MESOAMERICAN ART. Lecture 8A: Introduction to Mesoamerican People The Olmec

Transcription

1 MESOAMERICAN ART Lecture 8A: Introduction to Mesoamerican People The Olmec

2 THE POPULATING OF THE AMERICAS HOW DID PEOPLE ARRIVE HERE? Several theories abound. DNA and archaeological research indicate there were several migrations. So far science cannot determine how/why there are some similarities between old world and new world examples of art and architecture. Spread of humans across the globe. Dates listed are in years before the present.

3 MESOAMERICA: MANY CULTURES OF THE MAYA AND MEXICA Cultures with Mexica features: Teotihuacan culture, Classic Veracruz, Mixtec, and Aztecs (Mexica) Cultures with Maya features: Olmec, Toltec, and Maya.

4 Olmec Maya Aztec (Mexica) Teotihuacan Culture

5 WORLDVIEW OF THE MESOAMERICANS Highly civilized peoples and assoc. material culture developed independently from that of the Old World. Religious beliefs may have come from Asia/Africa. Belief in a spirit world/gods. Worlds were linked. Meeting of the two worlds at the site of mountains; a priest/ruler could mediate between the two. Temple 1 at Tikal, after 735 in modern Guatemala.

6 THE MESOAMERICAN WORLD: COMPLEX CALENDAR SYSTEMS Some version of a calendar system that includes a 260 day ritual calendar, and a 365 day solar/agricultural calendar. Results in a 52 year complete cycle. Long dates used to distinguish between cycles marked the end of a 5,125 year cycle and was feared to be the end of the world. Luckily we lived to tell the tale it wasn t!

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8 THE MESOAMERICAN WORLD: BALLGAME Mesoamericans played a ballgame involving two teams and a hard rubber ball. The object of the game was to get the ball through a hoop on the ballcourt wall without using the hands. May have been a part of religious ritual. Losers may have been sacrificed to the gods!!!

9 Ballcourt ring and relief panel, Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico. ca CE 9 9

10 Copan, Honduras, Maya culture, Main Ballcourt, Late Classic, c Typical Ballcourt plan: long playing alley flanked by sloping platforms larger vertical walled platforms supporting temples. elaborately decorated courts, with sculptured alley markers and deeply carved stone sculpture on the upper facades of the flanking temples.

11 THE MESOAMERICAN WORLD: THE SACRED POWER OF BLOOD Belief that the gods created the universe through the act of sacrifice from the gods severed body parts. From death comes life. Death allows the cosmic cycle to continue so humans must sacrifice in return. Offerings ranged from blood letting, to animals, and even the full-on sacrifice of humans with heart extraction.

12 12 Yaxchilan, Chiapas, Mexico, Lintel 24

13 THE OLMEC The earliest MesoAm. Civilization (1500 BCE-400 BCE) Fine artworks in a number of media. Monumental stone sculpture/architecture Carved jades Ceramics Works both naturalistic and abstract; fantastic anthropomorphic creatures, historic events. Olmec is a misnomer; we don t know what these people called themselves. New research from 2013 is questioning if they are even separate from the Mayans. Olmec Celts from the Met Museum

14 Great Pyramid at La Venta, Tabasco, Mexico BCE Great Pyramid: Earthmound that rises over 100 feet in the air. No indication of a temple on top is it a volcano with access to the underworld? Located at the south end of the plaza and is aligned to the cardinal points. Jades and mosaics discovered under pyramid may be offerings to the gods.

15 Offering 4, La Venta, Tabasco BCE

16 ABSTRACT OLMEC ART Emphasis on the head (which may be elongated). Combo of carving and incising. Almond/feline eyes Downturned mouths Human, animal, and mythological motifs such as the were-jaguar seen here. The Kunz Axe, Olmec, ca BCE

17 NATURALISTIC PORTRAIT HEADS Colossal Heads from San Lorenzo, Veracruz BCE

18 La Venta: Altar 4 Basalt; H. 59 1/16 in. (150 cm) Parque Museo La Venta, Villahermosa, Tabasco

19 AFTER THIS LECTURE YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO Identify the four Mesoamerican cultures that will be examined in detail in this unit. Discuss the similarities in worldviews among these civilizations, noting especially their religious views, calendar systems, and the ballgame. Explore the formal elements and functions of art in the Olmec world. Describe urban planning in Olmec cities.