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Content Area 5: Indigenous American Art Flashcards

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2768488357What is the identifying information for Chavín de Huántar?Chavín de Huántar. Northern highlands, Peru. Chavín. 900-200 B.C. Stone (architectural complex); granite (Lanzón and sculpture); hammered gold alloy (jewelry)0
2768489151How did the Chavin culture influence later civilizations, and in what region did it develop?The Chavin culture of South America represents the first period of civilization in this region, known as the Early Horizon. The Chavin culture is among the earliest extensive civilizations. It was once thought of as the "mother culture" to later Andean civilizations, but now it is understood to be the culmination of at least 2,000 years of prior cultural development from multiple sources.1
2768489406What is the significance of the nose rings made by Chavin culture?Chavin iconology spread throughout the region, at least 300 miles to the south as well as far to the north, and their metal-smithing was spread through portable works, such as this piece of jewelry (nose ring). Nose rings were signs of status, and the larger the ring, the higher the status of the individual who wore it.2
2768489935What is the significance of the lanzon from Chavin de Huantar?It is named the lanzon because of the lance-like sculpture it contains, shown here, which is covered in the shallow, incised lines characteristic of the relief sculpture of Chavin de Huantar.3
2768490241What is the characteristic features of Chavin sculpture?The temple at Chavin de Huantar is known for its many stone carvings, which include depictions of composite creatures: combining feline, reptilian, avian, and human forms. They are generally sculpted in low relief, using shallow incised lines, as shown in the example above4
2768491018What is the identifying information for Yaxchilán Structure 33?Yaxchilán Structure 33. Chiapas, Mexico. Maya. 725 AD. Limestone (architectural complex).5
2768491267How was structure 33 at Yaxchilan oriented, and why?Both Structure 33 and 40 were oriented toward the summer solstice rising sun. In this direction, the sun would rise and illuminate the interior through the entrances. And in the case of Structure 33, would illuminate the only in-the-round sculpture, a twice life-sized seated figure of the ruler, Bird Jaguar IV contained there.6
2768491482What is the identifying information for Yaxchilán, Structure 40?Yaxchilán, Structure 40. Chiapas, Mexico. Maya. 725 AD. Limestone (architectural complex).7
2768491766How is the exterior of structure 40 at Yaxchilan designed, and what purpose did it serve?Its façade contains three horizontal registers, the main building, the frieze, and the roof comb. It celebrates Bird Jaguar IV's accession to the throne.8
2768492086What is the identifying information for Yaxchilán Lintel 25?Yaxchilán Lintel 25, Structure 23. Chiapas, Mexico. Maya. 725 AD. Limestone (architectural complex).9
2768492433What does the image on Lintel 25, from structure 23 portray?This limestone lintel is the second in a series of three panels from Structure 23 at Yaxchilán, which was originally set above the central doorway. In this lintel, Lady Xoc (Lady Xook or Lady Xok) is depicted having a vision of her ancestor emerging from the mouth of a serpent.10
2768492748What is the identifying information for Mesa Verde cliff dwellings?Mesa Verde cliff dwellings. Montezuma County, Colorado. Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi). 450-1300 AD. Sandstone11
2768492901Why did the Ancestral Puebloan culture migrate to the region of Mesa Verde?The Ancestral Puebloan culture thrived and built many structures throughout southwest North America, gradually moving to areas with more water because of drought in the southern regions. Mesa Verde, in Colorado, is one of the structures built in response to the problems of drought in other areas12
2768493239What are some of the structural characteristics of Mesa Verde?There are over 200 rooms in the Cliff Palace, with the rectangular rooms generally for communal dwellings, and made of stone and clay and stuccoed with adobe inside and out. The homes were generally communal residences, rather than single-family dwellings. The over a dozen circular structures in the front are kivas, which were originally covered with a flat roof and accessed via a ladder entering from a small opening at the top.13
2768493427What is the identifying information for Great Serpent Mound?Great Serpent Mound. Adams County, southern Ohio. Mississippian (Eastern Woodlands). c. 1070 AD. Earthwork/effigy mound14
2768493576What is the scale and shape of the Great Serpent Mound?The Great Serpent Mound, which measures nearly a quarter of a mile long, and includes a tightly coiled tail and an open mouth, is an effigy mound of the woodlands culture known as the Mississippian.15
2768493977What was the significance of the serpent symbol is Mississippian culture?Serpents were important in the iconography (symbolism) of the Mississippian culture, who strongly associated snakes with the earth and fertility.16
2768494126What is the identifying information for Templo Mayor (Main Temple)?Templo Mayor (Main Temple). Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City, Mexico). Mexica (Aztec). 1375-1520 AD. Stone (temple); volcanic stone (The Coyolxauhqui Stone); jadeite (Olmec-style mask); basalt (Calendar Stone).17
2768494677What was the size and significance of the city, Tenochtitlan?The city of Tenochtitlan was among the largest cities in the world at the time of the Spanish conquest in 1521, with as many as 200,000 inhabitants, and it was the capital of the Aztec Empire.18
2768494893Where within the city of Tenochtitlan was the Templo Mayor located?The Templo Mayor (Main Temple) in Tenochtitlan was located in the center of the city, called the Sacred Precinct, which was where the most important ritual and ceremonial activities in Aztec life took place. The Templo Mayor stood about ninety feet high, consisting of two stepped pyramids rising side by side on a large platform.19
2768495275What is the identifying information for Calendar Stone?Calendar Stone; Templo Mayor (Main Temple). Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City, Mexico). Mexica (Aztec). 1375-1520 AD. basalt.20
2768496267What is portrayed on the Calendar stone?The Calendar Stone is also known as the Sun Stone, and depicts the Aztec sun god in the center, with claws extending outward. Along one of the rings, symbols for the sacred calendar are included. Other information provided on the stone includes creation myths for the five world creations that were believed to have taken place, and additional calendar symbols.21
2768496465What is the identifying information for Coyolxauhqui Stone; Templo Mayor (Main Temple)?Coyolxauhqui Stone; Templo Mayor (Main Temple). Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City, Mexico). Mexica (Aztec). 1375-1520 AD. volcanic stone.22
2768497223What is portrayed on the Coyolxauhqui stone?On the stone is represented the moon goddess, Coyolxauhqui (she of the golden bells), who was also the sister to the primary Aztec god of war and the sun (whose name was Huitzilopochtli and had the form of a hummingbird). She has been dismembered by Huitzilopochtli because she and 400 of their siblings sought to kill their mother (Coatilcue: she of the serpent skirt). According to the legend, Huitzilopochtli killed all his siblings and dismembered his sister as punishment at the hill of Tula, which was represented by the pyramid temple (Templo Mayor),23
2768497677What is the identifying information for Olmec-style mask;Templo Mayor (Main Temple)?Olmec-style mask;Templo Mayor (Main Temple). Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City, Mexico). Mexica (Aztec). 1375-1520 AD. jadeite24
2768497951How does the Olmec mask relate to the Templo Mayor complex in Tenochtitlan?The Olmec mask was made over a thousand years prior to the Aztec culture, and its burial in Templo Mayor suggests that the Aztec found it precious and perhaps historically significant. This mask shows the traditional Olmec style, with downward curving mouth and almond-shaped eyes. Thousands of objects were buried in connection with the Templo Mayor as ritual caches or deposits.25
2768498115What is the identifying information for Ruler's feather headdress?Ruler's feather headdress (probably of Motecuhzoma II). Mexica (Aztec). 1428-1520 AD. Feathers (quetzal and cotinga) and gold26
2768498794Who made ruler's feather headdresses?These were made by special "feather workers" who lived in a special place in the palace and were valued for their ability to create these works. After the Spanish conquest, many of these artisans were employed creating items with Christian iconography, such as chalice covers.27
2768499240What is the identifying information for City of Cusco?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 AD.; convent added 1550-1650 AD. Andesite28
2768499531What information is available concerning the original City of Cusco?Most of the information available today on the city of Cusco has been gleaned from somewhat contradictory Spanish sources. The majority of the city was destroyed in the Spanish conquest.29
2768499856What is the identifying information for Qorikancha, City of Cusco?City of Cusco, including Qorikancha (Inka main temple), Santo Domingo (Spanish colonial convent),. Central highlands, Peru. Inka. c. 1440 AD.; convent added 1550-1650 AD. Andesite30
2768500086What is the significance of the Qorikancha, and how was it constructed?One Inka building that survives in part is the Temple of the Sun, or Qorikancha, which was built using ashlar masonry, fitting stones in horizontal rows, and even creating curved walls that seem to be a single form. Some of the stones had many sides in order to fit into the shapes of the stones surrounding it, all ground down to fit precisely. This process uses no mortar, but fits the stones together tightly without any bonding agent.31
2768500326What is the identifying information for Walls at Saqsa Waman?City of Cusco, Walls at Saqsa Waman (Sacsayhuaman). Central highlands, Peru. Inka. c. 1440 AD.; convent added 1550-1650 AD. Andesite32
2768500689What is the significance of the walls at Saqsa Waman?To the Incas, it was the House of the Sun, while the Conquistadors saw it as a fortress because of its zig-zag shape. It was made up of three platforms one on top of the other, and it was a very important religious complex.33
2768500987What is the identifying information for Maize cobs?Maize cobs. Inka. c. 1440-1533 AD. Sheet metal/repoussé, metal alloys34
2768501392What was the likely purpose for the Inka Maize Cobs?It is likely that these small-scale naturalistic metallic offerings like the silver maize cobs were common in ritual practices that supported state religion and government, since similar offerings have been found across Inka territories.35
2768501839What is the identifying information for City of Machu Picchu?City of Machu Picchu. Central highlands, Peru. Inka. c. 1450-1540 AD. Granite36
2768502167Where is Machu Picchu located, and what is its significance?Machu Picchu is approximately 50 miles north of Cuzco, a naturally fortified site that is not even visible from the Urubamba river 1,600 feet below, it is perched on a ridge between two jagged peaks that rise 9,000 feet above sea level. It was built as a royal estate for the first Inka emperor, Pachacuti Inka Yupanqui37
2768502987What role did the observatory serve in Machu Picchu?The Observatory was beside the royal residence, which highlighted the connections between the elites, religious ritual, and astronomical observation, including the emperor's divine status as a descendent of the sun and the sun himself.38
2768503431What is the meaning of the Intihuatana stone?The Intihuatana means "hitching post of the sun" which refers to the idea that this stone was used to track the passage of the sun throughout the year.39
2768503649What is the identifying information for All-T'oqapu tunic?All-T'oqapu tunic. Inka. 1450-1540 AD. Camelid fiber and cotton40
2768503852What was the role of textiles in Inka culture?Finely-made textiles from the best materials were objects of high status among nearly all Andean cultures, even more valuable than gold or gems. The All-T'oqapu Tunic is an example of the height of Andean textile production and its integral connection to Inka power and aesthetic values.41
2768504243What is the identifying information for Bandolier bag?Bandolier bag. Lenape (Delaware tribe, Eastern Woodlands). c. 1850 AD. Beadwork on leather42
2768504363What is the origin of Bandolier bags?Bandolier bags were highly valued works of art throughout the Eastern and Midwestern tribes of North America. There is no certainty about the origins of this art form, but many believe it to be a combined influence of native bags made of woven fibers and the ammunition bags used by Euro-American militaries.43
2768504688What is the identifying information for Painted elk hide?Painted elk hide. Attributed to Cotsiogo (Cadzi Cody), Eastern Shoshone, Wind River Reservation, Wyoming. c. 1890-1900 AD. Painted elk hide44
2768504900Who was the artist of the Painted Elk Hide, and what was his likely inspiration for creating this work?Hide paintings served as visual records, which worked in tandem with oral traditions. Cotsiogo likely painted this work after being moved to the reservation, so its depiction of a buffalo hunt was painted for tourists, and the sale of this work would have helped to support him financially in his new and difficult situation. He painted other works in a similar style, as well45
2768505110What is the identifying information for Transformation mask?(Closed) Transformation mask. Kwakwaka'wakw, Northwest coast of Canada. Late 19th century AD. Wood, paint, and string46
2768505473What role did transformation masks serve, and what does this work symbolize in its open and closed formats?Masks of the northwest coast were often used in healing rituals. Men also used them in public performances during the winter ceremonial season. The subjects are taken from the oral traditions of the culture, including the mythological origins of the elite families. This mask was likely meant to be seen in flickering light, and constructed it to be opened and closed through the use of a string, part of the symbolism and meaning of the performance, converting from an eagle in its closed form, and a man when open47
2768505737What is the identifying information for Black-on-black ceramic vessel?Black-on-black ceramic vessel. Maria Martínez and Julian Martínez, Tewa, Puebloan, San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico. c. mid-20th century AD. Blackware ceramic48
2768506277What are some of the innovations and traditions present in the production of Black-on-black ceramics?Men and women have traditionally made different art objects among Native American cultures, with women in the Pueblo cultures often working in the media of clay and ceramics. Yet Maria Martinez had help from her husband to paint her numerous works because the demand was so high that she could not produce enough to fill the demand. She completed the coiling, slipping, burnishing, and firing. They based their designs on traditional design, but also created this new technique, black-on-black ware around 1920, making their whole pueblo famous.49

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