pre-Columbian

Examples of pre-Columbian in the following topics:

• The Mixteca-Puebla Tradition

  • The Mixteca-Puelba tradition of artistry originates from the pre-Columbian Mixtec peoples from the region of Puebla, Mesoamerica.
  • In pre-Columbian times, the region was inhabited by people of many ethnicities, including the Mixteca.
  • The temples of a Pre-Columbian Maya walled city are situated on 12-meter tall cliffs in Tulum in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico; a mural can still be seen on the eastern wall that resembles the Mixteca-Puebla style of art.

• Machu Picchu

  • Often referred to as the "City of the Incas," Machu Picchu is one of the most significant pre-Columbian Inca sites in Peru.
  • Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian 15th-century Inca site located in the Cuzco Region of Peru, South America .

• Sculpture of the Aztecs

  • Obsidian mirrors in pre-Columbian times were fashioned from stone and served a number of uses, from decorative to spiritual.

• The Spanish Conquest and Its Effects on Incan Art

  • It is estimated that parts of the empire, notably the Central Andes, suffered a population decline amounting to a staggering 93% of the pre-Columbian population by 1591.
  • Pizarro, the Spanish explorer and conquistador who was responsible for destroying much of the city of Cusco in 1535, built a new European-style city over pre-colonial foundations.
  • Most of the paintings were completed anonymously, a result of Pre-Columbian traditions that viewed art as a communal undertaking.

• Architecture of the Aztecs

  • Aztec architecture refers to pre-Columbian architecture of the Aztec civilization, a civilization that dominated central Mexico in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries.
  • Founded in 1325, it became the largest city in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica until it was captured by the Spanish in 1521.

• Architecture of the Inca

  • The Inca Empire was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America.
  • Incan architecture is the most significant pre-Columbian architecture in South America.
  • Pizarro, the Spanish explorer and conquistador, sacked much of the city in 1535 during the Spanish invasion and built a new city over pre-colonial foundations.
  • Because of its antiquity and importance, the center of the city retains many buildings, plazas, and streets from both pre-colonial and colonial periods.

• Cultures of Mesoamerica

  • Mesoamerica was dominated by 3 cultures in the Pre-Classical (up to 200CE) to Post-Classical periods (circa 1580 CE): the Olmec, Maya, and Aztec.
  • There are three cultures that dominated the pre-columbian history of Mesoamerica: the Olmec, Maya, and Aztec civilizations.
  • The Olmec civilization, which flourished from 1200–400 BCE, defines the Pre-Classical period; the Olmecs are generally considered the forerunner of all later Mesoamerica cultures including the Maya and Aztecs.

• Architecture in Early South America

  • Chavín de Huántar and Tiwanaku were important ceremonial centers in pre-Inca South America.
  • Chavín de Huántar is an archaeological site containing ruins and artifacts constructed c. 1200 BCE and occupied by later cultures until around 400-500 BCE by the Chavín, a major pre-Inca culture.
  • Tiwanaku is an important Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia.

• Ceramics in Early South America

  • The shift from post-fire resin painting to pre-fire slip painting marked the end of Paracas-style pottery and the beginning of Nazca-style pottery.
  • The Nazca, like all other Pre-Columbian societies in South America including the Inca, had no writing system, in contrast to the contemporary Maya of Mesoamerica.

• Spanish Art in the Americas

  • Most of the paintings were completed anonymously, a result of Pre-Columbian traditions that viewed art as a communal undertaking.