6. 6
Figure 14-1 Colossal head,
Olmec, La Venta, Mexico,
900–400 BCE. Basalt, 9’4”
high. Museo-Parque La
Venta, Villahermosa.
This is one out of
four basalt heads.
Each weighs about
10 tons and stands
about 6 to 10 feet
high. The identities
are uncertain, but
the features and
headgear suggest
that it is a ruler
and not a deity.
The size of the
heads and
expression evoke
great power.
7. 7
Figure 14-2 Ceremonial ax in the form of a jaguar-
human, Olmec, from La Venta, Mexico, 900–400 BCE.
Jade, 11 1/2” high. British Museum, London.
Carved in jade because jade
was prized by the
Mesoamerican people. Many
times the jade was carved into
ax-shaped polished called
celts which was buried as
votive offerings. Subjects that
were included were crying
babies and figures combining
human and animal features
and postures. The human-
animal representations refer
that religious practitioners
underwent dangerous
transformation for the good of
the community.
8. 8
Figure 14-3 Seated figure with
raised arms, from Colima,
Mexico, ca. 200 BCE–250 CE.
Clay with orange and red slip, 1’
1” high. Los Angeles County
Museum of Art, Los Angeles.
West Mexico is best
known for its tradition
of clay sculptures. The
sculptures are in tombs
consisting of shafts as
deep as 50 feet. These
sculptures give
glimpses of what daily
life may have been.
Scholars are unsure if
this figure is a religious
practitioner with a
horn on his forehead or
a political leader
wearing a shell
ornament, or a person
doing both roles.
9. 9
Figure 14-4 Aerial view of Teotihuacán (from the north), Valley of Mexico, Mexico. Pyramid of the Moon (foreground), Pyramid of the
Sun (top left), and the Citadel (background), all connected by the Avenue of the Dead; main structures ca. 50–200 CE; site ca. 100
BCE–750 CE.
A large, densely populated metropolis built for Mesoamerica. The major monuments were constructed between 50 and 250
CE. It covers 9 square miles and is laid out in a grid pattern. The Aztecs gave the name to Teotihuacán which means “the
place of the gods”. Some of the hieroglyphics still remained undeciphered and the language spoken remains unknown. The
main north-south axis is called the Avenue of the Dead and connects with Pyramid of the Moon complex with the Citadel
and its Temple of Quetzalcoatl. The imposing mass and scale of the monumental structures surpass all other Mesoamerican
sites. The Pyramid of the Sun may have been constructed to honor a sacred spring within the now-dry cave. The Pyramid
of the Moon was rebuilt at least five times in their early history.
10. 10
Figure 14-5 Detail of Temple
of Quetzalcóatl, the Citadel,
Teotihuacán, Valley of Mexico,
Mexico, third century CE.
At the South end of the
citadel, it encloses a
small pyramidal shrine to
Quetzalcoatl, “feathered
serpent”. Underneath a
tomb was found which
was looted with
antiquity, possibly the
tomb of a ruler.
Surrounding everything
are remnants of
sacrificial victims. This is
the first unambiguous
representation of the
feathered serpent in
Mesoamerica. There
must have been contact
with the Mexican coasts
for the representation of
water.
11. 11
Figure 14-8 Ballcourt (view looking north), Middle Plaza, Copán, Maya, Copán Valley, Honduras, 738 CE.
The Mesoamerican Ball Game began at least 3,400 years ago and the Olmec were avid
players. An I- or T-shaped in plan, flanked by two parallel sloping or straight walls,
sometimes wide enough to support small structures on top. Most ball courts were adjacent
to the important civic structures of Mesoamerican cities. It was also a competitive
spectator sport, not only for entertainment. The ball game and aftermath were a metaphor
for the cycle of life, death, and regeneration.
12. 12
Figure 14-9 Temple I (Temple of the
Giant Jaguar), Maya, Tikal, Petén,
Guatemala, ca. 732 CE.
The larger pyramid,
Temple I (Temple of the
Giant Jaguar), is one of
the two monuments in the
Great Plaza of Tikal. It is
about 150 feet tall and it
is a temple-mausoleum of
a great Tikal ruler, Hasaw
Chan K’awil. It is made up
of nine sharply inclining
platforms, a reference to
the nine levels of the
Underworld. The temple
has a sculpted roof comb,
a vertical architectural
projection that once bore
the ruler’s giant portrait
modeled in stucco.
13. 13
Figure 14-10 Ballplayer, Maya, from Jaina
Island, Mexico, 700–900 CE. Painted clay, 6 1/4”
high. National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico
City.
Ball players can either be
women weaving, older men,
dwarves, supernatural
beings, amorous couples,
and attired rulers and
warriors. Hollow figures
were also used as whistles.
The Maya used “Maya blue”
because it has been proven
to be basically
indestructible. The figures
were made to accompany
the dead on their journey to
the Underworld.
14. 14
Figure 14-11 Presentation of captives
to Lord Chan Muwan, Maya, Room 2,
Structure 1, Bonampak, Mexico, ca.
790 CE. Mural, approx. 17’ X 15’;
watercolor copy by Antonio Tejeda.
Peabody Museum, Harvard University,
Cambridge.
This is an image, from the
Bonampak painters, of
warriors surrounding
captives on a terraced
platform. The figures are
naturalistic, overlap,
twist, and turn. The
technique to paint the
walls is a cross between
fresco and tempera. There
is extreme detail that
record events. This scene
depicts the presentation of
prisoners to Lord Chan
Muwan. There are three
main zones, an upper,
middle, and lower.
15. 15
Figure 14-12 Shield Jaguar and Lady Xoc, Maya,
Lintel 24, Temple 23, Yaxchilán, Mexico, ca. 725
CE. Limestone, 3’ 7” X 2’ 6 1/2”. British Museum,
London.
This depicts the ruler Itzamna
Balam II and his principle wife
Lady Xoc. Lady Xoc is
outfitted in elaborate
garments, headdress, and
jewels. She is piercing her
tongue in the celebration of
the birth of a son to one of
the ruler’s other wives. Also,
during these ceremonies they
were intended to produce
hallucinations. Shield Jaguar
provides illumination with a
blazing torch.
16. 16
Figure 14-13 Enthroned Maya lord and courtiers, cylinder vase (rollout view), Maya, from Motul de San José region,
Guatemala, 672–830 CE. Ceramic with red, rose, orange, white, and black on cream slip, approx. 8” high. Dumbarton Oaks
Research Library and Collections, Washington, D.C.
This is a rollout view of a typical vase design showing a scene where an enthroned lord sits
surrounded by by courtiers and attendants. Gestures and talk are incorporated in the
scene. The red frame suggests an architectural setting to provide a glimpse of the event
through the open doorways of the palace. The hieroglyphics describe the vessel and names
of the artists, which were all male. These vases may have been used for drinking and for
food for noble Mayan, but ultimately went to the tomb to travel with the dead to the
Underworld. They were most likely commissioned by the deceased before he died or by
survivors that sent it as a funerary offering.
17. 17
Figure 14-14 The Caracol (foreground) and the Castillo (background), Maya, Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, Mexico, ca. 800–900 CE.
A cylindrical tower that rests on a broad terrace. The building recalls the cross-section of a
conch shell which was an attributed of the feathered serpent. The windows were probably
used for astronomical observation which gives this building its second name the Observatory.
19. 19
Figure 14-18 Raimondi Stele, Chavín, from main temple, Chavín de Huántar,
Peru, first millennium BCE. Incised green diorite, 6’ high. Instituto Nacional de
Cultura, Lima, Peru.
The stele represents a figure called the
“staff god.” His headdress is the upper
two-thirds of the slab which means there
is very elaborate design of the headdress
and all the jewels. When upside down,
the god’s face turns into two faces which
is a core aspect of Andean Religion. This
Chavin iconography spread throughout the
Andean region in forms of gold work,
textiles, and ceramics. Many of the
ceramic vessels that were found on the
north coast of Peru had similar motifs to
those found on Chavin stone carvings.
20. 20
Figure 14-19 Embroidered funerary mantle, Paracas, from southern coast of Peru, first century CE. Plain weave camelid
fiber with stem-stitch embroidery embroidered with camelid wool, 4’ 7 7/8” X 7’ 10 7/8”. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
(William A. Paine Fund).
This textile was used to wrap the bodies of the dead in multiple layers and the dry climate preserved these textiles. The
figure on this textile has prominent eyes, flowing hair, and has an airy, hovering movement. The floating beings are
either holding batons and fans or knives and hallucinogenic mushrooms. Although the figure is repeated throughout each
textile, there is noticeable variation such as position.
21. 21
Figure 14-21 Hummingbird, Nasca Plain, Nasca, Peru, ca. 500 CE. Dark layer of pebbles scraped aside to reveal lighter
clay and calcite beneath; 27’ wide, 200’ wingspan, and 459’ length.
A hummingbird, several hundred feet long, on the Nasca Plain is just one of the three dozen images of birds, fish, and
plants. The Nasca Lines were produced when the artists selectively removed the dark top layer of stone to expose the clay
and calcite underneath. There are many different theories of why these lines were created such as marking pilgrimage
routes or as a traversable map. These lines also seemed to be associated with water supply and irrigation.
22. 22
Figure 14-22 Vessel in the shape of a portrait head,
Moche, from north coast Peru, fifth to sixth century CE.
Painted clay, 12 1/2” high. Museu Arqueológico Rafael
Larco Herrera, Lima.
The painted clay vessel of the
Moche illustrate architecture,
metallurgy, weaving, the
brewing of chicha, human
deformities and diseases, and
sexual acts. Usually flat-
bottomed stirrup-spouted jars,
decorated with a bichrome slip.
This is a portrait vessel
portraying possibly a warrior,
ruler, or a royal retainer whose
image was buried to accompany
his dead master. The vessel
portrait is very realistic of the
physiognomy.
23. 23
Figure 14-23 Ear ornament,
from a tomb at Sipán,
Moche, Peru, ca. 300 CE.
Gold and turquoise, approx.
4 4/5”. Bruning
Archeological Museum,
Lambayeque.
Found in a Sipán tomb,
this ear ornament
shows a warrior priest
clad like the Lord of
Sipán. Surrounding him
are what appear to be
two retainers. Very
frontal, he carries a
war club, a shield, and
wears a necklace of
owl-head beads. The
helmet is a replica to
the one buried with
the Sipán lord and the
war club and shield
match the finds in the
Warrior Priest’s tomb.
24. 24
Tiwanaku was an
important ceremonial
center and there were
grand buildings created
by using sandstone,
andesite, and diorite. The
gate has a relief sculpture
on the top. The central
figure is a version of the
Chavin staff god
dominating all the other
figures. With rays
projecting from his head,
he is possibly a sky and
weather deity rather than
a sun deity. Sky and earth
beings converge on the
gate which was used as
the doorway to a sacred
area. The reliefs were at
one time painted, the
figures eyes were inlaid
with turquoise, and the
surface was covered with
gold.
Figure 14-24 Gateway of the Sun, Tiwanaku, Bolivia, ca. 375–700 CE. Stone, 9’ 10” high.
25. 25
Figure 14-25 Lima Tapestry (tunic),
Wari, from Peru, ca. 500–800 CE. 3’
3 3/8” x 2’ 11 3/8”. National
Museum of Archeology,
Anthropology, and History of Peru,
Lima.
Wari designs were woven
directly into the fabric,
creating a technique known
as tapestry. The weft
threads were packed
densely over warp threads
with more than 200 weft
threads per inch. The
figures here are
unrecognizable because of
being so closely connected
and abstract. In this tunic,
each figures in compressed
or expanded in a different
way ad are placed in
vertical rows. Tunics such
as these were probably
used as prestige garments
for the elite.
26. 26
Figure 14-27 Pipe, Adena, from a mound in Ohio, ca. 500–1 BCE.
Stone, 8” high. Ohio Historical Society, Columbus.
From the Adena culture of Ohio, a
pipe is created in the shape of a man.
The pipe is related in form and dress
as to some of the Mesoamerican
sculptures. Usually the Adena would
bury their elite in earthen mounds
and would most likely place a pipe
like this one in the graves. Smoking
was an important social and religious
ritual and the pipes were treasured
status symbols. The naturalistic
features and an alert facial
expression combine to suggest
movement in the figure.
27. 27
Figure 14-28 Serpent Mound, Mississippian, Ohio, ca. 1070 CE. 1200’ long, 20’ wide, 5’ high.
The Mississippian Adenas constructed effigy mounds in the shapes of animals or birds. Measuring nearly a quarter mile, this
Serpent Mound causes much controversy. Serpent Mound contained no evidence of any burial or temple sites, yet serpents
were important in Mississippian iconography. Snakes were associated with the earth and fertility of crops, yet another
meaning for Serpent Mound was proposed recently. It is believed that it may have been constructed to record the
occurrence of Hailey’s Comet in 1066.
28. 28
Figure 14-29 Incised shell gorget,
Mississippian, from Sumner County,
Tennessee, ca. 1250–1300 CE. 4”
wide. Museum of the American
Indian, New York.
The shell gorget, a
neck pendant, was a
popular item in
Mississippian culture
and this one depicts
a running warrior.
Wearing an elaborate
headdress, he carries
a mace and a severed
human head in this
hands. These gorgets
were mostly found in
burial and temple
mounds and were
gifts to the dead.
29. 29
Figure 14-30 Bowl with two
cranes and geometric forms,
Mimbres, from New Mexico, ca.
1250 CE. Ceramic, black-on-white,
diameter approx. 1’ 1/2”. Art
Institute of Chicago, Chicago
(Hugh L. and Mary T. Adams
Fund).
The Mimbres were known
for their black-on-white
ceramic painted bowls. The
abstract border design and
the birds create a dynamic
tension. The designs
emphasize linear rhythms
within a clearly defined
border. The artists used the
coiling method since the
potter’s wheel had not
been introduced yet. There
are some beliefs that the
potters may have been
women. Usually these bowls
were used by piercing a
hole in the bottom to let
the spirits of the deceased
join their ancestors in the
sky.
30. 30
Figure 14-31 Cliff Palace, Anasazi, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, ca. 1150–1300 CE.
Wedged into a sheltered ledge above the valley floor, the Anasazi moved up here during a drought. With almost 200
rectangular rooms, the community was made of mostly carefully laid stone and timber. The Anasazi chose this place to
take advantage of the sun heat in the winter and the shade during the summer. The two dozen large circular semi
subterranean structures, kivas, were chambers that were the spiritual centers of Native Southwest life, male council
houses, and where private rituals and preparation for public ceremonies take place.
