When the first Europeans arrived on the American continent, they encountered a civilization that was very different from anything they had ever seen before. The locals had no idea about many concepts that had long and firmly taken root in the Old World. The peoples of pre-Columbian America did not use the wheel, did not make iron tools, and did not ride horses.
The more surprising is the fact that the Indians, as the native Americans were called by Europeans, managed to build several fairly advanced civilizations. They had cities, states, long paved roads between settlements, writing, astronomy, and unique art artifacts.
The civilizations of pre-Columbian America arose independently of each other in two geographical regions - in Mesoamerica and in the Andes. Until the Spanish conquest, these areas were the centers of the intellectual and cultural life of the continent.
Mesoamerica
This geographical area covers the territories of central and southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala,El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The first people appeared here in the 12th millennium BC. Cities and states arose in the third millennium BC. From then until the start of Spanish colonization, several advanced cultures arose in Mesoamerica.
The earliest civilization was the Olmecs, who lived on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. They had a huge impact on the traditions of all subsequent peoples who settled in this region.
Olmec Culture
The most ancient art of pre-Columbian America is represented by very unusual and mysterious artifacts. The most famous monument of the Olmec civilization are giant heads made of bas alt boulders. Their sizes vary from one and a half meters to 3.4 meters, and they weigh from 25 to 55 tons. Since the Olmecs did not have a written language, the purpose of these heads is unknown. Most scientists are inclined to the version that these are most likely portraits of ancient rulers. This is indicated by the details of the headdresses, as well as the fact that the faces of the sculptures do not resemble each other.
Another direction of Olmec art - jade masks. They were made with great skill. Already after the disappearance of the Olmec civilization, these masks were discovered by the Aztecs, who collected and stored them as valuable artifacts. In general, the culture of pre-Columbian America was formed under the strong influence of this ancient people. Drawings, figurines and sculptures of the Olmecs are found hundreds of kilometers from the once inhabited by themterritories.
Maya Civilization
The next great culture of Mesoamerica emerged around 2000 BC and lasted until the era of European colonialism. It was the Maya civilization, which left behind a huge number of works of fine art and architectural monuments. The highest rise of Maya culture occurred in the period from 200 to 900 AD. During this era, pre-Columbian America experienced the heyday of urban development.
Maya frescoes, bas-reliefs and sculptures are made with great grace. They quite accurately convey the proportions of the human body. The Maya had a written language and a calendar, they also created a detailed map of the starry sky and were able to predict the trajectory of the planets.
Maya Fine Art
Color images do not hold up well in humid climates. Therefore, not so many Mayan wall paintings have survived to this day. Nevertheless, fragments of such images are found everywhere in the ancient cities of this people. The surviving fragments show that the art of pre-Columbian America was not inferior to the best works of the classical civilizations of the Old World.
Maya achieved a high skill in the manufacture of ceramics, including painted. From clay, they sculpted not only dishes, but also figurines depicting gods, rulers, totem animals, as well as scenes from everyday life. The Maya made jewelery and wood carvings.
Many sculptures and bas-reliefs, which reflect thehistory of pre-Columbian America of that period. Mayan artists often left important events of social life imprinted in stones. There are inscriptions on many of the images, which helps historians a lot in interpreting the plots presented on them.
Mayan architecture
Culture of America during the Maya experienced its heyday, which could not but affect the architecture. In cities, in addition to residential buildings, there were many specialized buildings. Being keen on astronomers, the Maya built observatories to observe celestial objects. They also had ball courts. They can be considered the forerunners of modern football fields. The balls themselves were made from the sap of the rubber tree.
Maya erected temples in the form of stepped pyramids, on top of which there was a sanctuary. Special platforms were also built, reaching four meters in height and intended for public ceremonies and religious rites.
Teotihuacan
On the territory of modern Mexico there is an abandoned city of the ancient Indians with perfectly preserved buildings. Nowhere did the architecture of pre-Columbian America reach such heights (literally and figuratively) as in Teotihuacan. The Pyramid of the Sun is located here - a giant structure 64 meters high and with a base of more than 200 meters. There used to be a wooden temple on its top.
Nearby is the Pyramid of the Moon. This is the second largest building in Teotihuacan. It was built after the Pyramid of the Sun and was dedicated to the great goddessland and fertility. In addition to the two large ones, there are several smaller four-tier stepped structures in the city.
Images in Teotihuacan
Almost every building in the city has frescoes. The background is usually red. Other colors are used to depict characters and other details of the drawing. The subjects of the frescoes are mostly symbolic and religious, illustrating the myths of pre-Columbian America, but there are also scenes of everyday activities. There are also images of rulers and fighting warriors. There are many sculptures in Teotihuacan, including those that are elements of the architecture of buildings.
Toltec culture
Today, little is known about what pre-Columbian America was like between the decline of the Mayan civilization and the rise of the Aztecs. It is believed that at this time the Toltecs lived in Mesoamerica. Modern scientists draw information about them mainly from Aztec legends, in which real facts are often intertwined with fiction. But archaeological finds still provide some reliable information.
The capital of the Toltecs was the city of Tula, located on the territory of present-day Mexico. In its place, the remains of two pyramids have been preserved, one of which was dedicated to the god Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent). On its top are four massive figures depicting Toltec warriors.
Aztec culture
When the Spaniards sailed to Central America, they met a mighty empire there. This was the state of the Aztecs. About the culture of this people we canjudged not only by architectural monuments. Thanks to the Spanish chroniclers who described the civilization they saw, information about the poetic, musical and theatrical art of the Aztecs has been preserved.
Aztec poetry
Poetry in pre-Columbian America seems to have had a long tradition. In any case, by the time the Spaniards appeared, the Aztecs already had poetry competitions held with a large crowd of people. In poems, as a rule, there were metaphors, words and phrases with a double meaning. There were several literary genres: lyric poetry, military ballads, mythological tales, etc.
Aztec art and architecture
The capital of the Aztec Empire was Tenochtitlan. Its buildings were dominated by architectural forms that were invented by the previous civilizations of pre-Columbian America. In particular, a 50-meter pyramid towered over the city, reminiscent of similar Mayan structures.
Drawings and bas-reliefs of the Aztecs depict both scenes from everyday life and various historical and religious events. There are also pictures of human sacrifices that were held during religious festivities.
One of the most unusual and mysterious artifacts of the Aztecs is the Stone of the Sun - a large round sculpture, almost 12 meters in diameter. In the center of it is the sun god, surrounded by the symbols of the four past eras. A calendar is inscribed around the deity. It is believed that the Stone of the Sun served as a sacrificial altar. In thatIn an artifact, the culture of pre-Columbian America reveals several of its facets at once - astronomical knowledge, cruel rituals, artistic skills merge into a single whole.
Inca culture
The peoples of pre-Columbian America reached a high level of development not only in the central part of the continent. In the south, in the Andes, the unique civilization of the Incas flourished. This people was geographically cut off from the Mesoamerican cultures and developed separately.
The Incas achieved great skill in many arts. Of great interest are their patterns on fabrics, called tokaku. Their purpose was not only to make clothes more elegant. Each of the elements of the pattern was also a symbol denoting a word. Arranged in a certain sequence, they formed phrases and sentences.
Inca Music
The musical art of pre-Columbian America is partly preserved in the Andes, where the descendants of the Incas live, to this day. There are also literary sources from the time of colonization. From them we know that the Incas used a variety of wind and percussion instruments. Music accompanied religious ceremonies, many songs were associated with the cycle of field work.
Machu Picchu
The Incas were also famous for their unique city built high in the mountains. It was discovered in 1911 already abandoned, so its real name is not known. Machu Picchu means "old peak" in the language of the local Indians. The buildings in the city are made of stone. The blocks are so precisely fitted to each other that the skill of the ancient builderssurprises even modern specialists.
Culture of North America
The Indians north of what is now Mexico did not build stone structures such as the Pyramid of the Sun or Machu Picchu. But the artistic achievements of the peoples of pre-Columbian America, who lived in the region of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, are also quite interesting. Many ancient burial mounds have been preserved in this region.
In addition to simple mounds in the form of a hill, the Mississippi River valley has stepped platforms, as well as mounds, in the outlines of which the figures of various animals, in particular a snake and a crocodile, are guessed.
The influence of the art of pre-Columbian America on modern times
Ancient Indian civilizations are a thing of the past. But the current culture of America bears the imprint of ancient pre-colonial traditions. So, the national costumes of the indigenous peoples of Chile and Peru are very similar to the clothes of the Incas. In the paintings of Mexican artists, stylistic devices characteristic of the Mayan fine arts are often found. And in the books of Colombian writers, fantastic events are intricately woven into a realistic plot with ease familiar to Aztec poetry.
