moche culture northern coastal peru, c. 100 c.e to 800 c.e

Ancient MesoamericaOlmec to Aztec

Olmec

Centralized along the Gulf Coast of Mexico around the modern city of Veracruz, the Olmec culture appeared as early as 1500 BCE and lasted until about 400 BCE. The Olmec are the first of the great Mesoamerican civilizations. They laid the foundations for those that followed.

Jadite mask, 6 3/4 x 6 5/16 in., 10th-6th C. BCE

Olmec: the first Mesoamerican high civilization, 1500–400 BCE.Map shows Olmec sites of influence and (right) Colossal Head, one of four at San Lorenzo in Veracruz, Mexico, over 9ft high, Early Pre-classic, c.1500-1200 BCE.

Olmec heartland. The yellow dots represent ancient habitation sites; the red dots represent artifact finds.

Olmec head: (left) excavation, Veracruz, ca 1942; (below) at Anthropological Museum, Xalapa. The largest of the colossal heads is over 9’ high and weighs more than 25 tons, made of basalt, a stone that was brought from the Tuxtla mountains. Top picture below is a National Geographic artist rendering of transportation of colossal head.

Olmec, Votive Axe, Mexico, Oaxaca, 1000–400 BCE, Jadeite. This axe has features that were thought to combine those of a human infant and a jaguar, or a “were-jaguar” being. These traits include almond-shaped eyes, small nostrils, prominent canine teeth, a large, flaring upper lip, and sometimes a central forehead cleft and a feature called “flame eyebrows.” The were-jaguar concept dominated Olmec studies during much of the twentieth century. The creature is now recognized as a composite supernatural being whose physical features are drawn from multiple sources in the natural world. In ancient times, portions of jade were removed from the back of the axe.

(left) Olmec ”Wrestler,” basalt figure of a bearded man, Veracruz, 26” H, National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City(right) Olmec, Las Limas Monument, greenstone, “priest” holding Rain God deity from Las Limas, Veracruz, Middle Preclassic period, 21.5” high. Knees and shoulders incised - profile heads of four Olmec gods with cleft heads: considered Olmec Rosetta Stone, but all assertions of meaning are speculation.

Las Limas Monument shows an androgenous youth holding a were-jaguar infant. The tatoo-like incised dieties (below) on shoulders and knees are thought to represent the Olmec pantheon. The four supernaturals show several common Olmec motifs, in particular the cleft head.

Right shoulder Right leg

Left shoulder Left leg

Olmec culture, San Lorenzo, first site, Early Preclassic, (c.1000 BCE) drainage system has been compared with Nile civilizations of Egypt

Olmec, north end of Altar 5 at La Venta. Two adult figures carry were-jaguar babies

La Venta, Stele with Three Kings, Olmec

Olmec, La Venta, mosaicserpentine “floor” that had been carefully buried (See Miller)

Olmec,12th–9th century B.C., Mexico, MesoamericaCeramic, pigmentDimensions: H. 13 3/8 x W. 12 1/2 x D. 5 3/4 in.

Olmec carved jade and serpentine figures and celts (ceremonial hand axes) and figures, excavated at a corner of a basalt courtyard, La Venta, figurines (found arranged as a tableau) are c. 8”H; celts are 9” to 10” H. Cranial deformation, loincloths, half-open mouths with deformed teeth

Olmec “frontier”: hollow figures, white slipped ceramic, all 11-16” H, Early Formative (100-800 BCE)Later Mesoamerican cultures induced crossed eyes during infancy – sign of beauty and elegance

Olmec, "Hollow baby" white ware figure, c. 100-800 BCE, Museo

Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México

Teotihuacánc. 150-550 CE

The Temple of Quetzlcoatl, Teotihuacán

Teotihuacán [Teotihuacán is a Nahuatl (Aztec) name meaning "place where gods were born“] looking down the Avenue of the Dead from the Pyramid of the Moon

(below) map of Teotihuacán heartland and area of influence. C. 150-550 AD

Temple of the SunTeotihuacán

Temple of the SunTeotihuacán c. 150 CE

Teotihuacán – ceremonial center and cosmopolitan city(right) archaeological map showing distinct quarters of the city occupied by Otomi, Zapotec, Mixtec, Maya and Nahua peoples.

Part of the Tepantitla compound for elites

Teotihuacán Tepantitla compound, reconstructed

Teotihuacán, Patio of Quetzalpapalotl (Quetzal-Butterfly”), the Tepantitla compound, with year symbol roof carvings; (right top and bottom) mural in true fresco technique showing The Great Goddess of Teotihuacan

Mural from the Tepantitla compound showing an aspect of the Great Goddess of Teotihuacan

(right) a reproduction in the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.

(left) The so-called Great Goddess, largest finished free-standing monument, found at Teotihuacán in front of the Pyramid of the Sun, ca. 100 BCE - 700 CE, 10 ft high(right) Stone mask, (ca. 100 BCE - 700 CE), shell, obsidian and malachite mosaic

Teotihuacán, tripod vase, ceramic, 9 5/8 x 9 5/8 in. 4th-5th Century CE

Teotihuacán tripods were made in a wide range of size, color, and surface treatment, and were widely disseminated in ancient Mesoamerica, whether by trade or by warfare. The surface is carved in very low relief. The main motif is a large feathered headdress. Smaller symbols are stacked in the center of the headdress, a half-star at the top, a feathered eye in the center, and a "reptile-eye" at the bottom. Scholars associate the reptile-eye with mortuary symbolism, underscoring the probable burial function of the vessel.

Teotihuacán, Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent), exterior sculptural decoration, Temple of Quetzalcoatl, the major temple structure within the administrative ceremonial center believed to have been built ca. 200/250 C.E. by a powerful ruler of Teotihuacán

Burial of warriors sacrificed at the dedication of the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, Teotihuacán, c. 250-300 CE. Note human mandibles and maxilla necklaces and spear heads

Toltecca 800–1100 CE

“Toltec” in Nahuatl means master builders and artists. The Toltec civilization formed a warrior aristocracy that gained ascendancy in the Valley of Mexico c. 900 CE after the fall of Teotihuacán. ca. 900 CEToltec Tula is the powerful capital of a state that integrated the diverse peoples of Mexico into a new cultural system. Its trade network stretched from Costa Rica to the United States Southwest. A period of southward expansion began c.1000 and resulted in Toltec domination of the Maya of Yucatan from the 11th to the 13th centuries.

Toltec site of Tula, State of Hidalgo, Mexico, with ruins of Pyramid B and colossal 15 ft. high Atlantean columns of warriors ready for combat with atlatl (spear thrower) at side, butterfly pectoral, and drum headdress

Toltec, Tula Atlantes, Pyramid B. Temple roof supports carved as Toltec warriors (back view). (below) Tula stone bas-reliefs from Coatepantli (Serpent Wall), carvings of human skull in the jaws of a snake. At its apogee Tula covered 5.4 sq. miles and contained a population of 30,000 – 40,000

Toltec, 10th -12th Century, CE) stone “chacmool” (red jaguar) from Tula, only complete one of seven at site, Post-Classical period

Toltec, Tula, plumbate-ware jar covered with mother-of-pearl and other shell mosaic. Supposed depiction of Quetzalcoatl emerging from the jaws of a feathered coyote

Toltec ceramic bowls, (left) Mazapan (Teotihuacán style) red-on-buff bowl; (right) imported Papagayo polychrome painted pottery of Nicaragua. This slide is meant to demonstrate the extent of trade and the cosmopolitanism of the visual culture of pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican.

Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico, Temple of the Warriors, Early Post-classic (900-1200 CE). Toltec-Maya. Note Chacmool figure at top and colonnades that once supported a roof. Compare withToltec Pyramid B at Tula (insert), same period (c. 1000 CE).

Photo courtesy Joel Swonsen

The ruin of Tula, 1150 CE and the great Toltec diaspora

Nahuatl poem:

Everywhere there meet the eye,Everywhere can be seen the remains of clay

vessels,Of their cups, their figures,Of their dolls, of their figurines,Of their bracelets,Everywhere are their ruins,Truly the Toltecs once lived here

Aztec c. 1325 - 1521 CE

Aztec Empire in 1519; (right) Aztec Eagle Warrior, hollow, life-sized ceramic recovered from the Great Temple excavations.

According to legend, Azteca (Mexica) tribe entered central Mexico from “Aztlan” in AD 1111.

Aztec, Tenochtitlán: (right) Hernán Cortés, “Map of Tenochtitlan,” 1524, for Charles V of Spain. There were three major causeways that ran from the mainland into the city which was divided into four districts and populated by 150,000 – 200,000 people. In 1521, Cortez demolished the ceremonial center during the course of the longest continuous battle ever recorded in military history.

“The city is spread out in circles of jade,Radiating flashes of light like quetzal plumes,Beside it the lords are borne in boats:Over them extends a flowery mist.”

Aztec poem

Aztec, Codex Mendoza, 1542, early colonial period, made for Antonio de Mendoza, the Viceroy of New Spain. This image illustrates the founding of Tenochtitlán in 1325 and and the conquest of Colhuacan and Tenayucan.

The eagle is the sun, associated with Huitzilopochtle, the Mexica’s patron deity. The cactus may represent the human heart eaten by the sun god, Huitzilopochtle. Male figures are probably founders of Tenochtitlan, including Tenuch in the left quadrant.

51 years of Tenuch’s rule indicated by the blue squares in the margin

Flag of Mexico

Codex Mendoza, Folio 60, Punishments and Chores of Children Ages 11 to 16. The codex contains 72 annotated pictorial pages and 63 pages of related Spanish commentary. Part III, “The Daily Life Year to Year,” where this page appears, has no known prehispanic prototype.

Codex Mendoza, Folio 65 (top) Priest-warriors(bottom) Imperial officers.

Codex Mendoza tribute list.The Aztecs received tribute from 371 city states. In 1430 the Mexica joined the Acolhua of Texcoco and the Tepaneca of Tlalaco to form the Aztec Triple Alliance.

For more pages: http://publicdomainreview.org/2012/05/14/codex-mendoza-1542/

Aztec, Templo Mayor (Great Temple); (right) excavation site in 1978 the heart of the sacred precinct in their capital city, Tenochtitlán (now in Mexico City). Only the base remains of what was once a massive double pyramid, which represented the hill where Huitzilopochtli (wee-tsee-loh-poch'-tlee), the god of god of war and of the sun, of the Aztec origin myth, was born

Aztec, Tenochtitlan, Templo Mayor ruins today off the central zócalo in Mexico City

(Left below) Painted reclining sacrificial Chacmool figure

(right below) Tzompantli (skull rack)

Aztec, colossal stone relief of Coyolxauhqui (coh-yohl-shau'-kee, Moon Goddess) from the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan, Late Post-Classic, c 11ft w; Coatlicue (Serpent Skirt), the earth goddess who gave birth to the Aztec deity, Huitzilopochtli, stone, 8 ft. h

Coatlicue, Unknown artist, taxonomical engraving published in “Historical and Chronological Description of the Two Stones that were Discovered in Mexico City’s Main Plaza,” Antonio de León y Gama, 1792. New York Public Library, NYC, USA.

After the Spanish conquest, this sculpture was buried, in part to prevent indigenous worship of this powerful deity. During the repaving of Mexico City’s zócalo in 1790, the Coatlicue was rediscovered, along with another Aztec monument, the Calendar Stone.

Aztec Calendar Stone (Stone of the Sun (Piedra del Sol) from the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan, Late Post-Classical period. The monolithic sculpture was excavated in the zócalo, Mexico City's main square, on December 17, 1790.

Measuring about 12 ft in diameter, 4 ft in thickness, and weighing 24 tons, the original basalt version is on display at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. It contains a hieroglyphic and pictographic layout of the four prior universes and shows how the Aztecs measured time. It is thought to have been used for ritual sacrifice to Huitzilopochtle.

Headdress of feathers thought to belong to Moctezuma, c.1510) 46 in. high, 69 in. across, with concentric layers of different colored feathers arranged in a semicircle, with small plates of gold in the shapes of half moons, inlaid with precious stones. Behind this is a layer of pink flamingo (tlāuhquechōlli) feathers, then small quetzal feathers, then a layer of white-tipped red-brown feathers of the squirrel cuckoo, Piaya cayana, with three bands of small gold plates, and finally two of 400 closely spaced quetzal tail feathers, 22 in. long.

On display in Vienna, 2012

Detail showing gold work and precious stones

Aztec feathered shields with war symbols, c. 1500, prior to conquest