Download - Deer Creek Schools

Pre - Columbian Art
What you need to know
to survive DCHS Art
Week
Pre-Columbian Art and Civilizations
in Mexico
• The cultures of pre-Columbian MesoAmerica are very complex and cover
thousands of years…. (yes, I said one
thousand years! ) This is time BEFORE
Columbus!
•So get comfortable!
I have underlined what you
need to know!
This time includes many peoples, languages, beliefs, crafts,
architectural styles and ways of life. The geography of Mexico itself
separates people. They developed different customs over time and
still remain quite distinct from one another. Yet, all relied on corn as
the basic food staple which was complemented by many vegetables.
For the most part, pre-Columbian peoples also shared similar beliefs
including the rain god, a calendar system of 365 days, rituals such
as the ball court, and human and animal sacrifice. Prehistoric
human presence in Mexico dates back to some 15,000 years ago
with finds at the site of Hueyaltalco. However evidence of humans
dates even longer ago to about 1,000 B.C. to northern Mexico. Most
archaeologists think that people of the Americas traveled across the
land bridge that once connected Siberia and Alaska. They made
their way down to the tip of South America. This journey took 1000’s
years. Even after the Spaniards conquered the great civilizations of
Latin America, the strong artistic traditions survived. There were
great changes after the Conquest: the introduction of new raw
materials, sources of colors and designs, techniques of manufacture
and others
Just
Kidding!!!
Mexico…..
• Corn was the basic food staple.
• Mostly the people of Mexico had similar
belief systems. These beliefs included the
rain god, 260 day Aztec calendar, rituals,
human and animal sacrifices.
Even after the Spanish conquered the
civilizations of Latin America, strong
traditions lived on…and on.
Even today these
traditions live on in many
villages and remote areas
of Mexico.
What traditions????
The Olmecs are
an ancient
group that
inhabited the
State of
Tabasco.
Olmecs around 800-400 BC
Olmec works of art, made
of stone, clay, and jade,
represent the first
sophisticated artistic
style that had been
discovered in the
Americas.
The Olmec art
continued to be
an influence for
more than 2300
years.
Codices were folding books
made out of bark or skin
throughout Mexico and Central
America. These books told the
stories about chiefs or
conquests through pictures.
The Zapotecs were located at Monte Alban which is
4000 feet above current day Oaxaca.
This is a picture of Monte Alban. You can
see the ruins in the picture.
There are 140 stone slabs
that have carvings of
dancers on them. These
danzantes (dancers)
have strong Olmec
features.
The Aztecs took prisoners to use as human
sacrifices. They felt that it was their duty to
sacrifice these prisoners to their gods.
There were many gods that were important… god
of rain, god of sun, god of fire. All of these gods
had different names based on the language.
However, they were all a part of the culture.
These are seen within carvings, drawings etc.
Painters specialized in
murals in the temples
and palaces. Also they
made numerous kinds
of ceramics, textiles,
baskets… etc.
The Aztec Capital was named Tenochtitlan
which was located North of present day Mexico
City. Teotihuacán was an important city. Below
is a picture of one of the ruins.
Example of
Aztec
drawings.
Notice the
shapes,
colors and
symbols
The Aztecs had a
sophisticated way of
dying and weaving in
order to produce bright
colored textiles. These
same practices have
survived the centuries
and are still used today
by the quarter of a
million contemporary
Aztecs.
Fighters….not…?
The Aztecs were fighters. They were very
fierce warriors. The people they
conquered hated them because they
sacrificed their prisoners. The Aztecs
made these sacrifices to appease the
gods. When they felt like the gods were
angry with them they made human
sacrifices to gain the favor of the gods.
Human Sacrifices
He has someone’s
guts in his
hand….nice huh?
Modern Day Aztec Dancers
• Aztec rain god
• Example of current
artists trying to
recreate Aztec art.
(1997)
We cannot mention the Aztecs without
talking about El Día de los Muertos.
October 31st - November 2nd each year
this holiday is celebrated. The roots of this
holiday dates back to the Aztecs. You can
find many pieces of art (drawings, carvings
etc.) that reflect death and the altars
(ofrendas) dedicated to those that have
died. I have included some
pictures…..
Here is another picture of the Aztec
Warriors… what do you see?