- Ancient Meso-American Civilization
Ancient
Mesoamerican Civilizations This page supplies information
regarding Mesoamerican Civilizations - writing systems. religion,
government , art and more. The primary groups addressed are the Maya,
Mixtec, Zapotec, and Aztec. Links compiled by Kevin L. Callahan
-University of Minnesota Department of Anthropology
Ancient
Meso-American Writing Maya - Mixtec - Aztec and more. There
are several different types of pre-conquest writing that represent a
unique intellectual achievement in this part of the new world.
Ancient Mexico The Art,
Culture and History of Ancient Mesoamerica. Site by Patrick Olivares.
Ancient
Mexican Art - Overview from the National Museum of American
Indian
Access
Art: Ancient American Indian Art The
Art Institute of Chicago’s holdings of Amerindian art from 2000
B.C. to A.D. 1492 are widely recognized for their exceptional
quality. Twelve form the collection of sculpture, ceramics,
metalwork, and textiles created by Native Americans, the inhabitants
of Teotihuacan, and the Olmec, Maya, and Aztecs
of ancient Mesoamerica are presented along with cultures of Peru -- glossary and lesson
plans.
Edgar's
Mesoamerican Art Page
A real enthusiast for the cultures. The
more than 400 Pre-hispanic works shown span from the northwestern
regions of Mexico to southern Panama and over three thousand years
of civilization in Mexico and Central America. Explanations of
images given -includes sound files for pronunciations. Be sure
to see cultures
and regions By Edgar Martín del Campo
Links to images: Aztec
and Mixtec Art 11 Images;
Olmec
Images 11 items with explanations;
Mesoamerican
Stone Sculpture 12 Images with brief explanations; Mesoamerican
Art and Sculpture over 100 images categorized by culture--
Includes brief explanations of item.
Ancient
Meso-American Research Guide - Compiled by David Murray, Temple
University. Maya
(Classic Maya Lowlands)
- Maya
(Classic Maya Lowlands)
Native
Arts of the Americas - compiled by Chris Witcombe
Latin
American & Caribbean Art
- Links to history and more from
Universes in Universe Worlds of Art compiled by Pat Binder &
Gerhard Haupt.
Cloth and
Clay: Communicating Culture This is an excellent site from the
Textile Museum of Canada and Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art. Let
the Objects Speak gives you detailed information about selected
works in the exhibit. Learn who made the piece, why and what they
mean. Explore
the region. Learn
how the art is made. Resources
for teachers - see more
from the collection - high quality images. Interdisciplinary
activities. Mesoamerican and Andean cultures.
Pre-Columbian
Art at Barakat Gallery
explanation of each piece given. Click on
"Print image" to see larges view. Gallery has some
wonderful Mayan whistles and rattles....so much to see.
- Exploration
of the Americas
Border Studies: Humanities Interactive Explore
the histories and cultures of people dwelling in the lands along
America's borders. Games, lesson and more.
The
Conquistadors - North America - Mexico (Aztecs) - Incas (Peru) -
Amazonia. Site from PBS - Teaching
guide
Discovery
Web: Christopher Columbus links
Ice
Mummies of the Incas: Lost Empire At
the height of its existence the Inca Empire was the largest nation
on Earth and remains the largest native state to have existed in the
western hemisphere. The
Sacrificial Ceremony - Burial
Artefacts - High
Altitude Archaeology
National
Geographic Andes Expedition Searching
for Inca Secret- Virtual Autopsy of Ice Maiden.
Peru:
A Country Study Library of Congress Federal Research
Division. good background information to familiarize yourself with
the region and culture (some sections have a few images).
The
IncaTrail and Machu
Picchu Take a virtual tour.-The
real Inca Trail is a walking route that leads through the mountains
above the Urubamba river, following (at least partly) the course of
an old Inca roadway leading to the city of Machu Picchu.
Machu
Picche: How They Kept it a Secret Inca
expert Gary Ziegler explores the riddle of how Machu
Picchu, the center of Inca culture, could hide itself in the
mountain jungle!
Photographs of
Machu Picchu
A fortress city of the ancient
Incas, in a high saddle between two peaks circa 50 miles (80 km) NW
of Cuzco, Peru. Click on the numbers to see more pictures. See a few
works of art by the Moche.
Inca
Quipus Find out about this interesting form of communication.
Knotted multicolor strings served as a device to send messages
throughout their conquered territories.
Inca
Quipus- National Geographic photograph. Read
more about Quipus
The
Incas
- Excellent site by Maria
Rostworowski. Nice Gallery
section on monuments and the arts.
Civilization
of the Inca
- Ms. Hos-McGrane's sixth grade social studies
curriculum information. Resources
More
online projects
Lesson
Plan: Land and Life Style of the Inca
students will explore the
geography of the Inca
Empire and consider how geography affected the Inca way of life.
Lesson
Plan: Inca Artifacts (some of the links they give are broken)
Geometry
from the Land of the Incas A Peruvian site with Euclidean geometry problems
involving circles and triangles, with proofs, animation and sound. It
provides an eclectic mix of sound, science, and Incan history - includes
Incan music.
Cultural
Expeditions Peruvian Textiles
Textiles played an
important role in Andean society. Textile arts were extremely labor
intensive and required extraordinary skill. Examples shown.
Textile Art - from Ancient Peru- Feathers
Three images and explanation for the book Magic
Feathers Textile Art from Ancient Peru
Pre-Columbian
Textile Arts From
Tai Gallery - textiles range in time from 500 BC to 1476, and
represent a number of distinctive cultures that existed along the
Andes.
Paracas
Textiles from Enjoy Peru. The
cloths represent the perfect transformation from natural energy into
social strength; thus explaining the richness of the embroidery with
iconoclastic motifs.
Peru
Image Collection
- 3 pages of images. Click on thumbnails to see
larger images and information. See also
Cloth and
Clay: Communicating Culture (site information above)
William
Siegal Galleries - excellent source for images of Pre-Columbian
textiles from Peru and other regions. Various other artifacts available,
too. Search under object for gold work, pottery and more. Located in
Santa Fe.
- Pre-Columbian
Gold - Pottery - Architecture
Pre-Columbian
Pottery - Ceramics (links page)
Effigy
Ceramics - Traditional Forms - Whistles - more!
Peru
Image Collection - 4 pages of images of metal work.
Moche and
Chimu cultures (no
images) The fascinating Moche period begins with
the decline of the Cupisnique period at about the time of Christ.
The
Incas - Gallery section. Site by Maria
Rostworowski
Inca
Link
- Contemporary Peruvian art showing inspiration from
traditional Pre-Columbian art. Commercial site - but great ideas for
lessons. See the ceramic figurines and Retablos/Shrine boxes.
Moche Portrait Vessels -
Links page
Nasca
Lines
The Nasca Lines are one of humanity's mysteries. They are the most
outstanding group of geoglyphs in the world.
See
Nasca Lines Animation by Antonio Gutierrez. Learn
more.
Project
Nasca/Palpa Peru
--
aims at the complete 3-D recording of the geoglyphs of the areas of
Nasca, Palpa and San Ignacio. Gives introduction to the Nasca
culture, environment, religion and more.
Cloth and
Clay: Communicating Culture
(information above)
Virtual
Reality Tour of Pre-Columbian Art Many ceramic images - effigy
vessels - figures and more. Artifacts from Orlando
Museum of Art.
Pre-Columbian
Art
from Jay Kislak Foundation. Ceramics, stone, metal and more.
Pre-Columbian
Art
- from Kimball Museum of Art. Pottery - vessels - figures
and more.
Pre-Columbian
Art
from Detroit Institute of Art
Pre-Columbian
Art
- Princeton Museum of Art. Good source for figures - some
pottery - more.
Pre-Columbian
Artifacts from Bolivia - ceramics, metal and stone.
Pre-Columbian
Art - good source for ceramic figures and more (commercial site with
high quality images).
-
Andean
Links - Art, Music and Culture
- many broken links
Nicario Jiménez: Artist of
the Andes. Contemporary artist - maker of Retablos - sophisticated
art in the form of portable boxes filled with brightly colored
figurines arranged into intricate narrative scenes. Nicario now
lives in Florida.
-
Aztec
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Aztec Art from
the Great Temple More
Aztec art
Aztec
Calendar Historically,
the Aztec name for the huge basaltic monolith is Cuauhxicalli (Eagle
Bowl), but it is universally known as the Aztec Calendar or Sun
Stone. (Interactive site previously listed is no longer online.)
The
Aztec Calendar Sun Stone
has images - meaning of symbols. More
from Mexico Connect.
Aztec
Culture
Brief background information. The Aztecs came from the
remote north, probably around the early 13th century.
The Aztec
Empire - Online Exhibit from the Guggenheim Museum (see
highlights). The exhibition is divided into twelve themes that provide
a thorough representation of Aztec society from its development to the
zenith of the empire and its decline.
Aztec
Empire - article from Encarta - 3 page overview. Include several
artifacts.
Aztec
Poems
Aztec Architecture
Think Quest- Student created page
Maya,
Aztec, Inca- Lords of the Earth
The
Aztec Culture
An Internet lesson with links
to more information.
Ceramic Sun- Relief
Lesson Plan
- Maya
(Maya Internet Lesson)
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The collapse of the Mayan
civilization Read what science is doing
today. The
Rise and Fall of the Mayan Empire (NASA).
Maya
Adventure- Science Museum of Minnesota Highlights
science activities and information related to ancient and modern Maya culture.
Includes images from the Science Museum's anthropological collections and
activities developed by the Science Museum's education division.
Maya Art and
Books Archaeology,
Maya art, Mayan pyramid architecture of Guatemala and Honduras with links to
related sites and information on the role of Digital Imaging in archaeological
research. See how technology helps us learn about this culture of the past.
(click on links in table at bottom of page)
Courtly
Art of the Ancient Maya
Online Exhibit feature from National Gallery of
Art. Stone sculptures, ceramics, masks, and other precious works commissioned
by ancient Maya kings and queens. See Children's
Guide (Pdf download - 16 page guide)
Mayan
Calendar - Find out your birth date on the. This calculator will give a long count, calendar round, and
night god for any date from 1903 onwards.
Maya
Calendar This Maya Calendar website is
developing with the intent of providing a complete view of Maya culture
Maya
Art Collection - from Jay Kislak Foundation (5 pages of images).
Ceramics, stone and more. Great figurative pieces.
Math
Forum: Mayan Arithmetic Information on
number
system
Images
of the Maya Exhibit from the Florida Museum of
Natural History. Of particular interest -- Meaning
of symbols in Mayan Textiles Mayan
Textiles today
Mystery
of the Maya- good information, glossary, city tour, teachers' guides. Civilization
Canada Museum
Links page-
Mayan sites of interest recommended by Civilization Canada.
Copan
Village Archaeology Museum: Mayan Art
This site has video
clips of artwork (Special software is needed to view). See Photos
from Copan Museum
Mayan
Ceramics - See some of the ancient
ceramic vessels of the Maya- several pages. From the Alcala Gallery
Arte
Maya- Museum and Art Gallery Contemporary textiles and oil painting of the
Maya today.
The
Mayas: Civilizations in the Americans
- Information about the Maya- some images.
From Washington State University
Mayan
folk tales From Folk art
Exchange
Mayan
Folk Tales - Storytelling Page prepared by Paula Giese.
The Sport of Life and
Death: The Mesoamerican Ballgame The world's first team sport began in
southern Mexico around 1500 B.C. and continued until the Spanish Conquest.
Played with rubber balls in stone courts, Mesoamerican ballgames combined
elements of modern-day basketball, football and soccer. http://www.ballgame.org
Mystery
of the Maya - Maya Civilization from Mesa Community College
Classic
Maya 200 - 900 CE
- Research Resources - books - journals- web sites. Also
see Teotihuacan
c. 100 CE - 700 CE.
Compiled by David C. Murray, Temple University.
Arte
Maya Tz'utuhil - contemporary Mayan art
-
Terry Rutledge—Modern Surrealist
Art--Mayan Influence
See
Rutledge's interpretation of the ballgame
Terry does extensive archaeological reconstructions
and Mayan style art. See
more
from Rutledge.
- Olmec
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Olmec
Art Brief description
with images--Click thumbnail for larger views. See
more Olmec art
Olmec
World: ritual and rulership
site giving background
information, beliefs and art images.
Olmec
Ceramics and Sculpture Compare
to Mayan Ceramics
The
Olmecs
Find out more about the colossal stone head carvings.
Olmec
Art - Images from Barakat Gallery (click print view for largest image)
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- Contemporary
Indigenous Cultures
Maya
Inca Aztec
- Ethno Photo
Documentation of Indigenous Cultures.
This is a commercial site - but has some wonderful photos of the people
today. See colorful photos of people of Mayan, Incan and Aztec decent.
Site is by Warren Michael Stokes. Teachers have permission to use his
photographs for educational use.
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