APAH Unit 7: Indigenous American Art

Yaxchilan (Structures & Lintels)

Yaxchilan (creator & date)

“Bird Jaguar IV” & Son; 350-850 CE

Yaxchilan (location, culture, & material)

Chipas, Mexico; Mayan; Limestone

Yaxchilan (use & facts)

• city & temple complex

• 3 doors leading to central room

• roof intact with “roof comb” (ornamental stone top)

• corbeled arched interior

• structures 40 & 33, lintel 25 & 24

• 25: Lady Xook hallucinating after the ritual bloodletting

Yaxchilan Lintels 25 & 24 (facts)

• 25: Lady Xook hallucinating after the ritual bloodletting

• 25: 2 headed Vision Serpent rising with warrior out of one mouth & head of deity Tlaloc (water)

• 25: hieroglyphic inscription reversed like to be read in a mirror

• 25: removed & taken to England in 19^th century

• 25: set above central doorway, celebrate Xook’s husband ascension to throne

• 25: Xook holds bowl with bloodletting apparatus

• 24: Lady Xook pulls thorned cord through bleeding tongue to bleed on paper

• 24: husband (Shield Jaguar II) above Xook

• 24: glyphs above show Lady Xook’s title and tell it occurred in 709 CE

• Xook’s jewelry shows her status

Templo Mayor

Templo Mayor (culure & location)

Aztec; Mexico City, Mexico (formerly Tenochtitlan)

Templo Mayor (date & material)

1375-1520 CE; stone

Templo Mayor (use & facts)

• temple

• pyramids built on top of one another so each encompasses the previous

• steep stairs lead to top

• North pyramid for Tlaloc (rain) & south for Huitzilopochtli (sun/war) & all contained images of gods

• decorative relief sculptures display narratives

• stepped pyramids

• contains Coyolxauhqui Stone & Olmec mask found here

• temple = axis mundi

Calendar Stone

Calendar Stone (culture & location)

Aztec; Mexico City, Mexico (formerly Tenochtitlan)

Calendar Stone (date & material)

1502-1520 CE; basalt stone

Calendar Stone (use & facts)

• calendar

• center of stone is face of solar deity that appears inside glyph for “movement”

• central figure holding human heart in each hand & tongue is sacrificial knife

• 12 ft across, 3 ft deep, weighs 24 tones

• originally painted

• top right square = 4 Jaguar when 1^st era ended bc monsters destroyed humanity

• top left square = 4 Wind when 2^nd era ends bc hurricane winds destroyed earth & humans turned into monkeys

• bottom left square = 4 Rain when 3^rd era ends in rain of fire & humans turned into turkeys

• bottom right square = 4 Water when 4^th era ended bc of floods & all humans turned into fish

Coyolxauhqui Stone

Coyolxauhqui Stone (culture & location)

Aztec; Mexico City, Mexico (formerly Tenochtitlan)

Coyolxauhqui Stone (date & material)

1469 CE; Volcanic stone (originally painted)

Coyolxauhqui Stone (use & facts)

• temple decor

• Aztec moon goddess (aka Bells-Her-Cheeks) with name meaning “Golden Bells”

• daughter of Coatlicue & sister of sun god Huitzilopochtli

• she encouraged siblings to kill dishonored mother & brother H cut off her head & threw it into sky to create moon

• bottom of pyramid at Tenochtitlan

• used basically as a target to throw human sacrifices off the top of the Templo Mayor

Olmec Style Mask

Olmec Style Mask (culture & location)

Olmec/Aztec; Mexico City, Mexico (formerly Tenochtitlan)

Olmec Style Mask (date & material)

10th-6th century CE; jadeite

Olmec Style Mask (use & facts)

• buried for offering

• found at Aztec temple (Templo Mayor) site but probably older

• note Olmec features on mask

• almond eyes, head cleft, baby face

• collected & ritually buried as offering

• shows Aztec reverence for older cultures

Ruler’s Feather Headdress

Ruler’s Feather Headdress (culture & location)

Aztec; Mexico

Ruler’s Feather Headdress (date & material)

1428-1520 CE; Quetzal feathers

Ruler’s Feather Headdress (use & facts)

• symbol of power

• made of 400 feathers bc 400 = eternity

• feathers indicate trade throughout empire bc only 2 feathers per bird

• may have been owned by Moctezuma who gave it to Cortez

Chavin de Huantar

Chavin de Huantar (culture & location)

Pre-Incan (Chavin People); Northern Highlands, Peru

Chavin de Huantar (date & material)

900-200 BCE; quarried stone

Chavin de Huantar (ues & facts)

• worship center & pilgrimage cite

• religious capital & temple compound w/ underground area

• Old Temple & New Temple

• human & animal motifs

• symmetry & monumentality

• low relief rectangular surfaces

• quarried stone buildings on artificial terraces w/ system of drains & vents

• complex was pilgrimage center

• older temple integrated into a newer complex w/ circular plaza for worshipers

• site used for religious rituals that may have involved an aural component

• network of windowless stone galleries & tunnels project sound of pututu (conch shell trumpet)

• sound represents voice of deity for whom temple constructed

• lots of jaguar imagery (apex predator)

Lanzon Stele

Lanzon Stele (culture & location)

Pre-Incan (Chavin People); Northern Highlands, Peru

Lanzon Stele (date & material)

900-200 BCE; granite

Lanzon Stele (use & facts)

• deity figure

• found in maze-like galleries at Chavin de Huantar that acted like acoustic system for sound projection to outside plaza

• sound used in rituals represents main god of Chavin carved here

• notched, wedge-shaped, 15 ft tall stone is located deep in Old Temple at intersection of several galleries

• Lanzon = “great spear” in Spanish (referring to the stone’s shape/shape of digging stick used in highland agriculture)

• spear shape = power of deity to ensure fertile harvest

• Lanzon is standing figure with large round eyes, one looking up & other looking down, large mouth w/ barred teeth & fangs

• left hand points down & right points up (heavens & earth-axis mundi) with long, talon-like fingernails

• carved channel runs from top of forehead to receive liquid offerings poured above

• incised geometric patterns

Relief Sculpture from Chavin de Huantar

Relief Sculpture from Chavin de Huantar (culture & location)

Pre-Incan (Chavin People); Northern Highlands, Peru

Relief Sculpture from Chavin de Huantar (date & material)

900-200 BCE; granite

Relief Sculpture from Chavin de Huantar (use & facts)

• temple plaza decor

• depicts jaguars in shallow relief from circular plaza

• technique is contour rivalry = employs visual elements that are interpreted as one thing when looked at from one angle, but another then when looked at another way/from another angle

Nose Ornament

Nose Ornament (culture & location)

Pre-Incan (Chavin People); Northern Highlands, Peru

Nose Ornament (date & material)

900-200 BCE; gold

Nose Ornament (use & facts)

• ritual use

• found at Chavin de Huantar

• gold shows rank & allows wearer to transform into sacred beings

• symmetry & balance

• worn by royals in ceremonies

• allows weater to undergo spiritual transformation

Cusco

Cusco (culture & location)

Incan; Central Highlands Peru

Cusco (date & material)

1440 CE (convent added 1550-1650 CE); andesite stone, gold

Cusco (use & facts)

• capital of Inca Empire

• contains Temple of the Sun (center of Inca world & most sacred site)

• also called Golden Enclosure & was dedicated to the highest gods in Inca pantheon (creator god, moon goddess, & sun god)

• little remains today, but what is there hints at massive size & legends describe massive amounts of gold used here

• ashlar masonry = perfectly fitted stone constructions that could withstand earthquakes

• city laid out to represent puma with Coricancha temple at tail

• Sacsayhuaman/Saqsa Wayman located at head

• puma = Incan royal power

Qorikancha

Qorikancha

Qorikancha (culture & location)

Incan; Central Highlands, Peru (Cusco)

Qorikancha (date & material)

1440 CE (convent added 1550-1650 CE); andesite stone & gold

Qorikancha (ues & facts)

• ashlar masonry = perfectly fitted stone constructions that could withstand earthquakes

• city laid out to represent puma with Coricancha temple at tail

• base was temple of the sun w/ convent of Santo Domingo built on top later

• ashlar masonry, covered in gold, also observatory for star charting (interior courtyard also said to be covered in gold)

• its garden was a compact version of the Inca cosmos

• represented vast range of ecosystems in the Inca empire & the most important agricultural products from them (all made of metal)

• plants & animals represented in gold bc some could only survive at specific altitudes

• maize was one of most important foodstuffs bc it was used to make chicha (maize beer) which was consumed at political feasts, cementing obligation of local political leaders to the Inca state

• large, curved, western wall noted for form & elegant, regular masonry (most walls also leaned)

• trapezoid doorways & windows allowed light in, broad band of gold around walls, exterior & doors covered in gold

Maize Cobs

Maize Cobs (culture & location)

Incan; Central Highlands, Peru (Cusco)

Maize Cobs (date & material)

1400-1533 CE; Gold& silver alloys

Maize Cobs (use & facts)

• ritual purpose in Cusco garden

• may be part of garden of gold & silver at Cusco (statues of people, plants, flowers, etc. made of gold & silver, most of which melted down by conquistadors)

• repousse – metal working technique created by pressing the design into the back of a thin metal plate

• good luck charm for successful harvest

• life size replica of corn

Saqsa Waman

Saqsa Waman (culture & location)

Incan; Central Highlands, Peru (Cusco)

Saqsa Waman (date & material)

1400-1533 CE; Andesite stone

Saqsa Waman (use & facts)

• defensive complex

• defensive complex just outside Cosco

• built of ashlar masonry, but much bigger stones

• stones 2+ tons from quarry 2 mi away

• fortress built up in terraces & flat spaces

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu (culture & location)

Incan; Central Highlands of Peru

Machu Picchu (date & material)

1450-1540 CE; Granite

Machu Picchu (use & facts)

• architectural complex for Incan emperor

• 3 days walk from Cusco & at elevation 7,927 ft, pleasant climate

• place for Incan emperor & family to host feats, perform religious ceremonies, & administer affairs of the empire

• site chosen for relationship to landscape (mountain peaks = ancestral deities)

• contains housing for elites, their families & servants, & religious shrines, fountains, & terraces

• observatory = Temple of the Sun (purpose echoed in shape)

• Incan style with polished dry-stone walls

• 3 primary structures: Intihuatana (Hitching post of the Sun), Temple of the Sun, & Room of the Three Windows

• temple has curved stone enclosure w/ windows & niches

• temple used to calculate June solstice & constellations

• cave beneath may refer to Incan underworld myth

• ashlar masonry

Inthihuatana Rock

Inthihuatana Rock (culture & location)

Incan; Central Highlands of Peru (Machu Picchu)

Inthihuatana Rock (date & material)

1450-1540 CE; Granite

Inthihuatana Rock (use & facts)

• altar for rituals

• found at Machu Picchu on top of large, terraced pyramid

• flat side of square from N to E marks winter solstice (June) & side from E to S marks summer solstice (December)

• at sunrise on winter solstice, sun light projects thorugh the rock producing triangle of light illuminating 2 concentric circles on floor

• carved from one solid piece of granite

• base has stepped recess used as altar for offerings & sacrifices

• opposite side has protruding tab pointing to magnetic north & carvings in the 4 cardinal directions

• tracked passage of the sun throughout the year, determining the date of religious events

All T’oqapu Tunic

All T’oqapu Tunic (culture & location)

Incan; Andean Coast, South America (somewhere in the Incan Empire)

All T’oqapu Tunic (date & material)

1450 CE; Camelid fiber & cotton

All T’oqapu Tunic (use & facts)

• sign of wealth, power, & status

• t’oqapu = square geometric motifs that make up the tunic; each symbolizes a particular person, event, or place

• only warn by those with high societal rank

• have a band of the motif near neck or waist

• designs related to people, places, & social roles w/ in Inca empire

• made by acllas, cloistered women who also performed religious rituals & made chicha (corn beer) for feasts

• given as gifts & worn by royal household or burned as sacrifice to Inti (sun god)

• 100 threads/cm = light & strong weave

• cloth not cut bc cutting diminished power/spirit

• shows visual unity using bold colors

• Incan use of abstract designs & motifs

Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings

Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings (culture & location)

Pueblo (Ancestral); Mesa, Verde, Colorado, USA

Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings (date & material)

450-1300 CE; Sandstone, rock, wood, & stucco

Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings (use & facts)

• city/dwelling

• protected from elements (sun, wind) & easy to defend (lots of ladders & protected on two sides by cliff)

• built by Ancestral Puebloan People (American Southwest) who lived in 13^th century CE

• Mesa Verde = “green table”

• people who lived here were Pueblos or “Anasazi” (Navajo for “the ancient ones”)

• kiva = circular sunken room used for ceremonial purposes

• large square tower to the right almost reaches cave roof (restored by National Park Service); 26 ft tall & 4 levels

• sophisticated mathematic knowledge, used golden ratio but no writing system (oral stories)

• farmed land above cliff

• abandoned by 1300 CE bc of drought or over farming

Great Serpent Mound

Great Serpent Mound (culture & location)

Fort Ancient or Adema People; Southwest Ohio, USA

Great Serpent Mound (date & material)

1070 CE; earthwork, dirt & grass

Great Serpent Mound (use & facts)

• mark passing of seasons/supernatural use?

• Ancient Fort or Adema people (related to Mississippians)

• no artifacts or people found buried here

• zoomorphic form w/ head & tail aligned w/ summer & winter equinox

• crescent-shaped serpent w/ 7 winding coils in between, 3 ft tall

• head swallowing egg, eating animal, swallowing sun?

• snakes = supernatural, good, crop fertility

• aspects of the form & unusual site have astronomical association

Bandolier Bag

Bandolier Bag (culture & location)

Lenape Tribe (Algonquin Nation); Eastern Delaware, USA

Bandolier Bag (date & material)

1850 CE; cotton cloth, silk ribbon, glass beads, hide, wool, yarn, metal cones

Bandolier Bag (use & facts)

• showed prestige, status symbol

• prestige piece, probably copied form European cartridge bags (beads & ribbon expensive)

• woman made them, worn by men

• used as gifts & trade items

• glass beads came from Europeans who regarded them as trinkets

• Native Americans valued the light catching qualities & permanent bright colors

• bag represents continuity within Prairie Style through its symmetrical curvilinear plant motifs & combines style of multiple Native groups

• large in size & decorated with array of colorful beads & ribbons, worn cross-body

Hide Painting of the Sun Dance

Hide Painting of the Sun Dance (creator & date)

Costigo (Cadzi Coti); 1890-1900 CE

Hide Painting of the Sun Dance (culture, location, & material)

Shoshone; Wind River Reservation, Wyoming, USA; Hide & natural pigment

Hide Painting of the Sun Dance (use & facts)

• painted for sale to tourists

• hides traditionally used as robes or tepee walls & painted w/ figures or geometric designs

• depicts buffalo hunt & wolf dance

• buffalo are plentiful & done w/ traditional bow & arrow

• made to sell to tourists, so traditional motifs combined to market it

• geometric & figural motifs in free-hand painting & stenciling

• painted for audience so Cotsiogo could make a living while living at the Wind River Reservation

Transformation Mask

Transformation Mask (culture & location)

Kwakwaka’wakw (Kwakiutl); Northwest Territories, Canada

Transformation Mask (date & material)

Late 19th century CE; Wood, paint, & string

Transformation Mask (use & facts)

• worn in ritual dances

• ritual use, each clan had sacred animal

• mask helps convey & preserve traditional symbols & stories

• depicts eagle/crow & human

• strings allow opening & closing of mouth during ritual

• show animal changing into mythical being or one animal become another

• worn by dancers in ceremonies that could pull strings to animate it (when pulled, eagle’s face opens in center to show human ancestor)

• potlatch = ceremony where host (displayed in status) gives away gifts to those in attendance

• costume included mask, & cloak

Black on Black Ceramic Vessel

Black on Black Ceramic Vessel (creator & date)

Maria & Julian Martinez; 1939 CE

Black on Black Ceramic Vessel (culture, location, & material)

Pueblo; Puebla, New Mexico, USA; clay & volcanic ash, ceramic

Black on Black Ceramic Vessel (use & facts)

• creation & selling of fine art/revival of traditional indigenous ceramic making techniques

• Maria & Julian studied pottery shards from Mesa Verde & figured out how to make black on black patters in low oxidation firing

• she wanted to revive traditional methods of her tribe

• Maria made vessels & Julian painted them (other artisans helped but Maria, famous, signed to increase value)

• Maria Martinex became best-known Native potter of 20^th century & reframed Native ceramics as fine art for the large non-Native audience

• used coil method & scraped (did not use wheel), fired using kiln & dung

• after firing, Julian painted design with liquid clay creating a matte surface that contrasts with polished design

• painted using pulverized iron ore or reduction of wild plants (guaco)

• two design bands showing bird in flight & rain

• fits Art Deco movement between World Wars (geometric form & bold colors)