Who were the first
people that inhabit America?…the Continent America? Where did they come from?
When did they first arrive in the continent? There are many answers from
different scientific disciplines’ perspectives to these and other related questions.
Answers that had/have been developed because of artifacts/objects that still were/are
being found in ancient settlement/ruin sites.
It is by a geographic
mistake (Christopher Columbus thought that he arrived at the coast of India,
Asia, in 1492) and by phenotypic characteristics that Mesoamericans had/have,
were/are called “Indians.” Since then, 1492, “Indians” or “indios” (in Spanish)
are the native/aboriginal America continent’s inhabitants or peoples. Other descriptive
adjectives, such as “savage,” “wild,” “primitive,” or “beast” were used, as a justification
for their demise/extermination by the European conquerors. Descriptive adjectives
that are still in use as ways of dismissing, stereotyping, prejudicing, and
social and political discriminating groups of people around the world.
The year 2019 marked
500 years since the first encounter of Europeans with Mesoamerican “Indians.” It
was April 22, 1519 when Hernán Cortes (1484-1547) and others (mostly Europeans)
set foot for the first time in Veracruz, Mexico, historical event that changed the
fate of Meso/Central America’s and South America’ s inhabitants’ cultures,
event that transformed not only their lifestyle but their native spoken
languages to Spanish.
Several
autonomous and ethnically different groups of people existed geographically distributed
(North, Central, South) throughout America (continent) before the 1500s for
centuries. Recent findings of several skeletal human remains in Tulún, Mexico
date them from 13,000 years ago. (Solly) They
were organized under a set of social, political, and religious beliefs that
defined their unique cultural existence. Ancient American cultures can be identified
and traced by their art objects, made by anonymous artists, and their architectural/archeological/anthropological
sites. It is by recognizing and describing
art objects and placing them in the geographic locations where they were found that
will help us learn the culture of ancient Mesoamerican Civilizations.
Mesoamerican pre-Hispanic
settlements and cultures (see Figure 1) are divided chronologically into three
periods:2000 BCE to 250
C.E. Pre-Classic or Archaic: Olmec, Maya.
250 to 900 C.E.
Classic: Maya, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Mixtec, Huastec, El Tajin.
900-1521
C.E. Post-Classic: Maya, Toltec, Mixtec, Huastec, Aztec.
The
Olmec (“rubber people”) culture is considered one of the first major population
centers, that initially settled in the coast of the Gulf of Mexico (now the
State of Veracruz and Tabasco) around 1200 B.C.E. and lasted until 250 C.E. The
artworks that distinguished this culture are jade and serpentine small figures of
animals: jaguar, birds, and humans (Ex. smiley children in Tajin); to 20 tons
carved stone heads (see Figure 2).
Up to eighteen of
the “Colossal Head” have been discovered in the 1970s. “Traces of paint, as
well as flat backs, indicate that the heads may once have been colorfully
painted and were only intended to be observed from the front and sides. (Cocking)
These “Colossal Head” were a way to honor nobles and warriors
who could have been city leaders or losers of the pelota game (a hard and heavy
1 kg rubber ball), also called: pok-ta-pok or ulama. At the beginning the game
of pelota was a religious/symbolic ceremony to honor the sun. It was introduced
by the Olmecs in 500 B.C.E., and later spread to other Mesoamerican Peoples, as
far as Arizona and Nicaragua. The spread of the Ball game (or Pelota game) to
other Mesoamerican population centers/villages changed its rules and meanings
according to their cultures’ beliefs and rituals, transforming it into a sport/recreational
activity that still is being practice/played in Mexico. See the following video:
https://www.npr.org/2018/09/16/646756260/an-ancient-ballgame-makes-a-comeback-in-mexico
In many Mesoamerican archeological sites (see Figure 4), ballgame
fields have been identified and are part of tour guides’ conversations.
See the
following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=TXMN60ndkfc&feature=emb_title
In the original Olmec ballgame, the players were allowed to touch the pelota only with the hips, arm or right leg. The goal was a ring (see Figure 5) set at a height of fifteen feet in a wall of a rectangular court. At the end of the “game”, the losers were more important than the winners, by allowing to be sacrificed (beheaded) in the name of their religious beliefs. The game of pelota players inspired artists to perpetuate them through different artworks.“ The ball was a symbol of the sun, and the sacrifice of the loser meant attaining divinity." (Ragghianti and Ragghianti Collobi)
Figure 5 and 6 is a sculpture of a pelota player made of porous
green stone, the carving of the body is polished and clean. It is the figure of
a male, naked, no external genitalia is observed, instead some carved lines that
draw maybe a loincloth. He is seating in the floor, with a slight left torsion
of the body at the upper chest, with both arms flexed with elbows below the
shoulder level and both hands clenched/closed (all indication of body movement).
Some definition of the shoulder, arms and pectoral muscles is observed. The
head without hair or headdress, bold, with what could be a beard on the tip of
the chin, nose is flat, and eyes could be closed or slightly open by the subtle
demarcation of upper lids. The ears are carved deep in the stone.
Figure 7 is another stone sculpture related to the game of
pelota of the Olmecs found in Veracruz. The sculpture is the carving of two
hands with palms facing each other in a vertical position (as in a clap), with
fingers facing up (as in prayer) also the forearms are seen. The dorsum of the
hands details are naturalistic: nail beds, finger knuckles and the joint prominence
of the ulna bone (ulnar styloid). Besides the hands and forearms, there is a
palma standing in the background as a way to supporting the hands. The palma was
a hip/chest protector (chest armor) worn in both sides of the body by the
players. The palmas were also used in funeral ceremonies. 
Other objects that were carved in the sculptures of palmas
were arrows, animals, humans, divine beings (gods) and geometric shapes and
designs (See Figure 8).
Three
archeological sites are attributed to the Olmecs: Tres Zapotes, San Lorenzo
(Veracruz) La Venta, see the sites in Figure 9.
According to the book
“National Museum of Anthropology: Mexico City”, where most of the artwork photographs
of this paper were obtained, “one of the earliest remains of representational
art (in Mesoamerica) have been found in Tlalilco.” (Ragghianti and Ragghianti Collobi) The
Tlalilco culture’s artworks (see Table 1) were eventually superimposed with the
Olmec civilization, which also influenced the surrounding villages since their
settlement in 1000 B.C.E.
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Table
1. Three artworks from Tlalilco Culture
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“Kneeling Woman
kissing a dog”
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“Nude Woman with
turban”
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“Vase in the
shape of a Contortionist or Acrobat
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Circa 1100-500
B.C.E.
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|
|
|
|
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Modeled terracotta with traces of
polychromy
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Modeled clay with additions and traces
of polychromy
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Olive colored polished terracotta
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Each figure has a
defined characteristic and individual headdress
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Mask like arched
eyebrows, positioned high in the forehead
Narrow, slit-like
eyes shape (Asian?) pupils are individualized as a small hole
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round eye shape and eyebrows
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Round, prominent
ear lobes (earspool? Earrings?)
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More natural shaping of the ear lobes
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Display of one bare female breast, the
other is covered by the body of the dog
Emotional affection by kissing a
domesticated dog who also has the mouth closer to the human
Both human and animal are
embracing/holding
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Female nudity with breasts, wide hips,
and central location of the belly button (umbilicus)
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Facial features more naturalistic with
facial lines along the nose/mouth, mouth open with lips twisted, with upper
teeth and maybe tongue. There is understanding of facial movement (facial
expression)
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Figure balanced on one knee
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Standing figure, lack of proportion of
the upper and lower extremities but an understanding of the muscle groups in
the thigh and lower leg separated by the knee
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Understanding of the flexibility of body
movements and anatomy of the muscles.
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Household pottery were widespread used
as clay idols, fertility deities that suggest more complex religious beliefs
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This vase was used in magic rites that
invoked for more favorable agricultural conditions by feasts with dancing,
shows, acrobatic and contortionist exhibitions to be held in honor of the
rain-god.
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Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl (means “Our
Young Prince, the Feathered Serpent”) of Tollan’s historical and religious saga
was written in the Chimalpopoca Codex, the Nahuatl Quetzalcoatl narrative. The
Codex recounted pictorial stories, chants, and epic poems. Figure 10 is the
pictorial representation of Quetzalcoatl who was the Aztec god of the wind and
wisdom, who was believed to have created humans to whom he (Quetzalcoatl) gave
corn and knowledge. Figure 11 is a carved stone
sculpture depiction of a serpent/ Quetzalcoatl in the Temple constructed in
Teotihuacan in his honor.
The Zapotec (person of
the “Land of Sapodillas”) culture from 600 BCE to 1000
CE, had their religious and cultural center in Monte Albán, UNESCO World
Heritage Site, (see on map, Figure 8, page 5), a city built on a mountaintop in
the state of Oaxaca. The Zapotecs were influenced by the cultures of the Olmecs
and Mayans. The Zapotecs were the first to use writing and the calculation of
time and calendar (260 days) ritual cycles that the Olmecs started to develop.
Figure 12 is a photograph of a sculpture made from polychromed terracotta that
resembles a human vertebral column that indicates the artist interest and
knowledge of human anatomy.
Figure 13 is a funerary
urn, anthropomorphic sculpture made of terracotta, and colored. The cult was
devoted to Xipe-Totec (means: Our Flayed Lord), the god of Spring, fertility,
and renewal of the earth. The god is seated with the head of a sacrificed
victim in his left hand and a staff in the right hand that “allude to the
cultivation of the earth and its produce. The work itself may not be mass
produced, but the symbolic attributes are probable repetitions.” (Ragghianti
and Ragghianti Collobi 85)
Toltec
(means “the place where the reeds grow” in Aztec) civilization flourished from 800
C.E. to 1168 C.E. The Toltecs were at the beginning a nomadic warrior culture,
whose battle successes were legendary tales told by Aztecs and other
Mesoamerican native peoples. Their main city was Tula, that was destroyed in
1170 C.E.
In
the Temple of the Morning Star (flat-toped pyramid) (see Figures 14 through 17,
page 7) anthropomorphic warrior columns were erected to support the entrance. Still
surviving, on site, are four 15-feet tall standing “Atlantean or Warrior
Statues,” made of carved basalt stone. Each column or statue is carved in
separated blocks (drums), in a contained style, that when placed one over the
other completes the human form who is wearing the traditional Mesoamerican
warrior attire: cotton armor jerkin, heads with elaborated feather headdress
and sandals for long-distance running. The figures 18 through 22 show in
different views (front and back), the detail of the stone carvings of the
warrior’s attire and facial features. Also, the stoic and proud posture and facial
expression that were meant to instill fear in the enemies and respect and
reverence from their people. The Aztecs considered a person noble if he
possessed Toltec blood. “Originally the figures must have had mosaics of
obsidian and mother-of-pearl in the openings of the eyes and mouths.” (Myers) Some
individual pieces of the Tula “Warrior Statues” are exhibited in art or
anthropological museums.
Maya Civilization
is divided in three periods: Pre-classic from 1000 B.C.E. to 250 C.E. Classic:
250-900 C.E. and Post-classic: 900 to 1521 C.E. Maya culture settled in the
Yucatan Peninsula (see Figure 23, page 9) and spread to Mexico City, and
territories that are nowadays the countries of Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, El
Salvador.
The
Maya civilization was at its height in the classic period when the cultural
centers were mostly in the south of the Yucatan peninsula (see Figure 23). In
900 C.E. inexplicably they abandoned these cities and went to the north of the
Yucatan Peninsula (see Figure 29), Mayan Post-classic period, where they
continue to flourish until 1521 when Spaniards and other Europeans arrived.
Mayans constructed
stone temples, pyramids, and palaces, that today are in ruins, some of them are
protected by the UNESCO, as World Heritage sites.
The following is a
list of some of the most important (now tourists attractions) Maya sites in the
Yucatan Peninsula (see Figure 23): Chichen Itza, El Castillo Pyramid of Tulum,
Maya Ruin of Coba, Palenque, Calakmul Mayan Ruins, Ek Balam, Uxmal Ruins,
Edzna, El Rey, Chacchoben, Izamal, El Meco. Most of these Maya sites were
interconnected by a road system (see Figure 24) called Sacbe (means stone road
or white road). “Sacbe were mythological routes, pilgrimage pathways, and
concrete markers of political or symbolic connections between city centers.
Some sacbe are mythological, subterranean routes and some trace celestial
pathways; evidence for these roadways are reported in Maya myths and colonial
records.” (Hirst)
Besides the architecture and construction of their buildings,
and architectural art decorations, Maya artists left their drawings and
paintings in murals such as the ones in Bonampak; in upright stone monuments: stelae,
where they recorded special events every 20 years; in books: only four Mayan
codices survived. Maya civilization developed a mathematical system, wrote hieroglyphs
scripts and a calendar where zoomorphic, anthropomorphic, and geometric shapes
and designs are noticeable (see Figure 25 and 27).
Regarding the codices, which are books that were written and
illustrated by Maya, Mixtec, and Aztecs artists. “The Mexican codices were made
of long strips of deer hide, cotton cloth or bark paper. Some of them have
wooden covers. Pre-Spanish codices fold like accordions, showing images on both
sides of the folio. If the manuscript was meant to displayed against a wall,
the artist painted just one side.” (Miller)
The rites of human
sacrifice were mostly associated with Aztecs but were practiced everywhere in
Mesoamerican civilization’ religious centers. They were polytheistic and had
one god for every calendar day. The legend of the Quetzalcoatl (called Kukulcán
by the Maya) spread through most of the Mexican beliefs. “He was the “feathered
serpent” combined in his person (quetzal bird and coatl: serpent).” (Myers)
“Quetzalcoatl was an
intelligent god, who was credited
to ban human sacrifices, inventing the calendar and teaching picture writing,
as well as weaving, pottery, stone and metal work, and the improvement of
agriculture.” (Myers)
Aztecs established their empire from
1200 to 1521 C.E. Aztecs called themselves Mexica and named their land Anahuac
(meaning “the land between the waters”). The city of Tenochtitlan was
constructed in an island of the Lake Texcoco in 1325 C.E. (see Figure 26). It
was destroyed in 1521 by the Spanish conquerors and today is under Mexico City.
The Templo Mayor, was considered part of a temple in Tenochtitlan, that was
historically dedicated to the god of war and the god of rain and agriculture,
its ruins stand near the Cathedral of Mexico City. “It is said that the stones
from the Templo Mayor were used in the construction of the Cathedral.” (Karsten)
Figure 27 depicts the “Sun Stone” (or
Aztec Calendar) 1324-1521 C.E. made of stone, diameter 10’2 ¾” from
Tenochtitlán. It is exhibited in the National Museum of Anthropology. “It was
discovered in 1790 during repair work of the Cathedral of Mexico City which was
built on the site of an ancient temple of Tenochtitlan. The whole composition
making up an extraordinarily refined image” In the low-relief, flat-ground
sculpture associated with Tenochtitlan, there is a notable connection with the
graphic and pictorial style that was current in Mayan and later Toltec art.” (Ragghianti and Ragghianti Collobi)
References
An Ancient Ballgame Makes a comeback in Mexico. 18 September 2018. 25 April 2020. <https://www.npr.org/2018/09/16/646756260/an-ancient-ballgame-makes-a-comeback-in-mexico>.
Bitto, Robert. The
Gigantic Atlantean Statues of the Toltecs. 24 October 2016. 28 April 2020.
<mexicounexplained.com/gigantic-atlantean-statues-toltecs/>.
Buck, Christopher. Quetzalcoatl,
the “Plumed Serpent”. 18 March 2014. 4 May 2020.
<https://bahaiteachings.org/quetzalcoatl-the-plumed-serpent>.
Cocking, Lauren. The
Mystery Behind Mexico's Colossal Olmec Heads. 7 July 2017. 21 April 2020.
<www.culturetrip.com>.
Coe, Michael D. The
Maya, Fourth Edition. New York: Thanes and Hudson, 1987.
Hirst, K. Kris. Sacbe,
the Ancient Maya Road System. 2 September 2018. 4 May 2020.
<https://www.thoughtco.com/sacbe-the-ancient-maya-road-system-172953>.
Karsten, Matthew. Top
15 Mayan Ruins & Archeological Sites To Visit In Mexico. 27 December
2019. 4 May 2020. <https://expertvagabond.com/mayan-ruins-mexico/>.
Leon-Portilla,
Miguel. The Broken Spears. The Aztec account of the Conquest of Mexico.
Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1962.
Longhena, Maria. Ancient
Mexico: The History and Culture of the Maya, Aztecs, and Other Pre-Columbian
Peoples. New York: Barnes & Noble Publishing, 1998.
Miller, Mark. Treasures
of Mexico: The Mixtec, Aztec & Maya Codices that Survived the
Conquistadors. 17 JUNE 2015. 4 May 2020.
<www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-ancient-writings/treasures-mexico-mixtec-aztec-maya-codices-survived-conquistadors-003245>.
Myers, Bernard S. Art
and Civilization. New York-Toronto: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1967.
Ragghianti, Carlo
Ludovico and Licia Ragghianti Collobi. National Museum of Anthropology
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Solly, Meilan. Smithsonian
Magazine. 4 January 2019. 25 April 2020.
<https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-identify-oldest-known-human-burial-lower-central-america-180971166/>.
The
Ball Game (Juego de Pelota) at Monte Alban, Oaxaca, Mexico. 6 April 2009. 25 April 2020.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=TXMN60ndkfc&feature=emb_title>.
The
Holy City of Teotihuacan 🇲🇽 Mexico Pre-Hispanic World Heritage Site. 2019 9 September. 3 May 2020. <https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Teotihuacan&qpvt=Teotihuacan&view=detail&mid=66F06696E7D9E218AB0B66F06696E7D9E218AB0B&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3DTeotihuacan%26qpvt%3Dteotihuacan%26FORM%3DVDRE>.
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<https://www.seeker.com/culture/archaeology/the-oldest-known-human-remains-in-the-americas-have-been-found-in-a-mexican-cave>.
Photograph
source: https://bahaiteachings.org/quetzalcoatl-the-plumed-serpent/
In the original Olmec ballgame, the players were allowed to touch the pelota only with the hips, arm or right leg. The goal was a ring (see Figure 5[2]) set at a height of fifteen feet in a wall of a rectangular court. At the end of the “game”, the losers were more important than the winners, by allowing to be sacrificed (beheaded) in the name of their religious beliefs. The game of pelota players inspired artists to perpetuate them through different artworks.“ The ball was a symbol of the sun, and the sacrifice of the loser meant attaining divinity." (Ragghianti and Ragghianti Collobi)
Other objects that were carved in the sculptures of palmas
were arrows, animals, humans, divine beings (gods) and geometric shapes and
designs (See Figure 8).
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