Mesoamerican Cultures
Preclassic period: 1500 BCE – 250 CE
Classic period: 250-1100
Postclassic period: 1100-1521
Olmec
Maya
Aztec
Mesoamerica
San Lorenzo, Olmec Head #6, 900-400 BCE Basalt
Kunz Axe. Olmec culture. c. 1000 BCE.
Jade, height 11“
Ceramic Ballcourt from Nayarit, 200 BCE- 250 CE
http://www.ballgame.org/sub_section.asp?section=3
Ballcourts at Copan, Honduras and Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, Mexico
Ballplayers from Jaina, 600-900
Pawatun Teaching: The Teaching Vase, late 8thc Guatemala; Codex
Style Vase
Palenque, Mexico: Palace and Temple of Inscriptions, Mayan Culture, 683 CE
Temple of Inscriptions
Palenque
Temple of Inscriptions Palenque, corbelled arches
Temple of Inscriptions, Palenque, Mexico, Mayan Culture Corbeled
Shaft Tomb
Pakal’s Sarchphagus Lid
Sarcophagus
of Pakal: Portrait of Pakal, 683 century CE
683
;:
Pakal’s Sarchphagus Lid
6
;:
Sarcophagus of Pakal
Shield Jaguar and Lady Xoc, Maya, Lintel 24, temple 23
Yaxchilan, Mexico ca 725
Quetzal bird; Shield Jaguar and Lady Xoc, Maya, Lintel 24, temple 23
Yaxchilan, Mexico ca 725
Shield Jaguar and Lady Xoc, Maya, Lintel 24, temple 23
Yaxchilan, Mexico ca 725
Teotihuacan, Mexico, from Temple of the Moon
Pyramid of the Sun. Teotihuacán. Begun c. 100 CE.
Temple of the Moon with Cerro Gordo behind
The Great Goddess. Tepantitla, Teotihuacán. Upper portion of mural. c.
650 CE.
Temple Precinct, Tenochtitlán, Mexico, Aztec, 14th-16th c
Coaticlue, Tenochtitlán Temple compound ,Mexico, Aztec, 1325-1521
Dismemberment of the Moon Goddess, Coyolxauhqui, Tenochtitlán ,Mexico, Aztec, 1325-1521
Dismemberment of the Moon Goddess, Coyolxauhqui, Tenochtitlán, Mexico, Aztec, 1325-1521
Stone of Five Suns or Aztec Calendar Stone, Tenochtitlán, Mexico.
1502–20.
Stone, diameter 11’10“
Dogon Peoples, Mali, Kanaga mask, masks dancing)
Male Chi Wara Antelope Headdress, Bamana group, Mali 19th – 29th c (Female mask, masks dancing)
Asante, Nigeria, Akua’ba figure
Ere ibeji (twin) figures, Yoruba culture, Nigeria
Kuba reliquary guardian
Review for Mid-Term Exam
Types of Questions:
•Identify images- what is it, what culture does
it come from, where was it made, what
function did it have?
•Image comparisons, what might two images
have in common? How to distinguish between
similar images?
•Questions without images: What is the
significance of _____?
D
Question 9
What are some of the issues connected with interpreting the frescoes discovered at Teotihuacan?
the are sometimes fragmentary
the language spoken at Teotihuacan is unknown
their iconography (subject matter) is complex
Question 12
1 pts
Kota reliquary guardians were placed on altars so that the sacred bodies of African Christian saints would not be disturbed, true
or false?
O True
O False
Question 14
1 pts
What was the purpose of the Stone of the Five Suns or the Aztec Calendar stone?
O Scholars have recently discovered that the Aztecs stole this stone from Teotihuacan and so it does not refer to Aztec culture at all, but was
used by the previous culture in the area
O it was an important tool used by the priests and scholars to teach students about their date and timekeeping systems
as well as celebrating the beginning of the era of the fifth sun, Tollin, some scholars say it also marks the an important dates in the life of a
ruler, possibly Moctezuma, one of the last rulers of the Aztec Empire
Question 18
1 pts
What kind of symbolism did the Maya associate with temples such as the Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque? There may be
more than one correct answer.
temples were considered sacred mountains
they were sacred access points to the underworld of Xibalba
the temples were conduits between the underworld and the heavens
Question 20
1 pts
The Mayans traded with the peoples of Teotihuacan, true or false?
O True
False
Question 21
1 pts
The Aztecs revered the ancient Mayan city of Tikal as the birthplace of the gods, or the place where the gods walked, true or
false?
O True
O False
Question 25
1 pts
What was the function of the figure of Coatlicue from Tenochtitlan?
although upright in the museum display, she was originally displayed on her back at the top of the main temple in Tenochtitlan, and sacrificial
victims were stretched over it before their beating hearts were removed from their bodies as an offering to the gods
O this relief shows the dismemberment of the moon goddess and it was placed at the bottom of the steps of the great temple to receive the
bodies of sacrificial victims
O it depicts an important mother/earth goddess from the Aztec pantheon who died when her son was born out of her head, or might have been
one of the deities who sacrificed themselves to create the fifth sun
Purchase answer to see full
attachment
Preclassic period: 1500 BCE – 250 CE
Classic period: 250-1100
Postclassic period: 1100-1521
Olmec
Maya
Aztec
Mesoamerica
San Lorenzo, Olmec Head #6, 900-400 BCE Basalt
Kunz Axe. Olmec culture. c. 1000 BCE.
Jade, height 11“
Ceramic Ballcourt from Nayarit, 200 BCE- 250 CE
http://www.ballgame.org/sub_section.asp?section=3
Ballcourts at Copan, Honduras and Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, Mexico
Ballplayers from Jaina, 600-900
Pawatun Teaching: The Teaching Vase, late 8thc Guatemala; Codex
Style Vase
Palenque, Mexico: Palace and Temple of Inscriptions, Mayan Culture, 683 CE
Temple of Inscriptions
Palenque
Temple of Inscriptions Palenque, corbelled arches
Temple of Inscriptions, Palenque, Mexico, Mayan Culture Corbeled
Shaft Tomb
Pakal’s Sarchphagus Lid
Sarcophagus
of Pakal: Portrait of Pakal, 683 century CE
683
;:
Pakal’s Sarchphagus Lid
6
;:
Sarcophagus of Pakal
Shield Jaguar and Lady Xoc, Maya, Lintel 24, temple 23
Yaxchilan, Mexico ca 725
Quetzal bird; Shield Jaguar and Lady Xoc, Maya, Lintel 24, temple 23
Yaxchilan, Mexico ca 725
Shield Jaguar and Lady Xoc, Maya, Lintel 24, temple 23
Yaxchilan, Mexico ca 725
Teotihuacan, Mexico, from Temple of the Moon
Pyramid of the Sun. Teotihuacán. Begun c. 100 CE.
Temple of the Moon with Cerro Gordo behind
The Great Goddess. Tepantitla, Teotihuacán. Upper portion of mural. c.
650 CE.
Temple Precinct, Tenochtitlán, Mexico, Aztec, 14th-16th c
Coaticlue, Tenochtitlán Temple compound ,Mexico, Aztec, 1325-1521
Dismemberment of the Moon Goddess, Coyolxauhqui, Tenochtitlán ,Mexico, Aztec, 1325-1521
Dismemberment of the Moon Goddess, Coyolxauhqui, Tenochtitlán, Mexico, Aztec, 1325-1521
Stone of Five Suns or Aztec Calendar Stone, Tenochtitlán, Mexico.
1502–20.
Stone, diameter 11’10“
Dogon Peoples, Mali, Kanaga mask, masks dancing)
Male Chi Wara Antelope Headdress, Bamana group, Mali 19th – 29th c (Female mask, masks dancing)
Asante, Nigeria, Akua’ba figure
Ere ibeji (twin) figures, Yoruba culture, Nigeria
Kuba reliquary guardian
Review for Mid-Term Exam
Types of Questions:
•Identify images- what is it, what culture does
it come from, where was it made, what
function did it have?
•Image comparisons, what might two images
have in common? How to distinguish between
similar images?
•Questions without images: What is the
significance of _____?
D
Question 9
What are some of the issues connected with interpreting the frescoes discovered at Teotihuacan?
the are sometimes fragmentary
the language spoken at Teotihuacan is unknown
their iconography (subject matter) is complex
Question 12
1 pts
Kota reliquary guardians were placed on altars so that the sacred bodies of African Christian saints would not be disturbed, true
or false?
O True
O False
Question 14
1 pts
What was the purpose of the Stone of the Five Suns or the Aztec Calendar stone?
O Scholars have recently discovered that the Aztecs stole this stone from Teotihuacan and so it does not refer to Aztec culture at all, but was
used by the previous culture in the area
O it was an important tool used by the priests and scholars to teach students about their date and timekeeping systems
as well as celebrating the beginning of the era of the fifth sun, Tollin, some scholars say it also marks the an important dates in the life of a
ruler, possibly Moctezuma, one of the last rulers of the Aztec Empire
Question 18
1 pts
What kind of symbolism did the Maya associate with temples such as the Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque? There may be
more than one correct answer.
temples were considered sacred mountains
they were sacred access points to the underworld of Xibalba
the temples were conduits between the underworld and the heavens
Question 20
1 pts
The Mayans traded with the peoples of Teotihuacan, true or false?
O True
False
Question 21
1 pts
The Aztecs revered the ancient Mayan city of Tikal as the birthplace of the gods, or the place where the gods walked, true or
false?
O True
O False
Question 25
1 pts
What was the function of the figure of Coatlicue from Tenochtitlan?
although upright in the museum display, she was originally displayed on her back at the top of the main temple in Tenochtitlan, and sacrificial
victims were stretched over it before their beating hearts were removed from their bodies as an offering to the gods
O this relief shows the dismemberment of the moon goddess and it was placed at the bottom of the steps of the great temple to receive the
bodies of sacrificial victims
O it depicts an important mother/earth goddess from the Aztec pantheon who died when her son was born out of her head, or might have been
one of the deities who sacrificed themselves to create the fifth sun
Purchase answer to see full
attachment
