User:Uyvsdi/Native American art

Native American art refers to the many artistic traditions of the indigenous peoples of the Americas from ancient times to the present.

South American

See also: Pre-Columbian art § South America, and Pre-Columbia art: South American

The native civilizations were most developed in the Andean region, where they are roughly divided into Northern Andes civilizations of present- day Colombia and Ecuador and the Southern Andes civilizations of present- day Peru and Chilé.

Hunter-gatherer tribes throughout the Amazon rainforest of Brazil also have developed artistic traditions involving tattooing and body painting. Because of their remoteness, these tribes and their art have not been studied as thoroughly as Andean cultures, and many even remain uncontacted.

Meso-America and Central America

See also: Pre-Columbian art § Mesoamerica and Central America, and Pre-Columbia art: Mesoamerica and Central America

See also: Mesoamerican architecture, Meso-America § Chronology_and_culture, and Mesoamerican architecture: Chronology and culture

The cultural development of ancient Mesoamerica was generally divided along east and west. The stable culture Maya was most dominant in the east, especially the Yucatan Peninsula, while in the west more varied developments took place in subregions. These included West Mexican (1000-1), Teotihuacan (1-500), Mixtec (1000-1200), and Aztec (1200-1521).

Central American civilizations generally lived to the regions south of modern-day mexico, although there was some overlap.

Olmec

Main articles: Olmec figurine and Olmec § Art

The Olmec (1500-400 B.C.), who lived on the gulf coast, were the first civilization to fully develop in Mesoamerica. Their culture was the first to develop many traits that remained constant in Mesoamerica until the last days of the Aztecs: a complex astronomical calendar, the ritual practice of a ball game, and the erection of stelae to commemorate victories or other important events.

The most famous artistic creations of the Olmec are colossal basalt heads, believed to be portraits of rulers that were erected to advertise their great power. The Olmec also sculpted votive figurines that they buried beneath the floors of their houses for unknown reasons. These were most often modeled in terracotta, but also occasionally carved from jade or serpentine.

Teotihuacano

Teotihuacan was a city built around a cave held sacred to those who built it- while their identity is disputed, what is know is that around the 1st century A.D. the rulers of Teotihuacan began a massive urbanization campaign, building temple complexes and homes laid out on a grid that eventually encompassed 30 km² (over 11½ square miles). The sacred cave located near the center of Teotihuacan was believed to be an Axis mundi (center of the world) from which the moon and the sun had emerged. Accordingly the Pyramid of the Sun was built above the cave, and the Pyramid of the Moon was built nearby. The temple complexes were adorned with murals, including a famous series depicting the Great Goddess of Teotihuacan. (Add more about masks)

Classic Veracruz Culture

Main articles: Remojadas and Classic Veracruz Culture § Ceramics

Maya

Main articles: Maya art, Maya ceramics, and Maya architecture

The Maya civilization was

Mixtec

Main article: Mixtec § Language, codices, and artwork

Huastec

Main article: Huastec people

Aztec

Main article: Aztec § Arts

Central America and "Intermediate area"

==+=Greater Chiriqui===+

Greater Nicoya

The ancient peoples of the Nicoya Peninsula in present day Costa Rica traditionally sculpted birds in jade, which were used for funeral ornaments. Around 500 AD gold ornaments replaced jade, possibly because of the depletion of jade resources.

North American

Arctic

Main article: Inuit art

The Yupik of Alaska have a long tradition of carving masks for use in shamanic rituals. Indigenous peoples of the Canadian arctic have produced objects that could be classified as art since the time of the Dorset culture. While the ivory carvings of the Dorset were primarily shamanic, the art of the Thule people who replaced them c. A.D. 1000 was more decorative in character. With European contact the historic period of Inuit art began. In this period, which reached its height in the late 19th century, Inuit artisans created souvenirs for the crews of whaling ships and explorers. Common examples include cribbage boards. Modern Inuit art began in the late 1940s, when with the encouragement of the Canadian government they began to produce prints and serpentine sculptures for sale in the south.

Northwest Coast

Main article: Northwest Coast art

The art of the Haida, Tlingit, Tsimshian and other smaller tribes living in the coastal areas of Washington State, Oregon, and British Columbia, is characterized by an extremely complex stylistic vocabulary expressed mainly in the medium of woodcarving. Famous examples include Totem poles, Transformation masks, and canoes.

Late Marine Cultures 500-1700 A.D.

Plateau

Since the archaic period the Plateau region, also known as the Intermontaine, had been a center of trade but not of settlement- its people lived subsistence lifestyles and were primarily nomadic. Because of this their art was derivative of other regions- the Northwest coast and the Plains in particular- except in basketry and weaving, which were the most varied and developed art forms. The Nez Perce, the Yakima, and other cultures weave corn husks or hemp into bags, which are decorated with "bold, geometric designs".

Great Plains

Archaeologists divide the development of Native American cultures in the Great Plains region into 5 periods before European contact. After the Archaic period, the first is Plains later Archaic (1000-200). This was followed by the Plains Woodland period (200-800), so-called because of similarities to the Hopewell culture to the east. In the Plains Village period (800-1400), the cultures of the area settled in enclosed clusters of rectangular houses and cultivated maize. Various regional differences emerged, including Southern Plains, Central Plains, Oneota, and Middle Missouri. During the Plains Coalescent period (1400-European contact) some change, possibly drought, caused the mass migration of the population to the Eastern Woodlands region, and the Great Plains were relatively unpopulated until pressure from American settlers drove tribes into the area again.

The culture of historical Plains natives was based upon the buffalo, and they often painted upon buffalo skin. Buffalo-skin clothing was decorated with embroidery and beads- shells at first, but also coins and glass beads acquired from trading.

As the plains natives were moved into reservations or deported to POW camps such as Fort Marion, a form of art developed in which the artists depicted their experiences of the cultural conflict on paper from ledger books. This is known today as Ledger Art.

In the twentieth century artists such as the "Kiowa Five", began painting watercolors in a studio environment under the instruction of westerners. The paintings of the Kiowa Five depicted traditional hunting and ritual activities in a "Flat, modern style".

The Lakota drew pictographic calendars known as Winter counts on animal hides.

Northeast

The eastern woodlands, or simply woodlands, cultures inhabited the regions of North America east of the Mississippi from 2500 BC to A.D. 1600. While there were many regionally distinct cultures, trade between them was common and they shared the practice of burying their dead in earthen mounds, which has preserved a large amount of their art. Because of this trait the cultures are collectively known as the Mound builders.

The Woodland Period (1000 BC- A.D. 1000) is divided in to early, middle, and late periods, and consisted of cultures that relied mostly on hunting and gathering for their subsistence. Ceramics made by the Deptford culture (2500-100) are the earliest evidence of an artistic tradition in this region. The Adena culture are another well-known example of an early Woodland culture. They carved stone tablets with zoomorphic designs, created pottery, and fashioned costumes from animal hides and antlers for shamanic rituals. Shellfish was a mainstay of their diet, and engraved shells have been found in their burial mounds.

The middle woodland period was dominated by cultures of the Hopewell tradition (200-500). Their artwork encompassed a wide variety of jewelry and sculpture in stone, wood, and even human bone.

The late woodland period (500-1000) saw a decline in trade and in the size of settlements, and the creation of art likewise declined.

The Mississippian culture (A.D. 800-1500), whose cultural high point was between A.D. 1200-1400, was agrarian, as opposed to the hunting and gathering of the woodland cultures. They built platform mounds more complex than those of their predecessors, and developed more advanced ceramic techniques.

With European contact the Mississippian culture entered a terminal phase, and gradually broke apart. Their descendants became many Native American tribes, including the Cherokee, the Chickasaw, and the Creek.

More recently the Iroquois fashioned Wampum from shells and string; these were used as records of tribal legends, and also as money.

Iroquois false face masks are use in healing rituals and are not meant for public display.

Southeast

The Calusa peoples occupied the southern areas of Florida before European contact, and created carvings of animals.

The Seminoles are best known for their textile creations, especially patchwork clothing. Doll-making is another notable craft.

Southwest

See also: Oasisamerica

The Pre-Puebloan cultures, or Anasazi, (1000 B.C.-700 A.D.) were the earliest Pueblo peoples to develop in the American southwest, after the cultivation of corn was introduced from Mexico in 1200 B.C. As game was scarce, the people of this region developed an agrarian lifestyle early on, and thus pottery, used to store water and grain, was extremely important to them. These cultures all have long traditions of pottery making and decorating. These cultures also share the trait of using a Kiva, an underground structure, for religious ceremonies. These peoples also traditionally used turquoise in jewelry. Around the end of the nineteenth century silver-smithing was introduced to them, and today many artisans produce jewelry in those two materials for sale.

Around 200 A.D. the Hohokam culture developed in Arizona. The Mimbres, a subgroup of the Mogollon culture, are especially notable for their pottery.

Around 1500 the Athapaskan cultures arrived in the southwest region, probably having migrated from the Great plains. These included the Navajo and the Apache. Sandpainting was used in Navajo healing ceremonies to invoke the aid of beneficent deities. Navajo rugs were woven first for functional purposes, and later for trade.

Hopi and Zuni art was also used to invoke the aid of spirits; Kachina masks and dolls were incorporated into elaborate dances.

Great Basin and California

The Great Basin and California also have a tradition of basket-making. In the late nineteenth century Washoe baskets became a popular commodity for tourists in the southern California, which resulted in great innovation in the form of the baskets.

Modern and contemporary

Legislation

1990 Indian Arts and Crafts Act 1990 Native American Graves and Protection Art

See also

• List of Native American artists
• Pre-Columbian art
• Painting in the Americas before Colonization
• Native American pottery

References

• Covarrubias, Miguel (1957) Indian Art of Mexico and Central America, Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

• Shearar, Cheryl (2000). Understanding Northwest Coast Art: A Guide to Crests, Beings and Symbols. Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre. ISBN 1-55054-782-8.

• Mason, J. Alden (1929). Zapotec Funerary Urns from Mexico. The Museum Journal(University of Pennsylvania) 20:176–201.

• Hessel, Ingo (2002). Inuit Art: an Introduction. Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre. ISBN 1550548298.

• Berlo, Janet C. (1998). Native North American Art. Oxford History of Art. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-284218-3. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Gardner, Helen (1959). Art Through the Ages, 4th ed. New York: Harcourt and Brace.

• Boas, Frank (1955). Primitive Art. New York: Dover.

• Stone-Miller, Rebecca (2002). Seeing with New Eyes: Highlights of the Michael C. Carlos Museum Collection of Art of the Ancient Americas. Atlanta, GA: Emory University Press. ISBN 1-928917-05-4.

• Darvill, Timothy (2008). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-953405-0.

External links

• National Museum of the American Indian
• National Museum of Anthropology
• Institute of American Indian Arts
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
  • North American art, starting at 8000 B.C.
  • Central American art, starting at 8000 B.C.
  • South American art, starting at 8000 B.C.
• Online database of the Plains Indian Museum, on the website of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.