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Indigenous Americas

Page history last edited by Robert W. Maloy 2 months ago

Panoramic Image of Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley, Photographer: Rubyk

PAGE SUMMARY

Geographically and chronologically, the art of the Indigenous Americas is divided into two categories: Native North America and Ancient America. South of the present-day border between the United States and Mexico, art produced prior to 1550 CE is classified as "Ancient America." Mesoamerica, Central America, and Andean South America are the three main cultural regions that make up this area.

"Native North America" encompasses a wide range of regional components, including the Northwest Coast, Southwest, Plains, and Eastern Woodlands. It refers to traditionally oriented civilizations that have existed north of the boundary between the United States and Mexico from prehistoric times to the present, with a focus on the period from 1492 CE to the present.

Numerous Native American artworks are ceremonial items meant to be used, carried, or worn during important rites in front of big crowds. An object's usefulness is favored; the more alive and dynamic an artwork is, the more life energy and power it is said to possess and transmit.

Olivia Rakocy, February 2024

The History of Wampum: Real Story from Local Massachusetts

CROSS-LINK: The Function of Money

Some important works:

Chavín de Huántar. Northern highlands, Peru. Chavín. 900–200 B.C.E. Stone (architectural complex); granite (Lanzón and sculpture); hammered gold alloy (jewelry).

Mesa Verde

Mesa Verde cliff dwellings. Montezuma County, Colorado. Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi). 450–1300 C.E. Sandstone.

Mesa Verde National Park/UNESCO World Heritage Site

These are not the only examples of cliff dwellings in the American Southwest.

Read more about different sites here.

CROSS-LINK: Mesa Verde National Park

Ancient Ruins in the Canon de Chile, in a Niche Fifty Feet Above Present Canon Bed, Timothy H. Sullivan, 1873, from J. Paul Getty Museum

Mesa Verde Photo Gallery, National Park Service

Yaxchilán. Chiapas, Mexico. Maya. 725 C.E. Limestone (architectural complex).

View the Yaxchilán lintels in depth.

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Serpent Mound

Great Serpent Mound. Adams County, southern Ohio. Mississippian (Eastern Woodlands). c. 1070 C.E. Earthwork/effigy mound.

View another text on the Great Serpent Mound here from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

History Got it Wrong: Scientists Now Say Serpent Mound as Old as Aristotle

Great Serpent Mound

Templo Mayor (Main Temple). Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City, Mexico). Mexica (Aztec). 1375–1520 C.E. Stone (temple); volcanic stone (The Coyolxauhqui Stone); jadeite (Olmec-style mask); basalt (Calendar Stone).

Ruler’s feather headdress (probably of Motecuhzoma II). Mexica (Aztec). 1428–1520 C.E. Feathers (quetzal and cotinga) and gold.

Walls of Cusco

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City of Cusco, including Qorikancha (Inka main temple), Santo Domingo (Spanish colonial convent), and Walls at Saqsa Waman (Sacsayhuaman). Central highlands, Peru. Inka. c. 1440 C.E; convent added 1550–1650 C.E. Andesite.

Saksaywaman, Cusco

Inca Art, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

Maize cobs. Inka. c. 1440–1533 C.E. Sheet metal/repoussé, metal alloys.

Machu Picchu

City of Machu Picchu. Central highlands, Peru. Inka. c. 1450–1540 C.E. Granite (architectural complex).

View extremely high-resolution images of Machu Picchu here and here.

Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas, Peabody Museum of Natural History

All-T’oqapu tunic. Inka. 1450–1540 C.E. Camelid fiber and cotton.

Bandolier bag. Lenape (Delaware tribe, Eastern Woodlands). c. 1850 C.E. Beadwork on leather.

Transformation mask. Kwakwaka’wakw, Northwest coast of Canada. Late 19th century C.E. Wood, paint, and string.

Painted elk hide. Attributed to Cotsiogo (Cadzi Cody), Eastern Shoshone, Wind River Reservation, Wyoming. c. 1890–1900 C.E. Painted elk hide.

Black-on-black ceramic vessel. Maria Martínez and Julian Martínez, Tewa, Puebloan, San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico. c. mid-20th century C.E. Blackware ceramic.

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From Quilts to Beads: the Bandolier Bag

Bandolier Bag

Bandolier bag,1880s, Winnebago (?), wool and cotton trade cloth, wool yarn, glass, metal

Transformation Mask

Kwakwaka’wakw artist, Eagle Mask closed, late 19th c., from Alert Bay, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, cedar wood, feathers, sinew, cord, bird skin, hide, plant fibers, cotton, iron, pigments,