#5 ANCIENT MESOAMERICAN ART

ANCIENT MESOAMERICAN ART

In this lesson, we'll be studying the art and architecture of the indigenous civilizations of Mesoamerica (modern-day Mexico and Central America before the arrival of Europeans in the sixteenth century).

OBJECTIVES

Identify the regions of pre-Columbian culture.
Differentiate among the periods of pre-Columbian artistic achievement.
Describe the various types of pre-Columbian art.
Discuss the major themes of pre-Columbian art.

VOCABULARY

adobe - sun-dried brick

axial - north-south orientation so that building doors open east to west, corresponding to the daily passage of the sun

codices - plural of codex — screen-fold books of paper produced from fiber or the bark of various plants or deerskin

corbel - one stone is extended above another to form an archlike shape

frescoes - paintings made on freshly spread moist lime plaster with water-based pigments

indigenous - the original inhabitants of an area

pictographs - a picture representing a word or idea

MESOAMERICA AND THE OTHER ANCIENTS

Beginning about 7000 BC, the Mesoamerican civilizations rivaled those of China, India, Mesopotamia, and Greece in intellectual development.

Yet much of the technology of eastern hemisphere civilizations, such as the wheel and metal tools, was unknown to the Mesoamericans. They used stone instead of metal tools; and humans, rather than machines, carried, pulled, and lifted the materials for the pyramids, palaces, tombs, and temples that they built.

Mesoamerica — modern-day Mexico and Central America before the arrival

of Europeans in the sixteenth century

Beginning about 7000 BC, the Mesoamerican civilizations rivaled those of China, India, Mesopotamia, and Greece in intellectual development.

When we look at these structures today, we can see that the artists and builders of the pre-Columbian era must have been concerned how human structures fit in with the natural world. Notice how the buildings are part of the landscape.

People’s lives were regulated by natural phenomena, by the cycles of the sun and the moon and life and death. They studied the contrasts around them of land and water and day and night. Their artifacts reflect these dualities by contrasting movement and stillness, realism and abstraction, light and dark.

PRE-COLUMBIAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE

The term "pre-Columbian" refers to the time before the arrival of Columbus in the Americas. It is also used to identify the indigenous cultures that evolved in the Southwestern United States through Central America and along the Andes on the Western coast of South America. When the Spanish explorers arrived in the sixteenth century, many of these cultures were destroyed by disease and warfare. Pre-Columbian cultures are categorized by geographic areas:

The Mesoamerican Area, a major cultural region — the present countries of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador
The Central Andes Area (including the present countries of Peru and Bolivia)
The Intermediate Area of lower Central America and northern South America — the present countries of Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador
The Peripheral Area — the rest of South America and the Caribbean islands

Chronological Divisions

To distinguish the major characteristics of pre-Columbian civilizations, three general chronological divisions have been widely used:

the pre-Classic, or Formative, period (1500 BC to AD 300)
the Classic, or Florescent, period (300 to 900)
the post-Classic period (900 to 1540)

These early societies were based on agriculture, with maize (corn) the main food in Mesoamerica.

Because their religious ceremonies and rituals were mainly concerned with seeking the gods' blessing on their crops, much pre-Columbian art and architecture incorporate astronomy.

The pre-Columbians created outstanding art of several different types, including:

architecture
sculpture
painting
decorative arts (pottery, metalwork, and textiles)

THE OLMECS: A PRE-CLASSIC CIVILIZATION

The earliest civilization (before the Mayans) was the Olmec of Mexico, which flourished from 1500 to 600 BC. About 900 BC, they built the city of LaVenta in an axial pattern that influenced the development of Central American cities for centuries

The Olmec worshipped a deity in the form of a jaguar. The jaguar image is a recurrent theme in Olmec art. The earliest pre-Columbian buildings were made of destructible materials such as wood, bundled reeds, fiber matting, or thatch. As the societies such as the Olmec evolved, they began using permanent, monumental architecture of stone or adobe.

The Olmec were the first to use stone for architecture and sculpture and the first to create architectural stone mosaics.

They created realistic-looking stone heads about nine feet high and small statuettes of carved jade or basalt.

Archaeologists have also discovered large, detailed relief carvings depicting myths and gods.

Notice that the figure is in deep relief. There is an emphasis on naturalism in the lifelike chest and arms. The Olmec artists preferred curvilinear forms that fit harmoniously with the location.

Olmec art, like that of the later Maya, is characterized by a high degree of naturalism. Emphasis is placed on the curvilinear rather than the rectilinear, thus encouraging fluid, rhythmic forms that seem more harmonious to a tropical locale.

The Wrestler, Olmec Civilization, 150 BC

A farmer in Veracruz found this statue, which is just over two feet tall. Notice the feeling of energy and movement in the piece created by the twisted shoulders. It is made of basalt, a volcanic rock. Considered a masterpiece of Olmec art, historians do not have a precise date for the creation of the piece. It is unusual for its dynamism and for the facial hair on the figure.

Notice how the figure seems to be caught in motion. See how the body lines are rounded rather than squared off.

THE MAYAN CIVILIZATION

The Mayan civilization of southern Mesoamerica began around 2000 BC in the pre-Classic period and lasted through the arrival of the Spanish. The Mayan civilization is divided into phases. The Late Classic phase (600 to 900 AD) saw great artistic achievements as well as the spread of writing by the Mayans. They developed the highest quality and greatest variety of architecture of all the pre-Columbian civilizations. They decorated their buildings with sculptures and employed the corbel arch in freestanding arches as well as for the interiors of buildings. They also built paved roadways.

Of all the pre-Columbian societies, the Maya created the most sophisticated art in terms of technique and in their designs.

Notice how dignity and majesty are conveyed in this figure.

In general, the Mayan artists tried to convey psychological reality as well as physical. They sought to capture and translate not just how a person looked but who they were. The work often seems fluid, and ornamentation is prominent. Individuality and innovation were encouraged.

A common form of monumental sculpture for the Mayans was the freestanding stela. Notice the lavish ornamentation?

This is a Mayan-carved serpent head at Chichen Itza in Yucatan

Mayan warriors are carved in stone at the Temple of Warriors at Chichen Itza, the Maya capital on the Yucatan peninsula.

Mayan Pyramids

One of the Mayans' greatest accomplishments was the pyramid. Unlike the Egyptian pyramids, the pre-Columbian pyramids were not burial structures, although sometimes tombs were incorporated into them. They served more often as temples. In addition, pictographs in Mesoamerican codices show that pyramids also served as fortresses for defense.

Mesoamerican pyramids were built in a variety of styles. They often feature a small temple built at the top for the worship of a deity.

A Mayan pyramid is approached not through a closed corridor as in Egypt, but from a vast open plaza. With its flights of steps and summit temple, the pyramid looks less like a private tomb, and more like a public platform — a commanding stage from which the elite might rule.

This is the Castle at Chichén Itzá Yucatan, Mexico, a Mayan site of the Post-Classic period, circa 11th century.

The Mayans built a highly cultured civilization. They excelled in architecture, sculpture, painting, mathematics, and astronomy. Theirs was basically a lowland culture; their cities of more than two million population depended on a combination of primitive "slash and burn" farming and a highly developed agricultural system of terraced fields. Pyramids such as this were centers for religious rituals that included human sacrifice. They illustrate a high degree of architectural development.

The Mayans adorned their buildings not only with architecture but with painting as well. In places such as Chichén Itzá, the Maya painted the inside walls with realistic frescoes that depicted historical events. Many of their pictures and pictographic writing has been preserved in codices.

A codex was a folding book of 39 pages written on bark cloth. This one is called the Dresden Codex because it is housed in the Library of Dresden, Germany.

Spanish missionaries destroyed most of the codices during the sixteenth century, but a few have been preserved.

THE MIXTEC

The Mixtec, another important civilization that existed at the same time as the Mayans, created the most elaborate codices of all the Mesoamerican civilizations.

They used deerskin instead of bark cloth or vegetable fiber.

This codex was created in the 14th century and tells the story of several generations of rulers.

The picture is a reproduction that depicts warriors attacking a village. This is a style of writing that uses pictures to convey complete words or ideas, rather than syllables and sounds. Notice the vibrant use of color.

THE AZTECS: A CIVILIZATION OF THE POST-CLASSIC PERIOD

You are probably most familiar with the civilization of the Aztecs. They were the last major Mesoamerican society. In the 15th and early 16th centuries, they created and collected large holdings of art. The Aztec were also called Mexica; hence the name of Mexico. The Aztec capital was located on the site of Mexico City and was called Tenochtitlan. It was a large, vibrant city, built on natural and human-made islands in a large lake. The canals between the islands were used for transportation.

Here an artist imagines the city in its heyday:

Like the Mayan, the Aztecs created monumental freestanding stone sculpture. Read the article at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Web site. Choose one of the pieces from the slide show and describe it in your journal. Also make some notes about Aztec sculpture based on the article. What do the Aztecs depict in their sculptures? Why?

More images of Aztec art can be seen in this review of an exhibit at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

The Aztecs used sculpture to decorate buildings, altars, and ceremonial objects as well, as you can see from the article above.

This is the Aztec Calendar Stone. Notice the intricate carving and the thematic concern with time.

Like the Mayans and the Mixtec, the Aztecs created codices. They housed them in libraries, which were unfortunately destroyed by Spanish missionaries in the 16th century.

The Aztecs also created step pyramids.

The colossal Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl at Cholula is the largest pyramid site among the Mesoamerican civilizations. The pyramids were built for worship and as sites for human sacrifice. Built to resemble mountains, they represented the might of the Aztec people. Stone serpent heads kept away the evil spirits.

The Templo Mayor was located in the Aztec capital and was destroyed by the Spanish conquerors.

This is model of how it looked.

LET'S REVIEW!

In this lesson, you have covered the following topics:

The pre-Columbian era of art and architecture covers a large geographic area and a lengthy chronological span.
From the early Olmec of Mexico, who established the first Mesoamerican civilization, to the Aztecs, who were conquered by the Spanish, architecture developed in the form of great pyramids, complex cities and elaborately decorated walls.
The ruins of the Mesoamerican pyramids are evidence of highly advanced engineering abilities. Artwork consisted of jade statuettes, gold ornaments, beautifully woven cloth, pottery and stone statues and stelae.
Mesoamerican artists often used the natural environment for their inspiration.

Take this Quiz before moving on.

#5 ANCIENT MESOAMERICAN ART Quiz

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