, milk, honey, wine).
  • Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh (Item 208):     - Bichitr, c.1620 C.E.c. 1620\text{ C.E.} Muraqqa album folio.     - Imagery: Jahangir on an hourglass throne choosing a Sufi mystic over King James I and a Turkish Sultan.     - Technique: Combines Persian miniature style with Western Renaissance "putti."

Later Chinese Art

  • Forbidden City (Item 206):     - Ming/Qing Dynasties. Axial plan (north-south) based on geomancy.     - Hall of Supreme Harmony: Throne room and seat of the "Son of Heaven" carrying the "Mandate of Heaven."
  • The David Vases (Item 204):     - Yuan Dynasty, 1351 C.E.1351\text{ C.E.} Porcelain with cobalt-blue underglaze (cobalt from Iran).     - Significance: Earliest known dated blue-and-white porcelain; produced in Jingdezhen.
  • Chairman Mao en Route to Anyuan (Item 212):     - c.1969 C.E.c. 1969\text{ C.E.} Socialist Realism (propaganda).     - Content: Depicts young Mao during the 19221922 Miners’ Strike. Reproduced over 900,000,000 times900,000,000\text{ times}.

Japanese Narrative and Zen Art

  • Night Attack on the Sanjô Palace (Item 203):     - Kamakura Period, c.1250–1300 C.E.c. 1250\text{--}1300\text{ C.E.} Handscroll narrative (22’ 10" long22\text{' }10\text{" long}).     - Event: Heiji Insurrection (1159–601159\text{--}60). Depicts abduction of the retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa.
  • Ryoan-ji (Item 207):     - Zen Buddhist rock garden (15 rocks15\text{ rocks} in raked gravel). To be viewed from a veranda to reach a state of "no-mind."
  • White and Red Plum Blossoms (Item 210):     - Ogata Korin. Gold leaf folding screen. Uses "tarashikomi" (wet-on-wet paint dripping).
  • Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Item 211):     - Hokusai, 1830–1833 C.E.1830\text{--}1833\text{ C.E.} Polychrome woodblock print (Ukiyo-e).     - Elements: Mt. Fuji in the distance; use of Prussian Blue (European influence).

Questions & Discussion

  • Inquiry: Ancient Aztec collections.     - Response: The Olmec mask found in Templo Mayor proves that Aztecs found artworks from earlier cultures precious and historically significant.
  • Inquiry: Why is the Great Mosque of Djenné still standing?     - Response: It is a testament to community and tradition. The entire city participates in the annual replastering festival.
  • Inquiry: Would a Lukasa memory board always be read the same?     - Response: No. Storytellers (Mbudye society experts) change the delivery and emphasize different parts based on the audience and current social problems.