Precolumbian Indigenous Art

There's definitely more influence from central mesoamerica in this one

A detail

Yea it has the Mixteca-Puebla style or as some call it now 'Postclassic International Style'.

In this period art became less naturalistic and descriptive and more emphasis on symbolism.

Maya murals from Guatemala in the Highlands from Iximche, the Cakchiquel capital. Their culture was very distinct from the Maya of the Lowlands in the north.

Returning to the Classical period of the Maya c.200-900. Chilonche frescoes.

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Not Maya, but what's the deal with the rattlesnake on Tzitzimimeh/tzitzimime?

Is it meant to be phallic, or is that unintentional?

Uaxactun, Early Classic Maya city depicting Teotihuacan emissaries.

It is phallic, I can give a more detailed explanation tomorrow.

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Awesome, please do. If the thread has 404'd, post it to

These are Xultun murals, again of the Maya btw. A Preclassic city, but these were painted in the Late Classic period.

San Bartolo mural, a Preclassic site. This was painted in 100 BC and depicts a mythic scene of the Maize god, hero twins and the Maize god's nearly naked wives of the Underworld. Also depicted are the world trees and Principal Bird Deity (Seven Macaw/King Vulture?)

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WE

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Chichen Itza murals

Depiction of a battle

These murals are from the Terminal Classic going into the Postclassic.

Calakmul murals of the Late Classic (600-900), this mural shows commoner and middle class.

Again these are Maya, but the last mural.

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Cacaxtla murals painted by the Olmeca-Xicalanca who are also the original builders of Cholula. These are epiclassic painting done during the Classic collapse and entering the Postclassic.

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Another question for you: Has anybody proposed theories for what the structure on this mural from chichen itza could be other then a Siege Tower?

It looks pretty damniingly like one to me, and none of the Mesoamerican buffs i've spoken to about it have said that there's oother theories for what it could be. I'd also think that, if that's really the only guess we have, that it'd be a bigger deal and not as obscure as it is, siince it would mean that there was in fact use of wheels beyond just on toys and potttery production

How do you know the exact date?

Wait stupid question sorry, I wasn't paying attention

The cakchiquel are a different people from the people in the lowlands. They came from the Pacífic coast according to the Annals of the Caqchiquel. The oral tradition in the highlands say the same.

Teotihuacan murals from the Classical period.

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Priests in Jaguar suits

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From the temple of Agriculture in Teotihuacan.

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awsome
to bad the shiti resolution to make it my wallpaper.

Yea I too am looking for higher res of some of these, including this one Only found this version in color. Theres a better version but it's just lineart.

From my understanding they are ambiguously gendered figures, which is not unusual since they were from the Underworld and Death figures are often ambiguous. While they were feared they also had a more positive side in that they can be called for curative purposes. The phallic snake is a reference to their sexual excess, which results in disarray and death. They exemplify both feminine (huipil) and masculine sexual excess. This is even more pronounced by the fact that theres a liver hanging in that necklace of hearts. And blood or substance emanating from the mouth like that we see in figures like Tezcatlipoca and the Cihuateteo as well as Xochiquetzal. Mouths had a sexual connotation hence why Tlazolteotl has a blackened mouth. They are also warrior women, warrior women were too linked with sexual excess, often times they are depicted nude or more naked than usual (Coyolxauhqui, Itzpapalotl, Xochiquetzal at times). In this image the sexual implicitness is more in other symbols. My theory from seeing this is also that the snake represents the loincloth to show her or his association with warriors (warrios being a masculine trope). If you notice Coyolxauhqui also has a king of loincloth. So in short they are sexually ambiguous Underworld figures linked with Death, warriors, sexual excess, medicine and sacrifice (the hearts and blood). Colonial documents often refer to them as 'Dead Men' or males but I think this is a simplification and misunderstanding of the more complex Nahua way of seeing the world.

It's also worth noting that they are often led by Itzpapalotl, who is a 'Warrior Woman'.

I can't think of any other things it could be given the battle context and you clearly see warriors on it and what looks like a wheel. If this is true, it would mean Mesoamerica had at least two siege weapons (stone throwers of the Pipil and the Maya Siege towers). I believe the Aztecs also used ladders to scale walls.

Thanks, awesome.

Do you have any recommendations on where I can read more on the stuff in your answer to my Tzitzimimeh question? Not that I doubt you, (I don't at all) but ii'd like to know more, and i'd like to be able to provide sources if somebody asks me for them when I talk about this stuff myself

Alabaster

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fucking metal

furfags were kangz

Black paint was common to use for priests and warriors throughout Mesoamerica.

I'd also like recommendations.

It's interesting how even the early Mayans in isolation from rest of the world achieved more than Africans.
Also how organized and sanitated their rituals were compared to butchery that was happening in Africa

In the top, is that a smiling dragon one one of the three pictures ?

nice, this one has certain style that I would say resembles Japanese art in some way

An interesting piece from my collection of jade

This is so fucking good

FUCK SPANIARDS

Just imagine what they would achieve in 2000 years if left undisturbed

well it had already passed 2000 years since the Olmec

but still the conclusion we get from all of this is "Imperialism is only okay if it's done between people of the same race"

This is a favorite of mine

The very first Olmec city was 1400 BC, so there's actually more like 3000 years (though the first sites that were more truly urban aren't till 900 BC), which makes sense, since if you look at Mesoamerica when the Spanish showed up, the more complex states are basically bronze and iron age tier in most ways, and 3000 years after the first civs in eurasia was the bronze to iron age transition.

I wish the resident Aztec/Mayan fanatic user also would be interested in Incas.
They seem much more interesting and I have impression they were capable of creating truly unique civilization with their economic system.

If you are talking about the person doing the dumps in , that's me.

I AM interested in Andean civilizations, just not as much, and I'm not as well informed on them. That's somethiing i'd like to change, but information is even harder to find then it is with mesoamerican ones

Does anyone have any idea what this is? It is from the Ixil triangle.

Another view

Puerta del Sol, Tiahuanacu (Bolivia)

Details

More details

>tfw you don't live in the timeline where the Umayyads hung on long enough to colonize Central America first

The visual arts would have been unreal...

Meant to post this, but visionary art would have been a trip too

This motherfucker is my favorite, 7.2 meters, 1.2 tons. Masssive and breathtaking.

Pic related is a replica but the original was 80 years in La Paz city, really stupid idea.

Jalq'a weavings from the region of Potosi, Bolivia.
Crazy designs, maybe some cactus trip.

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what is it? it looks like a tomb in the botton.

We actually do have some fusion of western and precolumbian art: The spanish and church commissioned a lot of native artists in the colonial period, and there's a name for the style that was a result of that, same for the early colonial architecture influenced by native engineers and building methods (I forget the name of it too, though)

The coolest thing to me however is that religious officials commissioned featherworkers to make religious paintings out of feathers instead of paint, pic related.

They call this fellow Maximon, a smoking and drinking saint. He is frowned upon by the catholic church, but still has a big following among people who would rather ask him for a new motorcycle, for example, than to bother Jesus with trivial things.
His origin goes far back before the conquest when he was known as Rilaj Mam.

A taste what could have been, user

untappedcities.com/2012/02/24/architecture-spotlight-art-decos-mayan-revival/
scoutingny.com/the-incredible-aztec-theater-hidden-in-queens/
historicdetroit.org/galleries/fisher-theatre-old-photos/
detroit.curbed.com/2016/8/16/12505638/fisher-theatre-photos-rare-original
tpr.org/post/aztec-theatre-reborn-little-help-sam
clubmayan.com/gallery
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ennis_House
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollyhock_House
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayan_Revival_architecture
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/450_Sutter_Street

Yea check out The Flower and the Scorpion by Pete Sigal. Unfortunately I only have it in print not digital otherwise I'd add it to the mega.

Another one, plus a few more that are 2big to post:

getty.edu/art/exhibitions/golden_kingdoms/images/explore/gm_357140EX1_x1024.jpg
press.khm.at/fileadmin/_migrated/downloads/VO_125211.jpg

dailydetroit.com/2016/09/07/25-pictures-detroits-amazing-ballrooms/
Another one

Thanks. You should really shill that Mega more, i've seen like 8 precolumbian americas threads in the past few days and you haven't posted it once.

Drop it in the one i'm posting the history dumps in at least once I finish (I'm a bit worried about the bump limit for you to do it now)

Yea I've been meaning to organize it more to. I want to get a picture of both recreations and primary art sections. I need to collect more codices. I have added more lately.

The mega for those interested.

mega.nz/#F!msA0Xb5Y!1t9OYAkkx0PUG8haYYiITw

Continuing with murals.

From Cholula painted in the year 200 it depicts 110 figures drinking alcohol in a festival.

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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anahuacalli_Museum

>we'll never excavate the rest of the pyramid of cholula because spain built a church over it in the colonial era that's considered historic as well
>Also 90% of tthe land that covers the site of the former city is privately owned and nobody wants to allow excavatioons, and most of it had modern stuff and consturction built over them
>even as of a few years ago there were public roadway and development projects only a few miles from the pyramid

Feels bad man.
Does mexico not have eminent domain to just buy land with ruins off of the owners?