pre-Columbian art

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Art of the Central and South American civilizations that existed prior to the arrival of European colonizers in the 16th century. Pre-Columbian art thrived over a wide timescale, from 1800 BC to AD 1500. However, despite the great range and variety of artwork, certain characteristics were repeated throughout the region, namely a preference for angular, linear patterns, and three-dimensional ceramics.

Central American art
The art of the Mesoamerican and Mexican cultures up to the Spanish conquest is collectively known as Central American art. While the North American Indians are generally distinct from the pre-Columbians, the Mississippians seem to be related to Mexican culture. The Mesoamerican cultures can be divided into three periods: pre-classic (up to AD 200), classic (about AD 200–900), and post-classic (about AD 900 to 1580).

The pre-classic period was dominated by the highly developed Olmec civilization, which flourished around 1200–600 BC. The Olmecs produced jade figurines, and created heavy-featured, colossal heads, up to 2 m/8ft high, that still stand mysteriously in the landscape. The Mesoamerican tradition of building large ceremonial centres appears to have begun under the Olmecs.

During the classic period the dominant culture was Mayan. Like the Mississippian peoples of North America, such as the Choctaw and Natchez, the Maya organized themselves into large, agricultural communities. They practised their own forms of hieroglyphic writing and even advanced astronomy. Mayan art consequently focuses on rain, agriculture, and fertility, expressing these images mainly in relief and surface decoration, as well as some sculpture. Glyphs and stylized figures were used to decorate architecture, such as the pyramid temple of Chichén Itzá. Murals dating from about AD 750 were discovered when the city of Bonampak was excavated in 1946.

The Mayans were followed by more warlike, brutal societies governed by deities (gods) that demanded human sacrifice. The beginning of the post-classic period (10th–12th centuries) was dominated by the Toltecs who made colossal, block-like sculptures such as those employed as free-standing columns at Tula, Mexico. The Mixtecs developed a style of painting known as ‘Mixtec-Puebla’, as seen in their murals and codices (manuscripts), in which all available space is covered by flat figures in geometric designs. The Aztec culture in Mexico produced some dramatically expressive examples of Aztec art, such as the decorated skulls of captives and stone sculpture, of which Tlazolteotl (Woods Bliss Collection, Washington), a goddess in childbirth, is a good example.

South American art
In the Andean area of South America (modern-day Peru), the Chavín civilization flourished from around 1000 BC to 300 BC. The Chavín produced small-scale pottery, often human in shape but with animal features such as bird feet, reptilian eyes, or feline fangs. Representations of jaguars are a common theme in Chavín art.

The Andean Moche or Mochica peoples, about AD 100–800, were among the best artisans of the New World, producing delightful portrait vases (Moche ware), which, while realistic, are steeped in religious references, the significance of which is now lost. They were also goldsmiths and weavers of outstanding talent.

The Inca culture of Peru and Bolivia (about AD 1200–1580) sculpted animal and human figurines, but is best known for its architecture at Andean sites such as Cuzco and Machu Picchu; their ruined cities and ceremonial sites offer impressive examples of pre-Columbian architecture.

The top left trigram symbolizes summer, south, and heaven. The top right trigram represents autumn, west, and the moon. The bottom right trigram stands for winter, north, and the Earth. The bottom left trigram represents spring, east, and the sun. Effective date: 21 February 1984. >>