ancient american art - 66.195.106.2366.195.106.23/teacherpackets/teachingpackets/tp/ancient...

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ANCIENT AMERICAN ART

AT THE

DALLAS MUSEUM OF ART

Teaching Materials prepared by Ken Kelsey, Gail Davitt, Mary Ann Allday, Barbara Barrett, and Dana DeLoach

Revisions and updates by Carol Robbins, Nicole Stutzman, and Jenny Marvel ©2008

These materials have been made possible by the Southwestern Bell Foundation © 1995 Dallas Museum of Art. All rights reserved. Use with permission.

Seated ruler in ritual pose; Mexico: state of Puebla, San Martín Texmelucan, Highland Olmec culture; c. 900-500 B.C.; Serpentine and

cinnabar; H 7 1/4 x W 5 3/8 x D 3 1/16 in.; Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mrs. Eugene McDermott, The Roberta Coke Camp Fund, and The Art

Museum League Fund, 1983.50

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Dear Teacher.

ANCIENT AMERICAN ART is a resource guide for viewing art at the elementary and secondary student level. These materials include:

1. Fifteen ARTWORKS 2. Explanatory Text & Activities

a. An INTRODUCTION b. Fifteen OBJECT SHEETS (1 for each artwork) c. ACTIVITIES for Art, Language, Social Studies, & Math/Science d. GLOSSARY e. BIBLIOGRAPHY of works used to create these materials

3. List of TEKS addressed by the Teaching Materials 4. Two EVALUATION SHEETS (1 for the Teaching Materials & 1 for the Tour).

_________________________________________________________ The printing in the materials has been manipulated in several ways.

• The titles of individual objects and foreign words are put in italics. For example, the title of the first object sheet is Seated ruler in ritual pose.

• Questions that require close looking or discussion are bolded. • When special research materials are needed, such as an �ENCYCLOPEDIA

and �DICTIONARY , their names are printed in all-caps and bolded. _________________________________________________________

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INTRODUCTION The term Ancient American Art refers to hundreds of objects in the collection of the Dallas Museum of Art. These objects were made by cultures that flourished in the Americas before the arrival of Europeans. They are often called “pre-Columbian,” because they were made before the voyages of Christopher Columbus. The objects range in date from about 1000 B.C. to about A.D. 1550. They represent diverse materials—stone, ceramic, gold, cloth, and feathers. They were not considered works of art in their original settings, nor were they displayed in museums. Rarely do we know the name of the artists, but we know the names of the cultures. The cultures featured in the teaching materials and the modern-day countries they represent are listed here: Mexico Colima Peru Chimú

Maya Cupisnique Mixtec Moche

Olmec Nasca Paracas Guatemala Maya Sicán Colombia Calima Through the work of archaeologists, anthropologists, and art historians we can learn more about these ancient cultures and the objects they created. Many of the artworks highlighted in these teaching materials address similar themes that reflect the beliefs, traditions, and rituals of ancient American cultures. The themes include: relationships with the natural world

connections to the gods personal adornment ritual precious materials death and burial

By studying the artworks we can begin to learn more about the way the people of these ancient cultures lived and viewed the world around them, as well as consider their place in world history. As you begin your study, these definitions of cultural areas may be helpful. MESOAMERICA – In these teaching materials, the term Mesoamerica refers primarily to the ancient cultures of modern-day Mexico and Guatemala. Geographically, the term encompasses an area that extends from northern Mexico, south and east through Guatemala and Belize, western Honduras and El Salvador, and on to western Nicaragua and northwestern Costa Rica. Many ancient cultures that developed in this area shared certain characteristics: the construction of pyramids and temples, a complex calendar, hieroglyphic writing, a belief system that included multiple gods, human sacrifice and ritual bloodletting by individuals, and a ballgame played with a solid rubber ball and an I-shaped court. (Coe, Snow, and Benson 1986:85)

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INTERMEDIATE AREA – Lower Central America (eastern Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama) together with Columbia and Ecuador form the Intermediate Area – intermediate between the continents of North and South America and between the larger culture areas of Mesoamerica and the Andes. The cultures that developed in this area were interrelated and experienced influences from both north and south. (Coe, Snow, and Benson 1986:157) ANDES CULTURES AREA – In South America, the highest cultural development in ancient times occurred along the western edge of the continent. This culture area takes its name from the high Andes Mountains that parallel the narrow Pacific coast with its many river valleys. The Andean works of art featured in the materials come from the Central Andes, an area that encompasses modern-day Peru and Bolivia. Distinctive cultural characteristics include the preservation of fragile materials (textiles, wood, ad feathers) through burial in one of the world’s driest deserts, art styles that relied on materials and themes from three diverse and geographically distant environments (coast, highlands, and tropical forests), widespread influence of ideas during certain periods of time, the tendency to form empires, the importance of camelid animals (llama, alpaca, and vicuña), an early mastery of working precious metals (gold, silver, and copper), and a system of recording numbers and perhaps other information using knotted cords or strings. The countries of Colombia and Ecuador are often described as the Northern Andes; in these materials they are considered part of the Intermediate Area. (Coe, Snow, and Benson 1986:157)

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Seated ruler in ritual pose (Page 1 of 2) Mexico: state of Puebla, San Martín Texmelucan, Highland Olmec culture c. 900-500 B.C. Serpentine and cinnabar H 7 1/4 x W 5 3/8 x D 3 1/16 in. Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mrs. Eugene McDermott, The Roberta Coke Camp Fund, and The Art Museum League Fund, 1983.50 Over 3,000 years ago, Mesoamerica’s first complex civilization developed in the swampy lowlands of Mexico’s Gulf Coast states of Veracruz and Tabasco. We know this civilization as Olmec. Works of art in the Olmec style have also been found in the highlands. This figure comes from the highland state of Puebla. In addition to creating a sophisticated symbol system, the Olmec built the earliest monumental architecture and carved the first large-scale stone sculptures. Through colossal stone heads and a range of figural sculpture, the Olmec established the tradition of portraits of rulers. Olmec ideas about religion and kingship influenced other Mesoamerican peoples, especially the Maya. 1. Imagine you are an archaeologist discovering this small sculpture buried in a tomb or in an offering made to dedicate a sacred place or building. Think about what makes this object special. Make a list of questions that will guide your study of the Seated ruler. 2. Describe this seated figure. Be sure to include his facial expression, his body position, and what he wears. The upper part of the head seems unusually long. The Olmec practiced cranial modification, which some scholars believe mimicked the shape of an ear of corn, their most basic food and the source of their agricultural wealth. The mouth turns down at the corners, resembling the snarling mouth of a feline or cat. The seated position of this figure, with one knee upraised, seems relaxed, but it suggests authority. We can imagine a ruler seated on a carved stone throne or a woven mat, participating in a ritual event. The figure wears a simple headband and loincloth. Each is probably a symbol of royal authority. The headband, which was often accompanied by jade jewels symbolizing maize, represents the royal crown. On the loincloth, the two incised vertical lines form a shape that looks like a stone celt (axe), a symbol of rulership. (Taube 2004: 17-18). 3. Images of Olmec gods and rulers often have a mouth that looks like the mouth of a jaguar (like the mouth on this figure). A jaguar is a large feline or cat that lives in the jungles of Mesoamerica. What qualities of a jaguar do you think an Olmec ruler would admire? Jaguars are great hunters. They swim with ease, and they climb high into trees. They are therefore considered masters of the three levels of the Olmec world: water, earth, and sky. Human and jaguar characteristics appear together in certain Olmec figures, suggesting that the jaguar could be an animal spirit companion. The ruler or religious specialist could transform himself into his animal spirit companion through a trance. (Taube 2004: 34) 4. Think about the size and form of this sculpture. How was it made? The Seated ruler was carved from a very hard, green stone, which was difficult to work. For the Olmec, the carving process included a variety of tools, materials, and actions (Taube 2004: 21-22):

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Seated ruler in ritual pose (Page 2 of 2) • Drills, made of stone or perhaps bamboo, were rotated at fast speeds to form holes or

depressions. • Saws made of stone, wood, and flexible string served as cutting tools • Quartz sand, crushed jade, and garnet could be mixed with water, creating a gritty

substance used to drill, saw, grind, and polish. 5. The Olmec considered green stones such as jadeite and serpentine, to be precious materials. Jadeite, a stone that is harder than steel and more durable than flint, is found in very few places in Mesoamerica. Serpentine is relatively soft by comparison and can be scratched with an iron tool (Taube 2004:20). The Olmec identified the green and blue-green material with maize, water, plants, the sky, and life itself. They often used these green stones to create valuable objects worn by rulers, used during religious events, or buried as offerings. (Taube 2004: 24-25; Miller and Taube 1993: 101-102)

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Tablet with incised symbols (Page 1 of 2) Mexico: Guerrero, Ahuelican, Highland Olmec culture c. 900-500 B.C. Greenstone H 3 1/2 x W 3 1/2 x D 3/4 in. Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association purchase, 1968.33 This small object is important to us because an Olmec artist recorded symbols on it that represent a cosmic diagram – the structure of the Olmec universe. These symbols are also references to the Olmec creation story. Stories of creation can connect people with their gods. 1. Investigate this object carefully. Begin by examining the green stone, the square shape, and the incised drawings. What do you see? 2. This object is made of a hard greenstone. Can you imagine how the stone was worked? Since the Olmec did not have metal tools, they probably used other, harder stones to shape and smooth this object and to incise the symbols into the surface. Check the ��DICTIONARY for the meaning of "incised" and “symbol.” What could the green color symbolize? The green stone itself may represent the surface of the sea at the moment of creation, the watery underworld. (The Olmec World 1995: 234) 3. The square shape of this Tablet also tells us something. Incised lines along the edges of the tablet suggest the enclosed area is a sacred space. This space, defined by four sides and four corners, may represent a plaza or a maize field. The four sides may also relate to the four cardinal directions – north, east, south, and west. How do directions give order to the world? 4. What do the drawings mean? By studying many Olmec objects, scholars have discovered what these symbols represent (The Olmec World 1995:120-122; 234). Look carefully at the drawing below and find these shapes on the object.

Mountain

Three stones

Earth

Maize plant

Grains of maize

Thirteen leaves or feathers

Crossed bands

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Tablet with incised symbols (Page 2 of 2)

A. The three circles at the bottom represent the three stones of creation, which marked a sacred place. Here the gods separated the sky from the sea by raising the world tree—the first act of Creation. These are symbols for the three hearthstones that have surrounded the fire at the center of traditional houses in Mesoamerica for 3,000 years. The hearth was seen as the life-giving center of the home, and by extension, the universe.

B. The curved shape above the circles—it looks like an inverted “U”—represents the earth. Some scholars see this as a huge mouth, as the upper lip of an earth monster. Others see it as a detail from the upper gum line of the Olmec Dragon, a crocodilian creature that was itself an Olmec symbol for the earth. The crocodilian creature, probably a caiman, floated in the waters of creation. Its spikey back represented mountains and its gaping mouth symbolized the entrance to the underworld.

C. The stepped triangular shape is a mountain. Mountains were formed at the time of

creation, when the sky was separated from the waters of the sea. Olmec and later Mesoamerican peoples made pyramids in this shape to imitate these natural forms, which they considered sacred.

D. Above the stepped mountain is a cross-shaped plant, which probably represents

maize or corn, the most important source of food for the Olmec people. The maize plant can be a symbol for the world tree, the axis mundi or the center of the world. Around the plant or tree are four small ovals, which represent maize kernels.

E. At the top is a rectangle containing an “X,” which is framed by thirteen small

projections. The “X,” or crossed bands, is a symbol for the center of the sky. The thirteen projections may represent leaves or feathers. Leaves could be the green leaves of corn; feathers could be the iridescent green feathers of the quetzal bird. Seen as a whole, these shapes suggest a bundle or the mythological sky-house of the north.

5. Now that you know what the incised drawings mean, how are they similar to writing? Early writing systems often make use of symbols or pictures, which represent words or ideas. Some peoples in Mesoamerica—in the modern Mexican states of Oaxaca and Veracruz—knew how to write by about 600 B.C. The vertical arrangement of the symbols on the tablet suggests that the Olmec may have set an example for the later Maya glyphic writing system, which combined phonetic syllables and word pictures in vertical columns. (Fields and Reents-Budet 2005:189)

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Dog with human mask (Page 1 of 2) Mexico: state of Colima, Comala style c. 200 B.C.-A.D. 250 Ceramic H 8 3/4 x W 6 x L 13 1/8 in. Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene McDermott and the Eugene McDermott Foundation and Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated, 1973.53 We know the ancient people of the west Mexican state of Colima by the name of the modern state where their tombs have been found. The tomb chambers were located at the bottom of a deep vertical shaft. The vertical entry tunnel went down to one or more small rooms. Each tomb was meant for a family group. The honored dead were buried with beads, shells, obsidian mirrors, and hollow clay figures like this Dog with human mask.

After burial, the chamber was sealed with a single stone, the shaft was filled with rubble, and the opening was marked on the surface with a circle of stones. This circle of stones may have marked a special place of interaction between the living and the dead. 1. What is the first thing you notice about this sculpture? Describe the mask that the dog wears. What do masks do? The presence of a human mask on a dog tells us that this creature belongs to a supernatural realm, a world beyond everyday existence. (Miller and Taube 1993: 80) 2. Look closely at the dog. This dog is a hollow ceramic vessel. Its tail is a spout! Look for the slight change in color between the mask and the dog. The black spots are minerals that developed on the surface over many centuries while the object was buried. The shiny surface was created by patiently rubbing it with a smooth stone before the vessel was fired. This process is called burnishing. When you get to the Museum, find the rubbing marks. 3. What role do dogs play in society today? Mesoamerican dogs were hairless creatures that were primarily raised for food. They were purposefully fattened by force-feeding. Images of dogs were often associated with the dead. This masked dog originally came from a tomb in the west Mexican state of Colima where dog-sculptures are numerous. These animals are often shown playing and sleeping. Only a small number wear masks. (Miller and Taube 1993: 80) 4. In 1581, the Spanish writer Juan Suárez de Cepeda recorded a creation story from the people who lived in the state of Colima. According to one version of this story,

...the people followed the trail of a dog, leading to a high mountain, in order to escape from drowning in a rising flood. Meanwhile the dog beat a drum, the sound of which caused the water to swell up in waves, whereupon the people climbed to

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Dog with human mask (Page 2 of 2)

the summit. Most of them died of starvation while waiting for the water to recede. Those few who survived are believed to be the ancestors of mankind. The dog disappeared into a large lake where the wandering souls visit it on their way to their final resting place (Von Winning 1974:43; Gallagher 1983: 35).

Think about this story. It was recorded centuries after the dog was made. Perhaps the ancient people of Colima had a similar story in which a dog served as a guide to the dead, escorting them to the afterlife. Because the ancient Colima people did not have writing, we may never know the exact meaning the sculpture had for them. The Dog with human mask seems to be a powerful image that connected them to their beliefs about the otherworld.

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Lidded tetrapod bowl with paddler and peccaries (Page 1 of 2) Mexico or Guatemala: Maya culture c. A.D. 250-600 Ceramic and cinnabar H 12 x Diam 9 1/4 in. Dallas Museum of Art, The Roberta Coke Camp Fund, 1988.82.a-b The ancient Maya inhabited a large, geographically diverse area that today includes southeastern Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize, and western Honduras and El Salvador. Maya civilization attained its highest development between about A.D. 250 and 900 (the Classic period). It is known for the architecture of such cities as Tikal, Copán, and Palenque; its fully developed hieroglyphic writing system; achievements in astronomy and mathematics; and one of the world’s great art styles. Maya artists who worked in clay often used three-dimensional forms and incised symbols to express ideas about the way the Maya viewed their world. 1. Look carefully at the image of the object. There are two parts, a bowl and a lid. What else do you see? A man with a fish on his back forms the knob of the lid. He sits in a canoe and holds a paddle. The images of creatures and symbols on the lid and bowl are more difficult to identify. The four feet of this object are the heads of peccaries, shown with their snouts down. Peccaries are smelly, blunt-snouted wild pigs that are found in Mesoamerican jungles (Miller and Taube 1993:132-133). 2. Look carefully at the lines covering the bowl and the lid. The lines are actually grooves, incised or cut into the surface of the clay, probably with a sharp stick, before the object was fired. The grooves were then filled with red pigment—probably with cinnabar or hematite.

3. Now look at the drawing on the next page. There is a detail of the “skullcap” worn by the man in the canoe. This four-petaled shape in a circle is the Maya sign for sun or day, k’in. This sign associates the paddler with the sun, with day, and possibly with the Sun God (Fields and Reents-Budet 2005:242). The squiggly lines below the paddle represent the earth. Below, on the bowl, is a fishlike creature and symbols that represent water. Snout-down peccary heads with earth signs between their eyes may represent pillars, or supports, of the cosmos (Miller and Taube 1993:133). 4. The imagery of this vessel may represent a metaphor for day, for time, and for human life. The sun, represented here by the paddler in the canoe, follows a path that leads him, at the end of the day, through the dark underworld, which the Maya thought of as watery. The paddler’s successful voyage enables him to rise in the sky the next morning. (Fields and Reents-Budet 2005:242.) 5. While it could be complex in shape or elaborately decorated, most Maya pottery was functional. The Lidded tetrapod bowl could have been a serving dish that was only used on special occasions, perhaps to hold tamales or a stew. How is it similar to containers we use for food today? How is it different?

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Lidded tetrapod bowl with paddler and peccaries (Page 2 of 2)

Man

Fish

Canoe

Fish-like Creature

Peccary Head

Water Band

Earth SignsShark

Peccary Ear

Sun Sign (Glyph)

Peccary Eye

Peccary Snout

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Eccentric flint depicting a crocodile (Page 1 of 2) canoe with passengers Mexico or Guatemala: Maya culture c. A.D. 600-900 Flint H 9 3/4 x W 16 1/4 x D 3/4 in. Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., in honor of Mrs. Alex Spence, 1983.45.McD For the Maya, as well as most Mesoamerican peoples, flint was a sacred material. Flint knives were used to make sacrifices. Flint was struck to cause sparks that made fire. In fact, flint even smells of smoke after being struck. Perhaps most importantly, Mesoamericans believed that flint was created whenever lightning struck the ground. (Miller and Taube 1993:88) 1. Whether they are simple arrowheads or complex shapes like this, objects made from flint are formed by chipping or flaking away excess stone. Look at the upper parts of this object where the light shines across the rippled stone. Find the concave, or hollowed, spot where each chip was flaked away. The edge of the flint is very sharp, almost like broken glass. That's why flints make good blades and arrowheads. The word "flint" can stand for the material as well as the object made from it. The Maya word for a sacred blade like this one is Tok’. (Freidel, Schele, and Parker 1993: 472-73) Forming the complex shape of this object would have required many, many hours of skilled labor by a very experienced knapper, or flint maker. 2. Read the title. How does the word "eccentric" relate to this object? Check the � �DICTIONARY for the meaning of "eccentric." The complex shapes of objects like this, which are too fragile for use as cutting tools, have earned them the name “eccentric flints.” Archaeologists have found them in offerings associated with dedication rituals for architecture and stone monuments. 3. With your finger in the air, trace the line formed by the edge. How would you describe this line? For the ancient Maya, this outline or silhouette represented a great beast that looked something like a crocodile. Find the parts of this "crocodile." Look for a long body and a mouth full of teeth. As you looked for the "crocodile" you may have noticed other features. Altogether, there are 5 profile-heads of Maya lords along the edge of this eccentric flint. See if you can find them. Here is a hint: these profiles are very similar to the profile of Lady Bolon-K’an wearing a special headdress. Recheck that image and then look for the 5 Maya lords. There are three heads in a row on the back of the beast. The fourth head is upside down and doubles as the front foot of the crocodile. The fifth head takes the place of the tail and faces downward. This last head is the biggest. 4. Look at the arcing curve of the "crocodile" and the backward lean of the three passengers on his back. What is happening here? This flint represents a canoe in a shape of a crocodile as it plunges into the waters of the Maya Underworld. It carries First Father, the ancestor of all the Maya people, and two attendants. First Father plays an important part in the Maya creation stories. Here is a shortened version of this story:

a. First Father loses a ball game against the Lords of Death, forfeits his life, and is taken into the Underworld by the crocodile canoe.

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Eccentric flint depicting a crocodile canoe with passengers (Page 2 of 2)

b. Attendants paddle the canoe taking the First Father to the Place of Creation. c. When the canoe arrives with its precious cargo at the Place of Creation, First Father comes back to life as the Maize God.

How does the Eccentric flint tell this story? 5. For the Maya, the death and rebirth of First Father were forever marked in the night sky. The Maya saw the story of creation which occurred on the night of August 13, 3114 B.C. in the movement of the stars. The crocodile canoe was the Milky Way as it pivoted in the night sky from horizontal to vertical. Watching the heavens, the Maya interpreted this movement as the sinking of the canoe and the rising of the precious maize plant. In the horizontal position, the Milky Way was the crocodile canoe carrying First Father. As the Milky Way became vertical, the "tail" of the crocodile became the head of newly born Maize God. The next time you are outside at night in an area where the stars are visible, look in the luminous band of light known as the Milky Way and see if you can find the crocodile canoe for yourself!

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Cylindrical vessel with royal ballgame scene (Page 1 of 3) Guatemala: department of El Petén, Maya culture c. A.D. 700-731 Ceramic H 8 1/16 x Diam 6 1/4 in. Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher, 1983.148 The art of the ancient Maya includes ceramic objects that were made as containers for food and beverages but also provided a surface for the work of painters and scribes. The cylindrical vessel was a favorite form during the period A.D. 600 to 900 (the Late Classic period). Fine examples such as this were owned by the Maya elite, who often received them as gifts. They were used during the life of the owner, and they were buried with him. 1. Imagine you are an archaeologist. You have found this vessel among the contents of a royal tomb, at a site deep in the jungle. The skeleton has been identified as an adult male. Your team members have photographed all the objects in the tomb in their original locations. They have also carefully catalogued each item—jade beads, shell ornaments, fragments of wood, everything. There are other ceramic vessels, but you keep thinking about this one. You know it tells something important. Which details of the Cylindrical vessel will you study? 2. Look carefully for areas of Maya writing on the rollout image. Locate the band of blocky shapes around the rim of the vessel and the vertical band of shapes at the left and right edges. How does this writing compare to writing? Maya writing includes pictures, here profile heads, which face left and look like animals. Each blocky shape is called a glyph. Maya glyphs express meaning through pictures that are signs and through abstract shapes that suggest sounds. Maya writing is both pictorial and phonetic. The band of glyphs at the rim represents a standard text that identifies the shape of the vessel, the contents, and the name of the owner. Here the royal owner is named as Spark Mouth K’awil (Guenter 2007). K’awil is the Maya god of royal lineages. Spark Mouth K’awil was from the kingdom of Hix Witz, which means Cat or Jaguar Hill. The vertical band of glyphs includes the name of another ruler, Sac Muan. Sac means white, and Muan is a bird, probably a screech owl (Miller and Taube 1993: 121). Sac Muan was from the Ik’ kingdom (Reents-Budet 1994: 269). Both kingdoms were located in the southern portion of what is today the Peten department of Guatemala. 3. Describe the scene on the vessel. Four men are involved in a ballgame. Can you imagine what is about to happen? The Maya played a game with a solid rubber ball. The ball was usually about the size of a modern soccer ball and weighed about eight pounds. The black ball on this vessel is considerably larger and probably had a gourd or other hollow object at its center. Maya players were not allowed to use their hands to keep the ball in motion—only their hips, thighs, or upper arms. Look again at the rollout image. How does the Maya ballgame look different from soccer? Describe the players’ gear. They all wear elaborate headdresses: a deer head, a bird head, and two headdresses that combine a water lily with numerous feathers. The players also wear things that could protect them:

• a U-shaped waist protector (probably wood covered with deer hide); • an apron-like hip garment (probably made from deer hide); • padding on a forearm, knee, and foot.

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Cylindrical vessel with royal ballgame scene (Page 2 of 3) The ancient Maya ballgame could have many levels of meaning. It was played as a popular sport and as a ritual performance. As ritual, it reenacted the mythical game played by the Hero Twins against the Lords of Death in the Underworld. The contest was one of good against evil, of life against death. Because the text on this vessel names two rulers and two kingdoms, this scene may show an inter-kingdom contest (Miller and Martin 2004: 91). 4. How would this vessel have been used? Look again at the band of glyphs at the rim. Locate the glyph just above the man with the deer-head headdress. This is the glyph for cacao, which we know as chocolate—an important food that originated in the Americas. The glyph tells us that the vessel held cacao. The Maya used the pulp that surrounds the cacao seeds in the pod to make a beverage. They also roasted and ground the cacao seeds, which they mixed with water, ground corn, and flavorings like chili and honey to produce a beverage for the elite. A head of foam, or froth, on the Maya chocolate drink was created by pouring the chocolate-based beverage back and forth between two cylindrical vessels such as this. They drank the chocolate beverage from smaller ceramic vessels or from gourd containers. Maya kings sometimes presented ceramic vessels as gifts to other rulers or important nobles.

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Rollout Photo of the Cylindrical vessel (Page 3 of 3)

Cylindrical vessel with royal ballgame scene Guatemala: department of El Petén, Maya culture c. A.D. 700-731 Ceramic H 8 1/16 x Diam 6 1/4 in. Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher, 1983.148 Rollout photo © Justin Kerr, 1985.

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IL

Wall panel depicting Lady Bolon-K’an in ritual dress (Page 1 of 2) Mexico: state of Tabasco, Pomoná, Maya culture c. A.D. 790 Limestone, stucco, and paint H 86 3/4 x W 30 1/4 x D 6 in. Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. James H. Clark, 1968.39.FA The ancient Maya people lived in the area occupied today by eastern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras, and western El Salvador. They carved monuments or wall panels such as this to honor rulers and commemorate special events. Today, scholars continue the work of deciphering the texts that accompany these carvings. With each new breakthrough, we learn more about the people and events of Maya history. 1. Maya imagery is often complex. Look carefully at this wall panel and find these parts: a standing figure in an elaborate outfit, a special scepter in the person's upraised left hand, and a series of blocky shapes that begins in the top right corner of the stone and continues down the side. 2. Look at the column of block-shaped pictures on the right side of the panel. These blocks are the Maya way of writing, and they are called glyphs. Find the 5th glyph up from the bottom. Here is a drawing of that glyph.

There is a face in profile, a cross with a ring around it, a bar, and four dots. This glyph tells us the name of the woman pictured on the wall panel. The profile face with a mark that looks like the letters IL on the cheek introduces the name of a woman. We treat it as a title, Lady. The cross shape in the circle is the sign for k’an, which means both yellow and precious. In the Maya number system, a bar equals five and each dot equals one. The bar with four dots represents the number nine, bolon. At the DMA, we have called this royal woman Lady Bolon-K’an. We have translated her name as Lady Nine Precious. Reading the parts of her name in the order in which they appear, some scholars call her Lady K’an Bolon, which may be read as Lady Yellow Nine. (Schele 1978; Guenter 2007) 3. Investigate the elaborate outfit. Find the feathered headdress, the heavy-looking collar of beads, the jewelry such as ear ornament and bracelet, the long overskirt with a criss-crossed pattern of beads, and the sandals. The small circles in the collar and costume probably represent beads of precious jade. The jade skirt is similar to the one worn by the Maize God, who is also known as First Father, the original ancestor of all the Maya. The long, curving shapes in the headdress are probably tail feathers from the highly valued quetzal, a Central American bird with brilliant green colored feathers. Jade and quetzal feathers are an essential pairing for a ruler who dresses as the Maize God.

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Wall panel depicting Lady Bolon-K’an in ritual dress (Page 2 of 2) Jade was associated with maize (or the green foliage of the corn plant), vegetation, water, sky, wind (which brings rain and is the essence of the life spirit), and life itself. It symbolized fertility and abundance. As a material, jade was hard and durable. The difficulty required to work it (to shape and polish the beads and other ornaments) increased its value. 4. Artists can use costume, body language, gesture, and expression to give the viewer important information about a person. What has the artist told us about Lady Bolon-K’an? Her elaborate costume says that she is important. The artist has emphasized ritual costume – what she wears and holds- rather than a faithful likeness of her as an individual. How would you describe Lady Bolon-K’an? Would you call this a portrait? We know that this is an image of a particular person because the glyphs name her. 5. Look closely at the scepter, and find the profile face on it. This face represents the Maya god, K'awil [also spelled K’awiil]. K’awil is closely connected to Maya rulers. Several features make K’awil easy to identify. Look for the double scroll that comes from his forehead. This is often described as smoke from a stone celt, for K’awil is associated with lightning, which forms flint where it strikes the earth. Just below the double scroll is a mirror sign. Mirrors were symbols of access to the supernatural world. K’awil is often shown on scepters, and a larger version of his profile appears in this royal woman’s headdress. (Miller and Martin 2004:150; Miller and Taube 1993:114-115.) 6. How might Lady Bolon-K’an have used this scepter? One of the responsibilities of Maya rulers was to communicate with the supernatural world on behalf of their people. The double scroll and the mirror sign link the scepter to the god K’awil. K’awil is also the spirit that can come into an object and make it powerful. Lady Bolon Kan may have used the scepter to help her communicate with the spirit world. (Freidel, Schele, and Parker 1993:193-207.) 7. Do you see any color on the carved surface of the wall panel? The traces of blue and red are natural pigments applied over a plastered or stuccoed surface. Since color could easily wear away if exposed to nature, these traces of paint suggest that the sculpture was once in an architectural setting. The archaeological site of Pomaná includes a long platform that supported several buildings that faced a plaza. Each of these may have contained carved panels similar to the portrait of Lady Bolon Kan. If this panel was housed in one of the buildings, it was probably paired with a low-relief image of her husband.

Eye Snout

Mouth

Mirror

Double scroll

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Head of the rain god Tlaloc (Page 1 of 2) Mexico: state of Oaxaca, Teotitlán del Camino, Mixtec culture c. A.D. 1300-1500 Ceramic, tufa, stucco, and paint Guide: H 68 x W 45 x D 41 in. Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Marcus in memory of Mary Freiberg, 1967.5 The Mixtec people have lived for centuries in the mountainous region of what is today southern Mexico, in the western part of the state of Oaxaca and in adjacent areas of the states of Guerrero and Puebla. From about A.D. 1000, the Mixtecs settled in ancient communities in valleys separated by mountain ranges. Each of these valleys was ruled by a local lord. Mixtec craftsmen were widely recognized for their superb work in turquoise mosaic and in gold. They produced pictorial manuscripts—folding deerskin books—and elaborately painted ceramics. In the 15th century, when the contemporary Aztec people began to expand their empire outward from Tenochtitlan in the Valley of Mexico, they brought the Mixtec area under their control. To maintain peace, the Mixtec people paid tribute to the Aztecs. This took the form of fine textiles, collars of greenstone beads, bunches of green feathers, bags of prized red dye (cochineal), and quantities of gold dust (Townsend 1993:90). We know the Mixtec people and this sculpture of the rain god by names that come from Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. The Aztecs called the Mixtec area Mixtlan, “place of clouds,” and the people became known as “cloud people” (Flannery and Marcus 1983:xxi). The name Tlaloc can be translated as “that which lies upon the surface of the earth,” a reference to the clouds that form around the tops of mountains during the rainy season (Townsend 1993:111, 114). The Mixtecs called themselves ñuu-dzavui, “people of rain” or “people of the rain deity.” Dzavui (also spelled Dzahui and Savi) is the Mixtec word for rain and the Mixtec name for the rain god. 1. If we had lived among the Mixtec or the Aztec peoples, we would immediately have recognized this gigantic head as the rain god. What are the special features of this sculpture? Start at the top and list what you see. Look for a crown-like headdress, goggles, snakes, and a mouth that looks like an animal’s—with teeth that are now broken. Which features do you think identified the head as the rain god?

2. The rain god is one of the oldest deities in ancient Mexico. He was worshipped over a wide area, and he was known by many different names. The rain god was generally considered kind, but he could bring harm by withholding rain, causing droughts, or by sending too much, causing floods. Some of the earliest images of the rain god have been found at Teotihuacan, the archaeological site north of Mexico City, which flourished between A.D. 200 and A.D. 700. Circles around the eyes, which look like goggles, and prominent teeth identify the rain god at Teotihuacan and in later images. The circles around the eyes suggest standing pools of water or ripples caused by raindrops falling on water. The teeth, which probably represent those of a jaguar, would have looked somewhat like flowing streams of water. The god often holds a serpent. Serpents were also symbols of rain. They represented lightning, which split the clouds to release rain (Flannery and Marcus 1983:38), and they served as channels for water—like long curving “pipes.” The blue paint suggests the color of the sky and its reflection in the water of lakes and oceans. Why would a god of rain be important to these people?

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Head of the rain god Tlaloc (Page 2 of 2) 3. This large and impressive image of the rain god may have stood in a public place, possibly on top of a platform or a pyramid. The sculpture, however, was reportedly found in a cave, accompanied by two enormous ceramic toads (also in the DMA collection). The Aztecs, and probably the Mixtecs as well, believed that Tlaloc lived in mountain caves, the source of fertility and riches. His helpers, the tlaloque, were spirits associated with mountains and weather events. They lived on mountaintops where shrines to the deity were often built. (Miller and Taube 1993:166-67) 4. This sculpture is made of fired clay, much like the plates and bowls that many people use in their homes. How is this ceramic object different? It is much larger, obviously, and it was not used for serving food. This object is a huge incense burner. The resin or sap of certain trees (copal or rubber) would have been burned inside the hollow head as an offering to the rain god. The resulting clouds of aromatic smoke may have looked like rain clouds as they billowed above Tlaloc’s crown-like headdress. Research “incense” in an �ENCYCLOPEDIA . Find out which trees are used to produce incense and where they grow. How could burning incense be a way of connecting to the gods?

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Headdress ornament with heads flanked (Page 1 of 2) by crested crocodiles Colombia: Calima River region, Calima culture, Yotoco style c. A.D. 1-700(?) Gold H 10 x W 11 1/2 in. Dallas Museum of Art, the Nora and John Wise Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jake L. Hamon, the Eugene McDermott Family, Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, and Mr. and Mrs. John D. Murchison, 1976.W.319 Before the arrival of the Spanish, trade routes in the area that is today southwestern Colombia linked North and South America. People living in this region were exposed to the ideas and technology of many other cultures. Knowledge of metalworking may have traveled north from Peru to the people in Colombia. Once this technology was adapted locally, it served the needs of elite individuals by providing them with symbolic objects like this gold headdress ornament. 1. With your hand in the air, trace a line down the center of this gold object from top to bottom. Find the four faces along this line. Are they human faces, animal faces, or supernatural faces? Look for the face that is wearing miniature versions of gold ornaments. What do you see on either side of this face? 2. Two long, toothy crocodile heads project from the center of the headdress. The crocodile – or caiman – lives on land and in water, something that humans cannot do. Caimans are also aggressive and dominant predators. There is a myth about a caiman that swallows a man, who is reborn with purity and wisdom (Reichel-Dolmatoff: 74-75). Perhaps the human head between the two crocodilian heads represents a man who has been eaten and reborn like the man in the story. By wearing this object, the individual absorbs the power of the faces that appear here in gold. The ornament communicates the importance of the wearer, who may have been a ruler or a shaman, and his relationship with a powerful creature. 3. Look at the drawing below to see the headdress ornament in context. The ornament may have been attached to a band of cloth or metal through the four holes near the center. It could have been worn with other gold objects, such as a large pectoral, a nose ornament, dish-shaped ear ornaments, bracelets, and anklets. Imagine a person wearing this ceremonial regalia.

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Headdress ornament with heads flanked by crested crocodiles (Page 2 of 2) 4. Covered with brilliant, reflective gold, the wearer of this headdress ornament may have reminded those in his presence of the sun and its energy. How is gold like the sun? Symbolically, the sun represents the power of nature and growth of life. Some people living in Colombia today believe that there is a mutual relationship between gold and the sun. On certain days of the year, they expose heirloom gold objects to the sun in a sacred place. Through this ritual, the gold is purified and its brightness and energy are renewed (Reichel-Dolmatoff:18). This headdress ornament and other gold regalia may have been used in a similar way. 5. The making of this object was a difficult task for the artist, one that required time, patience, and considerable skill. The goldsmith used the hammering technique, which calls for manual skill and knowledge about how the metal behaves when it is worked. A sheet of gold becomes brittle after a number of blows. To keep it from cracking, the goldsmith re-heats it, then cools it in water. After the artist hammered the sheet of gold to the desired size and thickness, he placed the gold on a soft surface, such as thick leather or a bag of sand, and pressed the designs from the back, using stone, bone, or metal tools. Finishing details were then worked from the front. The separate elements – nose ornament, ear ornament, and rectangular dangles – were each individually made.

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Stirrup-spout vessel with felines and cacti (Page 1 of 2) Peru: north coast, Jequetepeque Valley, Cupisnique culture c. 900-200 B.C. Ceramic H 10 1/8 x W 7 3/4 x D 5 3/4 in. Dallas Museum of Art, the Nora and John Wise Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jake L. Hamon, the Eugene McDermott Family, Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, and Mr. and Mrs. John D. Murchison, 1976.W.62 This ceramic container was made almost 3000 years ago on the north coast of what is now Peru. The plants, animals, and mountains on this vessel may seem like everyday images, but seen together they illustrate the religious ideas of a people. The artist created a message about sacred beliefs and special events set in the Cupisnique landscape. 1. Because this vessel is monochromatic gray-black, it may be difficult to see details in its form. Look carefully for the most important parts: two cacti point outward from the sides, a feline stares at us from the center, and steps leading up to the spiraling shape resemble a mountainous landscape. 2. For centuries after the Cupisnique created this vessel and until the arrival of the Spanish in the Americas, different cultures on the north coast used this stirrup spout form. At the top, the spout -- or opening -- connects to an arched tube that looks like a stirrup. This tube could be tied to a belt or serve as a convenient grip for carrying the container by hand. Think about the environment on the South American coast. Look in an ��ENCYCLOPEDIA for more information about Peru’s coastal climate. Why would a stirrup spout vessel be useful in such a dry climate? The liquid held inside, whether water or chicha (a fermented beverage made from corn and other grains) was important and the spout prevented evaporation and spills. 3. Why do the cactus, the feline, and the mountain appear together on this bottle? There is no written record for the Cupisnique culture. To understand the images, scholars look at the beliefs of contemporary people and the practices of the shaman. As the link between humans and the supernatural world, the shaman today performs some of the rituals represented by the cactus, feline, and mountain. This vessel tells us the story of a sacred event.

a. This cactus is no ordinary plant. It is the San Pedro cactus, still used by shamans on the north coast to alter the mind. By drinking a brew made from this plant, the shaman enters a state in which he or she communicates with beings outside the human world. The shaman receives wisdom and guidance which he or she uses for the well-being of individuals and the community. b. After consuming the San Pedro cactus, the shaman can transform into an animal, like the feline seen on this vessel. Large cats of the Americas, such as the jaguar, are revered for their powerful bodies, aggressive hunting skills, and ability to move in water, on land, and high in the trees. In many languages, the word for “shaman” and “jaguar” is the same, reflecting the shaman’s desire to be like these powerful felines. Because the cat on the vessel lacks spots, it may represent a feline other than a jaguar. (Sharon 2000: 3)

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Stirrup-spout vessel with felines and cacti (Page 2 of 2)

c. Andean peoples have worshipped mountains for thousands of years. The step and spiral on this vessel may refer to these sacred places. Once the shaman consumes the San Pedro and transforms into a feline, he travels to the mountain to communicate with the spirit world.

All of these transformations are part of a ritual that has been ongoing for 3000 years.

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Mantle with birds (Page 1 of 2) Peru: south coast, Paracas culture c. 300-100 B.C. Camelid fiber H 51 1/2 x W 110 in. Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., in memory of John O’Boyle, 1972.4.McD The Paracas culture is named after a desert peninsula on the southern coast of Peru. In translation, the word Paracas means "sand falling like rain" (Paul 1990: 3). During the 1920s, ancient cemeteries were discovered in this area. Since this coastal region of Peru is so extremely dry, the climate has preserved the bodies of the dead and their burial goods. Each of the bodies was wrapped for burial in layer upon layer of clothing and other textiles, forming what archaeologists call a "mummy bundle." The Paracas culture is famous for the craft and beauty of these once-buried textiles which, amazingly, have survived for over two thousand years. 1. Look carefully at this textile. What do you notice first? It has dark blue and red squares like a checker board. It looks like a fringed blanket. Identify the images that are repeated over the whole surface of the textile. How has the image of the bird been varied? Although there are several variations in the color and size of the bird figures, they all have a white ruff at the neck, wide wingspans, and long beaks. Here is a drawing of one of these birds.

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Mantle with Birds (Page 2 of 2) 2. A mantle is a large rectangular cloth worn over the shoulders like a cloak. The area without fringe would have been placed over the wrists. Each of the birds is embroidered onto the woven fabric.

Besides being very beautiful, this much stitchery took a great deal of time to complete. Do you think this piece of clothing was worn everyday or reserved for a special occasion? A mantle such as this would have been worn by a man with great authority or status. It probably was worn only for special occasions and would have been buried with the owner. The elaborateness of this mantle displayed his prestige and power to all who saw him. 3. The birds on the mantle could represent the large South American condor, a vulture whose wingspan can reach seven feet. Condors live in the Andes Mountains and are keen-sighted, strong creatures that soar in the skies. Consult an ��ENCYCLOPEDIA for more information. The important man who wore this mantle would have been covered in birds and would have been identified with the condor, lord of the skies. What condor qualities would be important for a man?

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Drum with Anthropomorphic Mythical Being (Page 1 of 2) holding trophy heads, club, and plant Peru: south coast, Nasca culture, early Nasca style c. A.D. 1-350 Ceramic H 19 1/16 x W10 x D10 in. Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Susan F. Moore in memory of W. Bruce Moore, 1990.162 The Nasca culture flourished in narrow river valleys on the south coast of Peru during the period 100 B.C. to A.D. 700. The Nasca were farmers in a desert environment. They solved the need to irrigate their fields by devising a system of underground canals that tapped water below the surface. They did not organize themselves as a state or build cities, but they did construct a major ceremonial center. They created huge ground drawings in the desert, known as the Nasca Lines, or geoglyphs. Consult an ��ENCYCLOPEDIA for more information. Because the Nasca did not have writing, the physical remains of their culture—especially their ceramics—provide an important source of information about them. The surviving evidence tells us that they thought a great deal about life and death and the forces of nature. 1. This ceramic object has a humanlike figure painted on it. The face seems to stare at us. The body of the figure appears to be seated—there are painted feet but no legs. What other things do you see? Pay close attention to what the figure wears as ornaments or jewelry. The ornament on the figure’s forehead has a large face at the center and whisker-like projections. A mouth mask covers the lower part of the face. It has whisker-like faces on either side and snakes that curve up around the eyes. The whiskers on the ornaments are a cat symbol, perhaps a pampas cat or puma. The forehead ornament and the mouth mask are painted white on the drum, but they represent actual ornaments made of sheet gold. The square segments of the necklace represent Spondylus shell, which was considered a sacred material in many Andean cultures. The shell was found only off the coast of Ecuador and was obtained through long-distance trade. Notice the snake that hangs like a pendant below the necklace. A long tongue curves outward from the mouth. Black triangles mark the outer edges of the body. If you look closely, you will see that the center of the snake’s body consists of stacked cartoon-like human faces, mostly upside down. Snakes, which prey on mice and rats, may have symbolized protection for Nasca crops (Proulx 2006:157). 2. Who is this figure? The forehead ornament, mouth mask, and necklace identify the figure on the drum as a supernatural creature. He is one of the most important subjects in Nasca art. He is often called the Anthropomorphic Mythical Being (AMB for short) or simply a mythical being. Find the word “anthropomorphic” in the �DICTIONARY . Some scholars interpret the combination of human and animal symbols as part of a broader category of Nasca mythical creatures, “symbolic representations of the powerful natural forces that controlled the world of the Nasca” (Proulx 2006:62). Other scholars think the images represent a costumed human figure, perhaps a shaman or a ritual performer—someone impersonating a supernatural creature.

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Drum with Anthropomorphic Mythical Being holding trophy heads, club, and plant (Page 2 of 2) 3. Look for the two severed human heads (painted gray) that the AMB is holding. Groups of human heads, naturally mummified by the desert climate, have been found in Nasca burials. Presumably taken in warfare, they are called “trophy heads.” The association of the heads with Nasca mythical beings suggests that the heads may have been valuable offerings, symbols of life and rebirth, to those powerful spiritual forces (Proulx 2001:136; Proulx 2006:103). Now look for two straight black lines across each mouth represent the thorns or cactus spines that pin the lips closed on actual heads. In his left hand, the figure holds a tan club as well as a trophy head. Clubs, which were used in hand-to-hand combat, are often pictured with trophy heads in Nasca ceramic art, suggesting they were used to kill the victims. In his right hand, the figure holds a plant (barely visible in the photograph) and a trophy head. The plant is a jicama (or jíquima, pronounced HEE-kah-mah), an edible turnip-like root that was an important food crop for the Nasca (Proulx 2006:167-168). The combination of jicama and trophy heads suggests a symbolic connection between the taking of human heads and agricultural abundance. 4. How was this object made? Nasca potters used local materials and simple techniques to make extraordinary ceramics. They used a combination of two basic hand-building techniques to create their vessels: modeling (direct shaping) and coiling (forming with rolled pieces of clay). After the desired shape was achieved, the potter scraped the walls with a shell or piece of gourd to thin and smooth them. When the clay vessel had dried to the hardness of leather, the potter rubbed the surface with a smooth stone. The drum may have been made in three separate sections that were joined before the piece was painted and fired: the cylindrical base, the middle portion, and the head. Nasca ceramics are best known for their painted images, which may include a dozen colors on a single vessel—more than any other ceramic style in ancient Peru. Slip paints (powdered mineral pigments in a thin solution of clay and water) were applied using brushes made from human or camelid (llama or alpaca) hair attached to a wood handle. The background color was applied first, then individual design areas. The black outlining was done last. The pottery was probably fired in shallow pits using wood or llama dung as fuel. 5. How could this object be a drum? Although you can’t see it, the bottom of this hollow ceramic object is open. A piece of animal skin (probably from a llama) would have been stretched across the opening to form the drum head, secured by thongs or sinew wrapped around the outer edge (Proulx 2006:121). The middle portion of the object is the resonance or sounding chamber. How would the drum have been held? Modeled Nasca ceramics show male musicians seated with a drum resting horizontally between their legs (Proulx 2006:120-121). It seems possible that the drum could also have been held under one arm or carried by one person and played by another. Nasca ceramic art includes trumpets, panpipes, and whistles as well as drums (Proulx 2006:118-122). Music was surely an important part of Nasca ritual. A decorated drum like this would have been played on those special occasions.

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Stirrup-spout vessel with deer hunting scenes (Page 1 of 3) Peru: north coast, Moche culture c. A.D. 450-550 Ceramic H 10 x W 6 1/4 x D 9 1/8 in. (25.4 x 15.88 x 23.18 cm) Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., 1969.2.McD The Moche culture prospered from around A.D. 1 to 700. This culture is known by the name of a river on the north coast of Peru. It developed the first state in the Andes. The Moche built the largest adobe pyramid in the Americas and created a distinctive art style, but they did not have writing. Ceramic objects like this Stirrup spout vessel with deer hunting scenes survive to give us insight into the lives of the Moche people. 1. This vessel tells a story. The story is about hunting. What do you see on the vessel that suggests this is a story about hunting? Look at the top. Who are the main characters in this story? A hunter wearing a headdress holds a club in his left hand and a spear-thrower in his right. In front of him is a dark spotted deer. Look closely at the body of the jar. What additional characters and details can you see? There are many more hunters. Women appear here too! The deer on the body of the vessel are upside-down. Can you see their tongues hanging out? This indicates they are dead. Use the rollout drawing on the next page for a closer look. 2. Describe what the characters in the story are wearing. Is everyone dressed the same? Look at the costumes of the modeled man on the top and the biggest man on the bottom. These important people appear to be wearing feathered headdresses, ear ornaments, decorated garments, and boot-like footwear. Why might they be dressed this way? This type of clothing does not seem suited for a deer hunt. Both men are dressed in costumes that typically appear in pictures of ritual events. Their clothing suggests that the event appearing on this vessel is an important ceremony, instead of an everyday hunting scene. 3. Take another look at the vessel. Describe the scene where the story is taking place. It seems like the deer have been gathered into an enclosed area bordered by nets and what looks like a decorated wall. The landscape is filled with leafy trees. Do you think this is an ordinary hunt for food? Deer hunting scenes, like the one on this stirrup-spout vessel, appear so often in Moche art that one might think deer were a major part of the Moche diet. However, archaeologists have found hardly any deer bone remains at Moche excavation sites. (Donnan 1997: 55) This may suggest that the deer were hunted and killed for ritual purposes only. Scholars believe that deer were sacrificed at the place they were killed and the remains of the animal were treated with great ceremony. (Donnan 1997: 55) 4. Compare and contrast the top and body of this vessel. How does the artist tell the story in two different ways? The top half of the jar tells it 3-dimensionally through the modeled figures of the deer and hunter. The bottom half of the jar tells it 2-dimensionally through the painting of figures and a landscape on the vessel. Sculpture and fine line painting represent the two main traditions in Moche ceramic art. The integration of these traditions plays out in the two painted

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Stirrup-spout vessel with deer hunting scenes (Page 2 of 3) dogs found near the top of the vessel who growl fiercely at the three-dimensional deer. The combination of the sculptural and painting traditions on the Stirrup-spout vessel with deer hunting scenes makes it an unusual example Moche art.

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Rollout Drawing of the Stirrup-spout vessel (Page 3 of 3)

Stirrup-spout vessel with deer hunting scenes Peru: north coast, Moche culture c. A.D. 450-550 Ceramic H 10 x W 6 1/4 x D 9 1/8 in. (25.4 x 15.88 x 23.18 cm) Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., 1969.2.McD

Woman

Trees

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Ceremonial mask (Page 1 of 2) Peru: north coast, Lambayeque region, La Leche Valley, Batán Grande, Sicán culture c. A.D. 900-1100 Gold, copper, and paint H 11 3/4 x W 17 3/8 in. x D 1 3/4 in. Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., 1969.1.McD This large gold mask represents the Sicán culture, which flourished on the north coast of Peru from about A.D. 700 to about 1375. Sicán, which means “house” or “temple of the moon” in an extinct local language (Shimada 1996:650), is one name used for the culture and for the Batán Grande area, a political and religious center established about A.D. 900 (Shimada 1996:650). Some scholars call the culture Lambayeque, after the broader Lambayeque River region in which it developed. The Sicán culture is best known for the extraordinary metalwork that it produced during the period A.D. 900-1100. 1. Looking closely at the mask, describe what you see. The broad, slightly curved face, “comma-shaped” eyes, three-dimensional nose, small mouth, and the flat vertical bands at the sides that look like long stylized ears are typical features of Sicán gold masks. This face represents the most important subject of Sicán art—the principal god of the Sicán culture. Complete figures are often shown wearing similar masks—on ceremonial knives, beakers, and ear ornaments. This human-like image, known as the Sicán lord, may represent a Sicán ruler wearing symbols of the god. 2. Sicán metalsmiths, like those of the earlier Moche culture in the same area, were masters in working sheet metal. Although the process is relatively simple, it required great manual skill and a sound knowledge of the behavior of the metal. The goldsmith used a stone anvil and hammer, laboriously beating a gold ingot to the desired shape and thinness. To prevent the metal from cracking as it became brittle from hammering, periodically reheating it and quenching it in water. (Shimada and Griffin 1994:86-87) Sicán metalsmiths favored an alloy of gold and copper and gold, silver, and copper. As a raw material, gold was obtained by panning, which involves washing gravel obtained from river beds and removing gold nuggets from the sample. It may also have been mined. The nose of the mask, the U-shaped nose ornament, and the dangles were each made separately and attached. Look for the pair of holes in the circular area at the bottom of each “ear.” These indicate that circular ear ornaments were also once attached. The eyes of the mask were overlaid with copper, which has oxidized to a dark green. Traces of brownish red on the forehead and cheeks show that this mask, like other examples, was painted with cinnabar. (Carcedo Muro and Shimada 1985: 65) 3. Masking is an age-old tradition practiced by many cultures. Think about when and where you would wear a mask. Gold masks such as this one survived because they were buried in tombs, probably accompanying their original owners in death. Although metal objects in the Sicán style have been shown in museums since the 1960s, it was only in 1991 that archaeologist

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Ceremonial Mask (Page 2 of 2) Izumi Shimada discovered an undisturbed tomb. The contents—over a ton of grave goods—included a gold mask as well as other finely worked metal objects that could have worn with it. An arching headdress with gold feathers and discs rose vertically above the mask, and a three-dimensional bat-like head could have projected above its forehead (Shimada and Griffin 1994:85). Although burial was their final use, the masks may well have been worn during the lifetime of the owner. The man behind the mask would not have been able to see what was happening around him (there are no eye holes here), but imagine how splendid he would have looked. Covered in reflective gold and silver, the man who wore the mask represented status and power within Sicán culture. The face on the mask linked him to the principal Sicán god.

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Featherwork neckpiece (Page 1 of 2) Peru: north coast, Chimú culture c. A.D. 1470-1528 Cotton, feathers, and shell beads L 13 1/4 x W11 1/2 Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., 1972.23.1.McD On the north coast of modern-day Peru, master Chimú craftspeople worked at the large city of Chan Chan, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Chimor. In neighborhoods set aside for weavers, metalsmiths, carvers, and potters, treasured objects like this Featherwork neckpiece, were produced for the elite. Chan Chan had been founded by A.D. 850 or 900. With its mazelike arrangement of adobe walls and mud-brick friezes depicting bold geometric designs and birds, Chan Chan was an amazing city (Morris and von Hagen 1993:131-133). Chimor was the largest kingdom on the Andean coast around 1470, when it was conquered by Inca armies from the highlands. The Incas so admired Chimú textiles that they were traded or distributed more extensively throughout the Inca empire than they had been within Chimor (Rowe 1984:185-186). 1. Look carefully at the images on the Featherwork neckpiece. Find the purple birds close to turquoise fish. What kinds of birds hunt and eat fish? You may want to investigate pelicans, gulls, and cormorants. The Chimú people worshipped a god of the sea (Rowe 1984:17), and images of water birds and fish occur often in their art. The fringe across the bottom is made of shell beads. Shells were another valued product of the sea. Investigate the human figure. Notice that the figure faces us. He is standing, and his arms are outstretched. He wears a crown-like headdress with a crescent shape on top. The crescent headdress may indicate supernatural status (Rowe 1984:16-17). This image appears often in Chimú art, but we do not know who the figure represents—perhaps a god, a ruler, or a mythical hero. 2. In ancient Peru, featherwork was made by adding feathers to cloth after the cloth was woven. The cloth was plain, woven of undyed cotton yarn, without a design or pattern. Individual feathers were secured to a cord, which was then sewn to the cloth it would decorate (Ann Rowe 1984:154, fig. 153). Additional cords with feathers were applied in horizontal rows from bottom to top, each row of feathers overlapping the previous one, thereby covering the previous cord and stitching. The use of an adhesive to attach feathers was more unusual, but that is how the purple and the turquoise feathers were applied to the neckpiece—on top of the red-orange ones. Why do you think some feathers were glued instead of being fastened to a cord? Perhaps the feathers were too small to be attached or possibly the areas were too small to use the usual means of attachment. 3. Chimú craftspeople primarily used feathers from birds that lived in the tropical forests of the Amazon region—east of the Andes mountains and far from the coast. They obtained the feathers through trade. On the neckpiece, the red-orange feathers came from a Macaw; the turquoise feathers from a Paradise Tanager or Spangled Cotinga; and the purple feathers from a Tanager or Purple Honeycreeper (Rowe 1984:171). Find pictures of these birds in an �ENCYCLOPEDIA or on the Internet.

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Featherwork neckpiece (Page 2 of 2)

After the Spaniards arrived in the Andes, priests and others wrote about Inca politics, history, religion, and culture. Father Bernabe Cobo, a Jesuit scholar who wrote in the mid-17th century but made use of earlier manuscripts, described the importance of feathers for Inca textiles (Cobo 1990: xi-xv; 226):

“Upon entering this land, the Spaniards found the storehouses of the Inca well supplied with many things; one of the most important ones was an abundant supply of valuable feathers for these textiles. Almost all of the feathers were iridescent, with an admirable sheen which looked like very fine gold. Another kind was an iridescent golden green. And there was an immense amount of those tiny feathers which are found on the chest of the little birds that we call tominejo [hummingbird], in a small patch about the size of a fingernail. Some of them were strung on very thin thread, some not yet strung were put into petacas, which were the trunks and chests of these Indians.”

4. This Featherwork neckpiece, which was made after Chimor was conquered by the Incas, was reportedly found on the south coast of Peru, together with miniature objects made from shell, bone, wood, and metal. The group may have been deposited as an offering, either by themselves or as part of a human burial, perhaps that of an important child. The small size of the luxurious neckpiece suggests that it may have been a child’s garment. It could have been placed around the neck like a collar and tied with the two cords. Worn this way, the smaller birds and human heads at the top would have been right-side up.

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ACTIVITIES ART 1. Here is a drawing of the Wall panel depicting Lady Bolon-K’an in ritual dress. Draw in the missing pieces and color the image. To research the color for the feathers, you may want to check an ��ENCYCLOPEDIA for a picture of the quetzal bird.

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2. Ancient American artists often used images of powerful animals: Jaguar-like qualities shape the face of the Olmec Seated ruler in ritual pose. Crocodiles dominate the gold Headdress ornament with heads flanked by crested crocodiles. Large birds, possibly condors, cover the Paracas Mantle with birds. A feline is prominent on the Stirrup-spout vessel with felines and cacti.

These images of animals were beautiful, but more importantly, these images also connected people to powerful spiritual forces. What kind of animal do you admire? Pick out qualities of your animal that are important. Now make a drawing of yourself that shows the addition of that quality. For example, you may admire eagles because they are such strong flyers or because their eyesight is so keen. Investigate the qualities of the eagle and draw your "new self" with strong eagle wings or keen eagle eyes. 3. Although elaborately decorated, the Lidded tetrapod bowl with paddler and peccaries might have been used to actually hold something. Imagine being served something to eat in a lidded bowl like this! Design your own special bowl, and decorate it. Remember that the Maya artist who made the Lidded tetrapod bowl used decoration to express important ideas and information about the culture. How can the decoration of your bowl share important ideas and information about your culture? 4. Look carefully at the Moche Stirrup-spout vessel with deer hunting scene.

A. Part of this vase has 2-dimensional decoration and part has 3-dimensional decoration. Find these parts and explain the difference. Which kind of decoration do you like better? B. Find the largest human on the bottom part of the vessel. When Moche artists painted the human figure, they made an image that combined frontal and profile drawing. Some parts of the body are drawn as though you were looking frontally at the figure, and other parts are drawn as if you were looking from the side. Like many other artists, including the Egyptians, Moche artists wanted to make the clearest and most readable image. Study the Moche artist's technique. Then make a drawing of your favorite hero, heroine, or yourself in this frontal/profile style.

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5. The Mixtec image of Tlaloc is a three-dimensional sculpture that was once brilliantly painted. Mixtec artists also drew two-dimensional pictures of this rain god for their codices, or books.

Codex Nuttall Codex Laud Codex Laud Investigate the word "codex" in the dictionary. Among Mesoamericans, the Maya were also famous for their codex libraries. Archaeologists and art historians use information in these written records to learn more about objects from ancient cultures.

Use the codex images illustrated above to conduct your own investigation of the Head of the rain god Tlaloc! Visually compare and contrast the drawings and the sculpture. How are they similar or different? Make your own class codex! Have each person in class draw a picture of their favorite ancient American work of art; you might make your drawings at the Museum. Then attach the drawings end-to-end to form a codex.

LANGUAGE 1. The ceramic sculpture, Dog with human mask, was buried in a person's tomb. This sculpture may have represented a story about the dog who meets people on the way to the underworld. Write your own story that features an animal playing the most important role? 2. Look carefully at the gold, Sicán Ceremonial mask. Imagine you are the archaeologist who uncovered this mask. Write the article that you will give to the newspapers to announce your find. Be sure to include a good visual description of the mask. When writing your article, recall the information provided about the archaeologist, Izumi Shimada, discovering an undisturbed Sicán tomb in 1991. He found over a ton of grave goods that included a gold mask as well as other metal objects! In your writing, think about where the mask was found, who it belonged to, and why it might have been important.

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SOCIAL STUDIES 1. Make an illustrated TIMELINE ! Here is a list of the objects in these Teaching Materials:

a. Head of the rain god Tlaloc b. Featherwork neckpiece c. Cylindrical vessel with royal ballgame scene d. Mantle with birds e. Dog with human mask f. Stirrup-spout vessel with deer hunting scenes g. Seated ruler in ritual pose h. Wall panel depicting Lady Bolon-K’an in ritual dress i. Ceremonial mask j. Eccentric flint depicting a crocodile canoe with passengers k. Headdress ornament with heads flanked by crested crocodile l. Tablet with incised symbols m. Stirrup-spout vessel with felines and cacti n. Drum with Anthropomorphic Mythical Being holding trophy heads, club, and plant o. Lidded tetrapod bowl with paddler and peccaries

Distribute this list of objects among the class -- perhaps there will be 2 students to each object. Have each group make a drawing of the object and fill in the blanks in these statements:

1. This object was made by the ___(people or culture)___ . 2. This object was made ___(date)___ . The abbreviation "c." is short for the Latin word "circa," or about. This means scholars do not know the exact date. 3. This object comes from ___(name of the modern country)___.

Now that the data is collected, make the TIMELINE to show this information visually. Use the drawings to mark the spot on the timeline when the object was made, and add the other information about the "culture" and "modern country" below the picture. 2. The Paracas Mantle with birds is an example of clothing. What other objects in these materials include images of clothing? Consider the Stirrup-spout vessel with deer hunting scenes, the Cylindrical vessel with royal ballgame scene, or the Seated ruler in ritual pose.

Analyze the clothing in these works of art and consider how it is different from everyday clothing. Split the class into groups and have each one focus on one example of clothing. Have each group answer these questions:

1. How did the artists or craftspeople make this clothing special? 2. What important ideas did this clothing communicate?

Then bring the groups back together to report their findings.

Identify an example of modern clothing that communicates important ideas about the person wearing it.

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3. The cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west – were important spatial references for many Mesoamerican people. The four sides of the Tablet with incised symbols may relate to the cardinal directions. Think about how the Tablet provides other important information about the Olmec world. How is the Olmec world structured? A globe is an object designed to model the structure of our world. Consider what information globes provide. How is the Tablet similar to and different from a globe? SCIENCE & MATHEMATICS 1. The Head of the rain god Tlaloc was used to burn incense. What kinds of materials can be used for incense? How do scents or fragrances affect us? Think about the science of experiencing incense. What makes incense aromatic? What makes our sense of smell possible? 2. A number of the objects in these Teaching Materials are ceramic. Make a list of these objects and compare them. As you investigate these objects, answer these questions:

a. What is the basic material? b. What forms can ceramic objects take? c. How do artists create designs and decorations? d. What is burnishing? e. What is firing?

Create a table or chart that can be used to compare and contrast these objects. Include the names of the people who made the objects and their countries of origin. When you come to the Museum, you will see many more ceramic objects; look for ones similar to those you have studied. 3. Both the Lidded tetrapod bowl with paddler and peccaries and the Eccentric flint depicting a crocodile canoe with passengers have connections to the stars, the sun, and the sky. Investigate the stars and the movement of the planets around the sun. Compare your findings to ideas represented by the images on the Lidded tetrapod bowl and the Eccentric flint. Think about this question: Why might the stars, the sun, and the sky be important for the Maya? 4. Both the Tablet with incised symbols and the Seated ruler in ritual pose are made of green stones. These stones are not as rare as jadeite and they are not as hard. Jadeite has a hardness between 6.5 and 7.0 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. a. What is the Mohs scale? b. Who created the scale and when? c. How many levels of hardness are in the Mohs scale? d. List examples of the different levels of hardness. e. Why is it important to have a scale for hardness? Now that you have investigated hardness, consider this question: How could the difficulty of carving stone add to the importance of an Olmec sculpture?

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5. Weaving and embroidery can be difficult processes. For example: the weaver must plan ahead for the amount of yarn that will be needed and embroidered designs are planned ahead in order for them to come out even. Look at the Paracas Mantle with birds and do some computations of your own.

If one side of the red, bird-embroidered squares is 4 inches, what is the PERIMETER of each red square? Write a formula for finding perimeters. If one side of the red squares is 4 inches, what is the AREA of each red square? Write a formula for finding areas.

Look closely again at the Mantle with birds. Are each of the red areas true squares? Is the overall checkerboard pattern exact? Where do you see variations?

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Pronunciation guide for selected terms The terms listed here appear in the text portions of the Ancient American Art Teaching Materials. Priority has been given to words that are not available in many dictionaries or that may be especially unfamiliar. Names of relevant modern-day countries and the proper names of historical figures (sources for information in the text) are not included. The names of states and cultures are provided for convenience. In order to avoid the use of diacritical marks, the suggested pronunciations rely on familiar sounds and words in the English language. Examples are ah and oh (as in the exclamations Ah! and Oh!); ay (as in the letter A, the word pay, or the proper name Kay); and words such as crew, lone, and moon. Capitalization indicates stress. The suggestions are approximations. Andes [AN-deez] axis mundi [AK-sis MOON-dee] Aztec [AZ-tek] Batán Grande [bah-TAHN GRAN-deh] (Lady) Bolon K’an [boh-lone kahn] caiman [KAY-mahn] cacao [kah-KAH-oh] Calima [kah-LEE-mah] camelid [KAM-eh-lid] celt [selt] Chan Chan [chahn chahn] Chavín [chah-VEEN] chicha [CHEE-chah] Chimú [chee-MOO] Chimor [chee-MORE] cochineal [koh-chee-NEEL] Colima [koh-LEE-mah] copal [koh-pahl]

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Copán [koh-PAHN] cotinga [koh-TING-ah] Cupisnique [coop-is-NEE-kay] Guerrero [gay-RARE-oh] Hix Witz [heesh weetz] Ik’ [eek] Inca (also Inka) [ING-kah] jícama [HEE-kah-mah] k’an [kahn] K’awil (also spelled K’awiil) [kah-WEEL] k’in [keen] Lambayeque [lahm-bah-YEAH-kay] Maya [MAH-yah] Mesoamerica [mess-oh-ah-MER-ee-kah] Mixtec [MEESH-tek] Mixtlan [MEESH-tlahn] Moche [MOH-chay] Nahuatl [NAH-wattle] Nasca [NAHZ-kah] Ñuu-dzavui [nyew-dzah-vwee] Oaxaca [whah-HAH-kah] Olmec [OHL-mek] Palenque [pah-LEN-kay] Paracas [pah-RAH-kahs]

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Peccary [PEK-ah-ree] petacas [pay-TAH-kahs] Petén [pay-TEN] Pomoná [poh-moh-NAH] Puebla [PWAY-blah] Quetzal [kayt-sahl] Sac Muan [sahk moo-ahn] Sicán [see-KAHN] Tabasco [tah-BAHZ-koh] tanager [TAN-ah-jer] Tenochtitlan [tay-nosh-TEET-lahn] Teotihuacan [tay-oh-tee-WAH-kahn (currently preferred) or tay-oh-tee-wah-KAHN (standard for many years)] Tikal [tee-KAHL] Tlaloc [TLAH-lock] Tlaloque [tlah-LOH-kay] tok’ [tohk] tominejo [toe-mee-NAY-hoh] Veracruz [Ver-ah-CREWS]

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GLOSSARY (Page 1 of 2)

ALLOY – An alloy is a mixture of two or more metals. Copper, silver, and gold were the three primary metals used in the ancient metalworking traditions of Peru and Columbia. Copper strengthens and toughens silver and gold, an important quality in working sheet metal by hammering (Lechtman in Boone 1996:36). A mixture of two metals at a lower temperature than either metal alone, an important quality in shaping the metal by casting it into a mold. BALL GAME – The tradition of playing games with a rubber ball was ancient and widespread in Mexico and Central America. Rubber balls probably developed along the Gulf Coast, possibly as early as 1000 B.C. The game could be played as an informal sport, as it is today in some parts of northwestern Mexico, or as a royal ritual. More formal ballgames are associated with the I-shaped ballcourts found at many archaeological sites. The ballcourts consist of an alley formed by two parallel structures. A clearly defined zone across each end gives the ballcourt the shape of a capital letter I. The ballgame was played by two teams, each with two to three members. The rules of play required the players to hit the ball with the hip, thigh, or upper arm. Hands could touch the ball only when putting it into play. Scoring is not well understood, but points were probably scored by aiming the ball at a ring or at markers set in the alley or in the end zones. Beyond the solid rubber ball, equipment varied but could include a U-shaped waist or hip protector and padding for wrists and knees. The ballgame was rich in meaning. It could be seen as a metaphor for the movements of the sun, moon, and Venus and as a metaphor for life, death, and regeneration. It could also serve as a public reenactment of warfare and human sacrifice. (Miller and Taube 1993: 42-44) CAMELID FIBER – The term camelid fiber identifies yarn spun from the hair of three animals native to the Central Andres – the llama, the alpaca, and the vicuña. Compared with cotton, the other fiber commonly used in ancient Andean textiles, camelid fiber is long smooth, and lustrous, and it can be dyed easily using natural dyes. Camelid fiber made possible the vibrant colors that distinguish ancient Andean textiles. CINNABAR - Cinnabar is a naturally occurring mineral ore. It has a bright, lasting red color and was used to coat ritual objects both in Mesoamerica (especially by the Olmec and Maya cultures) and in the Andes (by the Sicán culture). In Mesoamerica, hematite (iron ore) was used in similar ways. Although the meaning of cinnabar in the Andes is uncertain, among the Olmec and Maya cultures it seems to have been associated with life force and blood. (Miller and Taube 1993: 62; Caredo Muro and Shimada 1985: 67) GLYPHS - In general, the word glyph can refer to a carved mark or symbol. In Maya studies, the word glyph refers to the symbols used for writing. Years ago, scholars thought these glyphs were like pictographs that convey information nonverbally, much like the stylized human figures on a public sign. Today, because of recent advances in the study of Maya writing, scholars have found that Maya glyphs can also form words by spelling out sounds.

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GLOSSARY (Page 2 of 2) JADE/JADEITE – The word jade is a general term that refers both to nephrite, the traditional jade of China, and to jadeite, the only jade in Mesoamerica. Jadeite was the most precious stone in Mesoamerica, perhaps its predominantly green color was associated with water, sky, vegetation, and life itself. The Olmecs were the first Mesoamerican people to find and work Jadeite. They valued other stones that were green in color, such as serpentine, which is softer and not as rare as jadeite, and stones that have not been specifically identified and are called simply “greenstones.” (Miller and Taube 1993:101-102) MAYA/MAYAN – In current scholarship, the word Maya (without an “n”) is the preferred term for Maya people, Maya culture, and Maya art. The word Maya can be used as a noun or as an adjective. The word Mayan (with an “n”) is used only for Mayan languages.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

General Coe, Michael, Dean Snow, and Elizabeth Benson. Atlas of Ancient America. New York and Oxford: Facts On File Publications, 1986. Dallas Museum of Art. Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection. Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art, 1997. Miller, Mary, and Karl Taube. The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1993. Stone-Miller, Rebecca. Art of the Andes from Chavín to Inca. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1995; New York: Thames and Hudson, Inc., 1996. Seated ruler in ritual pose / Mexico: Highland Olmec culture Benson, Elizabeth P., and Beatriz de la Fuente, editors. Olmec Art of Ancient Mexico. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1996 (distributed by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York).

The Seated ruler in ritual pose is featured on pp. 219-220 as cat. no. 55, Seated Figure with Upraised Knee and Incised Face, catalogue entry by Peter David Joralemon. The accompanying drawing shows the incised face, with the double scroll on proper right cheek.

Miller, Mary, and Karl Taube. The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion. London and New York: Thames and Hudson, 1993. Princeton University. The Olmec World: Ritual and Rulership. Princeton: The Art Museum, Princeton University, 1995.

The Seated ruler in ritual pose is featured in this exhibition catalogue as cat. no. 15 (p. 145) and in the chapter by David Freidel entitled “Preparing the Way” (fig. 8, p. 8).

Taube, Karl A. Olmec Art at Dumbarton Oaks. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2004. Tablet with incised symbols / Mexico: Highland Olmec culture Fields, Virginia M., and Dorie Reents-Budet. Lords of Creation: The Origins of Sacred Maya Kingship. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art in association with Scala Publishers Limited, 2005.

The Tablet with incised symbols is featured in this exhibition catalogue as cat. no. 85.

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Princeton University. The Olmec World: Ritual and Rulership. Princeton: The Art Museum, Princeton University, 1995.

The Tablet with incised symbols is featured in this exhibition catalogue as cat. no. 131 and in the chapter by David A. Freidel entitled “Preparing the Way” (p. 7, fig. 7).

Line drawing: source unknown. Dog with human mask / Mexico: state of Colima Gallagher, Jacki. Companions of the Dead: Ceramic Tomb Sculpture from Ancient West Mexico. Los Angeles: University of California Press with the Museum of Cultural History, 1983. Miller, Mary, and Karl Taube. The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1993. Von Winning, Hasso. The Shaft Tomb Figures of West Mexico. Los Angeles: Southwest Museum, 1974. Lidded tetrapod bowl with paddler and peccaries / Mexico or Guatemala: Maya culture Fields, Virginia M., and Dorie Reents-Budet. Lords of Creation: The Origins of Sacred Maya Kingship. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art in association with Scala Publishers Limited, 2005. Freidel, David, Linda Schele, and Joy Parker. Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman’s Path. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1993. Miller, Mary Ellen. Maya Art and Architecture. London: Thames and Hudson, 1999. Miller, Mary, and Karl Taube. The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion . London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1993. Line drawing by Russell Sublette, Dallas Museum of Art. Eccentric flint depicting a crocodile canoe with passengers / Mexico or Guatemala: Maya culture Freidel, David, Linda Schele, and Joy Parker. Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman’s Path. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1993. Miller, Mary Ellen. Maya Art and Architecture. London: Thames and Hudson, 1999.

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Miller, Mary, and Karl Taube. The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion. London and New York: Thames and Hudson, 1993. Tedlock, Dennis. Popol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life. New York: Touchstone, 1996 edition. Cylindrical vessel with royal ballgame scene / Guatemala: Maya culture Coe, Michael D., and Mark Van Stone. Reading the Maya Glyphs. London: Thames and Hudson, 2001. Guenter, Stanley. Lecture to Dallas Museum of Art docents, March 19, 2007. Miller, Mary, and Simon Martin. Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya. San Francisco: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and Thames & Hudson, 2004. Miller, Mary, and Karl Taube. The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion. London and New York: Thames and Hudson, 1993. Reents-Budet, Dorie et al. Painting the Maya Universe: Royal Ceramics of the Classic Period. Durham and London: Duke University Press in association with Duke University Museum of Art, 1994. Tedlock, Dennis. Popol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life. New York: Touchstone, 1996 edition.

Wall panel depicting Lady Bolon-K’an in ritual dress / Mexico: Maya culture Freidel, David, Linda Schele, and Joy Parker. Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman’s Path. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1993. Guenter, Stanley. Lecture to Dallas Museum of Art docents, March 19, 2007. Miller, Mary, and Simon Martin. Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya. San Francisco: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and Thames & Hudson, 2004. Miller, Mary, and Karl Taube. The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion . London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1993. Line drawing of glyph and scepter: unknown

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Head of the rain god Tlaloc / Mexico: Mixtec culture Flannery, Kent V., and Joyce Marcus, eds. The Cloud People: Divergent Evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec Civilizations . New York and London: Academic Press, 1983; a School of American Research Book. Miller, Mary, and Karl Taube. The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1993. Townsend, Richard F. The Aztecs. London and New York: Thames and Hudson, 1992. Headdress ornament with heads flanked by crested crocodiles / Colombia: Calima region Helms, Mary W. Iguanas and Crocodilians in Tropical American Mythology and Iconography with special reference to Panama. Journal of Latin American Lore 3(1):51-132. Los Angeles, 1977. Jones, Julie, ed. The Art of Precolumbian Gold, the Jan Mitchell Collction. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1985 (a New York Graphic Society Book, published in conjunction with an exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; p. 126, quoting Helms 1977). Labbé, Armand J.. Shamans, Gods, and Mythic Beasts: Colombian Gold and Ceramics in Antiquity. The American Federation of Arts and University of Washington Press, 1998. Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo. Goldwork and Shamanism: An Iconographic Study of the Gold Museum. Medellín: 1988. Saunders, Nicholas J. “’Catching the Light’: Technologies of Power and Enchantment in Pre-Columbian Goldworking” in Quilter, Jeffrey and John W. Hoopes, editors. Gold and Power in Ancient Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia. A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks 9 and 10 October 1999 (Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2003; pp. 15-47). Draw by Russell Sublette, Dallas Museum of Art. Stirrup-spout vessel with felines and cacti / Peru: Chavín culture Burger, Richard L. in catalogue entry for Vessel with Jaguar in Cave (no. 2), p. 73. In Berrin, Kathleen, ed. The Spirit of Ancient Peru: Treasures from the Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera. New York: Thames and Hudson, Inc., 1997. Sharon, Douglas. Shamanism and the Sacred Cactus: Ethnoarchaeological Evidence for San Pedro Use in Northern Peru. San Diego: San Diego Museum of Man, 2000 /San Diego Museum Papers 37. DMA vessel is illustrated (no. 12).

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Mantle with birds / Peru: Paracas culture Paul, Anne. Paracas Ritual Attire: Symbols of Authority in Ancient Peru. Norman and London: University of Oklahoma Press, 1990. Paul, Anne. Paracas: Art and Architecture, Object and Context in South Coastal Peru (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1991). “Ecology and Society in Embroidered Images from the Paracas Necropolis” by Ann H. Peters (p. 240-315). Line drawing of bird from mantle: unknown source Line drawing of a Paracas mantle in use: Bird, Junius B., with technical analysis by Louisa Bellinger. Paracas Fabrics and Nazca Needlework, 3rd century B.C. – 3rd century A.D. Washington, D.C.: The Textile Museum, 1954.

The drawing appears to have been based on the photograph of a mannequin dressed in Paracas garments, published here at the beginning of the plates section. The photograph is captioned “Paracas Costume as Worn” and is credited as follows: Courtesy of Museo Nacional de Antropología y Arqueología Magdalena Vieja. Lima, Peru.

Drum with Anthropomorphic Mythical Being holding trophy heads, club, and plant / Peru: Nasca culture Donnan, Christopher B. Ceramics of Ancient Peru. Los Angeles: Fowler Museum of Cultural History, University of California, 1992.

Chapter 2, “Ancient Peruvian Ceramic Technology” (pp. 13-23) describes relevant forming and decorative techniques, accompanied by photographs of a potter’s plate or turntable and paddle and anvil and drawings of the steps in modeling and coiling.

Proulx, Donald A. “Ritual Uses of Trophy Heads in Ancient Nasca Society.” In Ritual Sacrifice in Ancient Peru, edited by Elizabeth P. Benson and Anita G. Cook. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2001. Proulx, Donald A. A Sourcebook of Nasca Ceramic Iconography: Reading a Culture through Its Art. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2006. Stirrup-spout vessel with deer hunting scenes / Peru: Moche culture Donnan, Christopher B., “Deer Hunting and Combat: Parallel Activities in the Moche World.” In Berrin, Kathleen, ed. The Spirit of Ancient Peru: Treasures from the Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera. New York: Thames and Hudson, Inc., 1997.

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Rollout drawing by Donna McClelland (for the Moche Archive at the Fowler Mseum of Cultural History, the University of California at Los Angeles.) Ceremonial mask / Peru: Sican culture Coe, Michael, Dean Snow, and Elizabeth Benson. Atlas of Ancient America. New York and Oxford: Facts On File Publications, 1986. (p.168) Carcedo Muro, Paloma, and Izumi Shimada, “Behind the Golden Mask: Sicán Gold Artifacts from Batán Grande, Peru.” In Jones, Julie, ed. The Art of Precolumbian Gold, the Jan Mitchell Collction. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1985 (a New York Graphic Society Book, published in conjunction with an exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art). Morris, Craig, and Adriana von Hagen. The Inka Empire and its Andean Origins. New York: American Museum of Natural History in association with Abbeville Press, Inc., 1993. (p.215) Shimada, Izumi, and Jo Ann Griffin, “Precious Metal Objects of the Middle Sicán,” Scientific American, April 1994, p. 85. Shimada, Izumi. “Sicán” in vol. 28 (pp. 650-653) of The Dictionary of Art, edited by Janet Turner. London and New York: Macmillan Publishers Limited and Grove’s Dictionaries, 1996. Stone-Miller, Rebecca. Art of the Andes from Chavín to Inca. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1995; New York: Thames and Hudson, Inc., 1996. Featherwork neckpiece / Peru: Chimú culture Cobo, Father Bernabe. Inca Religion and Customs; translated and edited by Roland Hamilton. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1990. Morris, Craig, and Adriana von Hagen. The Inka Empire and its Andean Origins. New York: American Museum of Natural History in association with Abbeville Press, Inc., 1993. Rowe, Ann Pollard. Costumes and Featherwork of the Lords of Chimor: Textiles from Peru’s North Coast. Washington, D.C.: The Textile Museum, 1984. Introduction Coe, Michael, Dean Snow, and Elizabeth Benson. Atlas of Ancient America. New York and Oxford: Facts on File Publications, 1986. Activities Line drawing of Lady Bolon K’an: source unknown

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Glossary Lechtman, Heather. “Cloth and Metal: The Culture of Technology” in Boone, Elizabeth Hill, Andean Art at Dumbarton Oaks, vol.1. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1996. Miller, Mary, and Karl Taube. The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion . London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1993. Carcedo Muro, Paloma, and Izumi Shimada, “Behind the Golden Mask: Sicán Gold Artifacts from Batán Grande, Peru.” In Jones, Julie, ed. The Art of Precolumbian Gold, the Jan Mitchell Collction. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1985 (a New York Graphic Society Book, published in conjunction with an exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art). Additional resources for the Maya: Coe, Michael D., and Mark Van Stone. Reading the Maya Glyphs. London: Thames and Hudson, 2001. Martin, Simon, and Nicolai Grube. Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 2000. Miller, Mary Ellen. Maya Art and Architecture. London: Thames and Hudson, 1999. Miller, Mary, and Simon Martin. Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya. San Francisco: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and Thames & Hudson, 2004. Tedlock, Dennis. Popol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life. New York: Touchstone, 1996 edition.

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Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), Grades 6, 7, 8

Language Arts 6-8.1 Listening/ speaking/ purposes 6-8.2 Listening/ speaking/ critical listening 6-8.3 Listening/ speaking/ appreciation 6-8.4 Listening/ speaking/ culture 6-8.8 Reading/ variety of texts 6-8.9 Reading/ vocabulary development 6-8.14 Reading/ culture 6-8.15 Writing/ purposes 6-8.20 Writing/ inquiry/ research 6-8.22 Viewing/ representing/ interpretation 6-8.23 Viewing/ representing/ analysis 6-8.24 Viewing/ representing/ production

Social Studies 6.1 History 6.2 History 6.3 Geography 6.7 Geography 6.13 Citizenship 6.15 Culture 6.16 Culture 6.17 Culture 6.18 Culture 6.19 Culture 6-7.21 Social studies skills 6-7.22 Social studies skills 6-7.23 Social studies skills 8.30 Social studies skills 8.31 Social studies skills 8.32 Social studies skills

Fine Art 6-8.1 Perception 6-8.2 Creative expression/ performance 6- 8.3 Historical/ cultural heritage 6- 8.4 Response/ evaluation

Science (Activities) 6.10; 7.7; 8.9 Science Concepts 6.13-8.13 Science Concepts

Math (Activities) 6-8.8; 7.9 Measurement 6.11; 7.13; 8.14 Underlying processes and mathematical tools

In a continuing effort to support Texas teachers, the following list of Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) has been compiled from the Texas Education Agency standards. Teachers who use these resource materials are working toward satisfying these state-mandated goals. We hope this list will help in the creation of classroom curricula and lesson plans. Another important resource for connecting the TEKS to art education in Texas is the Center for Educator Development in the Fine Arts (CEDFA), which can be accessed on the World Wide Web at http://finearts.esc20.net/resource_center.htm.

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EVALUATION SHEET for Dallas Museum of Art Teaching Materials on

ANCIENT AMERICAN ART. We would appreciate your taking a moment to fill out the upper portion of this form and to check appropriate responses below. Please send to:

Name:_______________________________________________Date:_____________________ Name of School & District:_____________________________________Grade Level:________ OPENING COMMENTS :

1. Was the manipulation of text (italics and BOLD ) helpful? Y___N___ INTRODUCTION :

2. Did the introductory essay explain what you would see in the Museum? Y___N___ OBJECT SHEETS:

3. Did the OBJECT SHEETS encourage interaction with the works of art? Y___N___ 4. Did the OBJECT SHEETS stimulate further inquiry? Y___N___

ACTIVITIES :

5. Did the students enjoy the ACTIVITIES? Y___N___ 6. Were the ACTIVITIES interdisciplinary? Y___N___ 7. Did the ACTIVITIES stimulate further interest in the works of art? Y___N___

GLOSSARY:

8. Did the GLOSSARY provide enough information? Y___N___ 9. Was the PRONUNCIATION GUIDE helpful? Y___N___

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

10. Was the BIBLIOGRAPHY helpful? Y___N___ TEKS:

11. Was it helpful to include the TEKS? Y___N___ THE ANCIENT AMERICAN ART TEACHING MATERIALS :

12. Will these materials become a resource for your class? Y___N___ 13. Do these materials fit in with your curriculum? Y___N___

COMMENTS (Use the numbers to refer to particular topics, and use the back of this sheet.)

THANK YOU!!

Teaching Resources Dallas Museum of Art 1717 North Harwood Dallas, Texas 75201

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EVALUATION SHEET for Dallas Museum of Art Docent Tour on

ANCIENT AMERICAN ART. We are interested in your response to our docent guided tours. The time you take to complete this form will enhance our efforts to offer educational experiences of consistently high quality at the Dallas Museum of Art. Fill out the upper portion of this form and check appropriate responses below. Please send the form to:

Name:_______________________________________________Date:_____________________ Name of School & District:_____________________________________Grade Level:________ Name of Docent:________________________________________________________________

CIRCLE ONE: 1. Did a docent make telephone contact with you? Yes No 2. Did you access the Teaching Materials on the Dallas Museum of Art web site? Yes No 3. Did you use these materials to prepare your students for their tour or to extend their experience after the tour? Yes No 4. Did your students feel welcome and comfortable at the museum during their tour? Yes No 5. Was your docent on time and well-organized? Yes No 6. Did your docent relate well to the group? Yes No 7. Was the information given on the tour clear? Yes No 8. Was the information and vocabulary used appropriate to the level of the group? Yes No 9. Were students encouraged to look carefully and to think critically? Yes Somewhat No 10. Was the docent successful at encouraging participation from students? Yes Somewhat No 11. Did your students enjoy their visit to the Dallas Museum of Art? Yes No 12. Will the information and looking skills introduced at the museum be applicable to your classroom work? Yes No 13. Did the visit to the Dallas Museum of Art fit into your curriculum? Yes No 14. Did the tour meet your expectations? Yes No 15. Based on this visit, will you plan another docent tour for your students? Yes No COMMENTS (Use the numbers to refer to particular topics, and use the back of this sheet if necessary.)

THANK YOU!!

Teaching Programs Dallas Museum of Art 1717 North Harwood Dallas, Texas 75201

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