How do artists communicate religious beliefs and practices?

how do they differentiate between the natural and the supernatural?

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“Few romances can ever surpass that of the granite citadel on top of the beetling precipices of Machu Picchu, the crown of Inca Land.” - Hiram Bingam

Student Resources

 Major Civilizations
Quick History
Powerpoint
Artwork List
Flashcard Images
Vocabulary

​* YOUTUBE: Serpent Mound
* YOUTUBE: Kwakiutl Ceremony
Read more on CHAVIN DE HUANTAR (Stanford University)
YAXCHILAN Video
BBC AZTEC HISTORY (Nat Geo)
THE MAYA: LOST CIVILIZATION (Nat Geo)
MACHU PICCHU (Nat Geo)
GHOSTS OF MACHU PICCHU (Nova)
 CITY OF CUSCO
Visit NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN: NAVAJO PAINTINGS
MARIA MARTINEZ, 1972 Doc (26 min)
Brooklyn Museum PAINTED ELK HIDES
DANIELLE KAY'S DANCE PRESENTATION (2011)

Major Civilizations


Andes Civilizations
  • Chavin (900-200 BCE) Coastal Peru
  • Inca or Inka (1400-1521) Peru (no writing but a kept a record system, khipu)
Mesoamerica
  • Mayan (300-900 CE) Belize, Gautemala, Honduras, Yucatan
  • Aztecs (1400-1521) Central Mexico
North America
  • Anasazi (550-1400 CE) American Southwest
  • Mississippian (800-1500 CE) Eastern United States
  • NW Coast Native American (18th c- present) Pacific Northwest
Picture
North American Cultural Regions (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Quick History

  • Indigenous cultures of North America date back to 10,000 BCE but  most artifacts date only from the last 2,000 years
  • Geography plays a huge role in Andean Art. Coastal plains acted individually while in the mountains they united against the elements.
  • Old civilizations are used as foundations for new ones. (building upon preexisting sites)
  • Artworks were often part of a workshop where many worked on one piece
  • Pre-Columbian cultures occupy what is now Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and parts of El Salvador before Christopher Columbus invaded the area
  • The Aztec Empire was the dominant power in Mesoamerica before Henan Cortes overthrew them
  • Developed huge city-states that prominently featured temple complexes rivaling any on Earth
  • Rapid decline of civilizations in the 16th c. due to the introduction of disease by the Europeans
  • With the arrival of the Europeans, the native people of North and South America were destroyed and persecuted. Archeology, oral tradition, documents, and museum records are the basis for research. 

Artwork List
South America
1. Chavin de Haunter (Peru)
       - nose ornament
       - Lanzon Stela
      - Jaguar Relief sculpture
2. Yaxchilan
       -Structure 40 (Mexico)
       - Lintel 25, structure 23
       - Structure 33
3. Templo Mayor (Mexico)
        - The Coyolxauhqui monolith
        - The Calendar Stone (Sun Stone)
        - Olmec-style mask
6. Ruler's feather headdress (Aztec) (Motecuhzoma II?)
7. City Cusco (Peru)
         - Qorikancha
         - Walls at Saqsa Waman
8. Maize cobs (Peru, Inka)
9. City of Machu Picchu (Peru)
         - Observatory
         - Intihuatana Stone
10. All-T'oqapu tunic (Inka)

North America
11. Mesa Verde cliff dwellings (Colorado)
12. Serpent Mound (Ohio)
13. Transformation mask (Canada)
14. Bandolier bag (E. Woodlands)
15. Painted elk hide (Wyoming)
16. Black on black ceramic vessel (New Mexico)


Vocabulary
1. Mesoamerica
2. pre-Columbian
3. effigy mound
4. earthwork
5. ashlar masonry
6. courses
7. comb roof
8. repousse
​9. axis mundi

Flashcard Images
Ms. Park, Valerie, Park, Advanced, Placement, Art, History