(IA) Art Gallery

Art Gallery

AP Art Gallery

This review has been designed to help you narrow down the most important works of art covered in this Module. It is NOT meant be a replacement for reading the text, but to serve as a supplement. You are responsible for keeping up with the reading in your text as well as provided supplemental readings/websites.

Pre-Columbian Art

  • The civilizations that flourished before explorers found the Americas can be classified in two groups: Mesoamerican and Andean.
  • Corbels were used for doorways instead of arches and temples were pyramidal and made of stone or adobe.
  • Sculpture was often ceremonial with animal-human-god combinations.
  • Ceramics were beautifully hand built of terra cotta with slip decoration.
  • Metalwork was sophisticated and gold correlated to the sun and silver to the moon and all types of metals were used to make jewelry, death masks, whistles, and ritual objects using many metal processes.
  • Fabrics were made of cotton, wool, feathers, or strips of hide and fur; weaving dates back to 1500 B.C.E.
  • Mesoamericans trace their lineage to the gulf coast area of Mexico and are known as the Olmec culture. Mayans, Zapotec, Toltec, and Aztec cultures arose from this area.
  • Andeans trace their lineage to the Chavin culture of the Peruvian highlands. The Incan culture developed from this area.

Native America

  • All participated in some sort of nature worship.
  • Architecture was based on the climate and surrounding terrain such as mound building, adobe, pueblo, tipi.
  • Pottery was mostly functional but decorated with polychromes, stamps, incising, and engraving, as well as burnishing.
  • Painting began as petroglyphs or drawings on rock formations to communicate.
  • Weaving and basketry were decorative as well as utilitarian.
  • Metalworking in copper since 3000 B.C. and silversmithing was learned from the Mexicans and old silver dollars were hammered into jewelry and later shells and stones were added.
  • Woodworking was more functional but totem poles represented many things such as stories with legendary characters, clan or group identification and social status.

Review the Indigenous Americas works in the Art Gallery presentation below.

[CC BY 4.0] UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED | IMAGES: LICENSED AND USED ACCORDING TO TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION