INDIGENOUS AMERICAS
3500 BCE - 1492 CE & BEYOND

Cultural Influences

• Ancient Mesoamerica encompassed what are now Mexico (from Mexico City southward), Guatemala, Belize, and western Honduras, from 15,000 bce to 1521 ce, which was the time of the Mexica (Aztec) downfall. General cultural similarities of ancient Mesoamerica include similar calendars, pyramidal stepped structures, sites and buildings oriented in relation to sacred mountains and celestial phenomena, and highly valued green materials, such as jadeite and quetzal feathers.

• Mesoamerican sculptural and two-dimensional art tended toward the figural, particularly in glorification of specific rulers. Mythical events were also depicted in a realistic, figural mode. Despite the naturalistic styles and anthropomorphic interpretations of subject matter, shamanic transformation, visions, and depiction of other cosmic realms appear prominently in Mesoamerican art.

• The ancient Central Andes comprised present-day southern Ecuador, Peru, western Bolivia, and northern Chile. General cultural similarities across the Andes included an emphasis on surviving and interacting with the challenging environments, reciprocity and cyclicality (rather than individualism), and reverence for the animal and plant worlds as part of the practice of shamanistic religion.

• Andean art tends to explore the terrestrial (e.g., animal and plant imagery, mountain veneration, sculpting of nature itself, and organic integration of architecture with the environment). It also concerns the non-terrestrial via abstraction and orientation toward the afterlife and the other realms of the cosmos. Shamanic visionary experience was a strong theme, especially featuring humans transforming into animal selves.

• Different regions of Native America have broadly similar styles of art, allowing grouping into Arctic, Northwest Coast, Southwest, Plains, and Eastern Woodlands, among others. The various Native American groups may be seen to share larger ideas of harmony with nature, oneness with animals, respect for elders, community cohesion, dream guidance, shamanic leadership, and participation in large rituals (such as potlatches and sun dances). Post-contact art not only reflects these longstanding values, but it is also concerned with the history of conflict within tribes and between indigenous people and the U.S. and Canadian governments.

• Although disease and genocide practiced by the European invaders and colonists reduced the Native American population by as much as 90%, Native Americans today maintain their cultural identity and uphold modern versions of ancient traditions in addition to creating new art forms as part of the globalized contemporary art world. Because of the history of suppression and forced assimilation into white culture, the influence of Native North American art on modern U.S. and European art styles has been minimized. However, recent cultural revitalization of traditions and active contemporary artistic production by self-taught and academically trained artists keep Native American participation in global artistry alive. Strains range from self-conscious revival of ancient arts, such as in Puebloan pottery, to cutting political commentary on racism and injustice.

Materials & Techniques

• Artistic traditions of the Indigenous Americas exhibit overarching traits—content that emphasizes unity with the natural world and a five-direction (north, south, east, west, center) cosmic geometry; spirituality based in visionary shamanism; high value placed on animal based media (e.g., feather work, bone carving, and hide painting); incorporation of trade materials (e.g., greenstones, such as turquoise and jadeite; shells, such as the spiny oyster; and in the case of Native North America, imported beads, machine-made cloth, and glazes); stylistic focus on the essence rather than the appearance of subjects; and creation of aesthetic objects that have a strong functional aspect, reference, or utility (e.g., vessels, grinding platforms, and pipes).

• The necessity to interact with three disparate environments (mountains, desert coast, and rainforest) in order to survive instilled in Andean culture and art an underlying emphasis on trade in exotic materials. A hierarchy of materials was based on availability and/ or requirement for collaboration to manipulate the materials. Feather work, textiles, and greenstone were at the top of the materials hierarchy; metalwork, bone, obsidian, and stone toward the middle; and ceramics and wood at the lower end of the hierarchy. Textiles were a primary medium and were extraordinarily well preserved on the desert coast, fulfilling key practical and artistic functions in the various environmental zones.

• Mesoamerican pyramids began as early earthworks, changed to nine-level structures with single temples, and then later became structures with twin temples. Sacred sites were renovated and enlarged repeatedly over the centuries, resulting in acropolises and massive temples. Architecture was mainly stone post-and-lintel, often faced with relief sculpture and painted bright colors, emphasizing large masses that sculpt outdoor space. Plazas were typical for large ritual gatherings. Elaborate burials and other underground installations to honor the role of the underworld were also found.

• Native American art media include earthworks, stone and adobe architecture, wood and bone carving, weaving and basketry, hide painting, ceramics, quillwork and beadwork, and, recently, painting on canvas and other European-style media. Geometric patterning, figures (often mythic or shamanic), and animals (e.g., snakes, birds, bison, and horses) are often seen.

Theories, Interpretations, & Cultural Interactions

• What is called "art" is considered to have, contain, and/or transfer life force rather than simply represent an image. Likewise, art is considered participatory and active, rather than simply made for passive viewing.

• Art was produced primarily in workshops, but certain individual artists' styles have been identified (particularly in the Maya), and some works of art were signed. Artists were typically elite specialists and, among the Maya, the second sons of royalty.

• Many Native American artworks are ritual objects to wear, carry, or use during special ceremonies in front of large audiences. Functionality of the object is preferred; the more active a work of art, the more it is believed to contain and transfer life force and power. Intellectual pursuits apparent in artistic expressions include astronomical observation; poetry, song, and dance; and medicine (curing and divining). Artistic practices included workshops, apprentice-master relationships, and, less often, solitary art making. Some specialization by gender (e.g., women weaving and men carving) can be seen. Patrons might be the tribal leaders, an elder, or a family member. Audiences mostly were the entire group, though some objects and performances were restricted by their sacred or political nature.

• Hieroglyphs of the Mayas and Mexica illuminate text and image, and historical and artistic elements of those cultures. Ethnographic analogy highlights basic cultural continuities so that present traditional practices, myths, and religious beliefs may illuminate past artistic materials, creative processes, and iconography. Other disciplines, such as astronomy, botany, and zoology, help identify siting of cities and monuments, as well as native flora and fauna subject matter. Like all art historical research, work in these areas uses iconographic and formal analyses of large numbers of artworks and increasingly employs multidisciplinary collaboration.