Ancient American Art Before 1300

2. Shield Jaguar and Lady
Xoc
Documents the central role
that elite Maya women
played in religious
bloodletting rituals

3. Mesoamerican

4. Olmec and Preclassic
West Mexico

5. Ceremonial ax, Olmec
Votive
offerings, celts, representi
ng human-animal
representations

7. Teotihuacan

8. Temple of Quetzalcoatl, Teotihuacan, Mexico
Earliest representations of feathered-serpent god

9. Classic Maya
Mayan Ball Courts
Games sometimes ended in human sacrifice

10. Stele D portraying
Ruler 13
Double-headed serpent
bar, symbol of the sky
and of his absolute power

11. Temple I (Temple of the
Giant Jaguar)
Nine tiers to symbolize the
nine levels of the Underworld
Ball player, from Jaina Island
Shows a range of human types
and activities

12. Presentation of captives to Lord Chan Muwan, Bonampak,
Mexico

13. Classic Veracruz
Pyramid of the
Niches
one of many
Mesoamerican
monuments
connected with
astronomy and
the calendar

14. Postclassic Mexico
Castillo,
Chichen Itza,
Mexico
Temple to Kukulkan
at the top. Casts a
shadow in a shape
of a serpent at
specific times.

15. Caracol, Chichen Itza
“snail shell”. May have been a temple to Kukulkan with
astronomical purposes.

16. Colossal atlantids, Tula, Mexico
Warriors armed with darts to reflect military regime of Toltecs

17. Intermdiate Area
Pendant in the
form of a batfaced
man, Tairona
People of the
intermediate Area
were expert
goldsmiths. This
pendant served as
an amulet.

18. South America
Raimondi Stele, Chavin de Huantar
Shows the ability of the gods to transform
themselves is a core aspect of Andean

19. Paracas, Nasca, and
Moche
Embroidered
funerary
mantle, Paracas
Women mantles
were used to wrap
the bodies of the
dead.

20. Bridge-spouted vessel with
flying figures, Nasca
Nasca won renown for their pottery,
which usually have round bottoms,
double spouts connected by
bridges.
Hummingbird, Nasca
Figures on a gigantic
scale but unsure of its
function.

21. Ear ornament, Moche
It depicts a Moche
warrior priest and two
retainers. The costume
corresponds to actual
finds.

22. Tiwanaku and Wari
Gateway of the
Sun, Tiwanaku
Probably led into a
sacred area. It was
once painted, inlaid
with turquoise, and
covered with gold.

23. Lima Tapestry
(tunic), Wari
Wari textiles are
tapestries with the
motifs women directly
into the fabric.

24. Eskimo
Burial mask, Ipiutak,
Alaska
This mask consists of 9
parts that can be
combined to produce
several faces, echoing
the tranformation theme
common in ancient
American art.

25. Woodlands
Pipe, from a mound in
Ohio
Resembles some
Mesoamerican sculptures in
form and costume. Often
buried with men for use in
afterlife.

26. South West
Serpent
Mound, Mississippian, Ohio
Cliff Palace, Ancestral Puebloan
Sheltered ledge to heat the pueblo
in winter and shade during
summer.

27. Incised forget with
running warrior,
Sumner County
Gift to the dead to ensure
safe passage to afterlife.