The cultura madre civilization of the Olmec is characterized by its primitive and eccentric works of art, such as that of the Kunz Axe. Comparable to the Ceremonial Axes, the Were-Jaguar masks are found all over the gulf coast of Mexico, and both works can be easily discerned by their carvings from jade, almond eyes, human and man-jaguar style, deformations, and clefts. Themes of Maize and the Were-Jaguar are also prominent within this Olmec civilization, so we can see how the Were-Jaguar figure and the Kunz are greatly associated. All of these similar attributes, which are Olmec-specific, enable us to compare Olmec art to the art of the Aztecs through figures like the Coyolxauhqui Effigy Mask. Museums such as the J. Paul Getty Museum take …show more content…
all of these characteristics into consideration when classifying and placing objects in exhibitions. Because of this, the placement of the Kunz in the Golden Kingdoms exhibition was not done in vain. This is all significant in rendering the Getty Museum’s educated guess on the Kunz Axe provenience for the exhibition as justifiable because we can see the how Olmec art is unique, and the influence it had on other cultures such as the Aztec. Although Olmec art is one of the least known of the Pre Columbian art styles, the Kunz Axe (Fig.1) is an important tool in setting the stage for other artistic styles with their religious purposes. The Kunz Axe first originated from the Southern Highland of Oaxaca during the Preclassic period. During this period, there was an increase in population, so we know that centralized authorities and religious ideals became more prominent. Jade objects served not only as forms of wealth, but they also displayed the connection between leaders and the supernatural. Olmec Axes are extremely large pieces constructed of jade or greenstone, and are used mainly for ritual, due to their powerful abilities to honor and commemorate gods, such as the fertility deity and the Maize God. Another name used to describe the Kunz is Votive Axe, which means a “ritual object used as veneration” (Khan Academy). The jade materiality also acts as an important ritual material because it was used as an offering to gods and ancestors, and used as an expression of royal status as regalia (Evans 49 ). Jade was a rare yet beautiful material that held more value than gold, which demonstrates the supreme power and meaning behind the axe. Not only was the Kunz Axe used as a religious tool, but it was also used as a symbolic, social construct, as seen through its naturalistic emphasis that dictated people’s lives.
Political power in La Venta was derived from control over the maize agriculture, so jade objects like the Kunz Ax were vital and acted as symbols for maize. Maize was described as, “A central component of a complex ideology involving agricultural surpluses and wealth” and “...the stuff of human substance and life” (Taube 297). Evidently, agriculture and the natural world were super important to the Olmec. The Kunz Axe also served as a kind of Nahual or “duende” to act as a spirit force for the maize crops while protecting the fields. Additionally, the Kunz Axe displays the theme of animal-human transformations. The idea of the “were-jaguar” may also revolve around the idea of the Nahual, (Bernal 98). The feline depiction seen in the axe, “...can be an animal mythically associated with a certain man so closely that his life depends upon that of the animal; if the animal dies, the man will surely die also” (Bernal 98). In essence, the Kunz Axe presents a naturalistic theme with an emphasis on individuality and bodily experience, which set the stage for how later art in Mesoamerica took …show more content…
form. The Kunz Axe is an enigmatic yet eccentric figure in Mesoamerican art. The axe itself is one of the largest jade objects found in Mesoamerica measuring approximately 28cm tall, and 31x16x11cm (Coe 60), (Khan Academy). The Votive Axe has a particularly large head which resembles the Olmec stone head sculptures seen in La Venta. Its large head, when compared to its small blade-shaped body, makes the sculpture more abstract and eccentric. The head also appears to be carved with intricate detail while the rest of the body appears to be incised in very low relief, which draws most of the attention to the upper half of the axe. (Benson 262). Despite its caricature style head, the axe has human-like features. For example, it has almond shaped eyes, a flat nose, detailed legs, arms, and hands, and an intricately detailed mouth. Although the mouth appears to be intricately carved, it is contorted due to its squarish, flaring upper lip. The mouth is one of the largest features of its face which brings attention to the fact that it is a “were-jaguar”. Even though some of the features seem out of proportion, the axe is fairly symmetrical in shape. The placement of the axe’s hands and the emphasis on depth show that the figure is holding an object. Because the axe was constructed of a jade material, the surface appears to be smooth and bumpy, but it also has texture where the axe has cracks and chippings. Due to the elaborately carved detail, the use of jade, and the size of the Kunz axe, its ceremonial role and power in society is thus emphasized. When comparing the Kunz Axe to other Olmec art such as the Olmec greenstone masks, and art from other civilizations, such as the Coyolxauhqui Effigy Mask (Fig.
2) , one can see that despite having a similar materiality, there are attributes that separate Olmec art from art of other civilizations. Additionally, by comparing the Ceremonial Axe to the Were-Jaguar mask (Fig. 3) found at the Getty, we can see that they share certain attributes. Both works of art share almond shaped eyes, a broad nose, a prominent squared shaped mouth, incised lines, upturned lips, deep blue color, along with the theme of the transformation of a jaguar into a supernatural being. When comparing the Coyolxauhqui Effigy Mask from Tenochtitlan to the Ceremonial Axe, however, one can see that both share few attributes including similar material to the Olmec greenstone masks, an emphasis on the large head, and an open mouth. We can see that the Coyolxauhqui Mask differs in that it features closed eyes, an emphasis on hair, several ornaments, eyebrows, and holes at the top of its
head. By observing the Kunze Axe’s physical and spiritual elements, one can render the Getty Museum’s educated guess on the Ceremonial Ax provenience for the exhibition as justifiable. As seen by the Were-Jaguar Mask, both the similar features that are characteristic of many Olmec works like the Ceremonial Axe. Differences between the Olmec and other civilizations imply different religious and usage affiliations, such as the Coyolxauhqui Effigy Mask. Many of these Olmec objects appear in different Pre-columbian cultures and can even be considered as prototypes for smaller “axe gods” of surrounding civilizations like Costa Rica. Overall,
In the article "Sacred Sustenance: Maize, Storytelling, and a Mayan Sense of Place," the author, Leah Alexandra Huff, is arguing that Ethnographers should pay more attention to stories because they allow for a deeper understanding of cultures. To support her argument, she uses the example of the significance of maize in the Mayan civilization as well as their sense of place. Huff first describes the importance of place in building and maintaining a community and developing it identity. She explains that place was important for indigenous communities such as the Mayans because land was part of their cultural and spiritual systems. Huff then goes on to detail the importance of storytelling. She argues that storytelling helps create identity,
Inga Clendinnen's Aztecs:An Interpretation is an outstanding book dealing with investigations into how the Mexica peoples may have veiwed the world in which they lived. From the daily life of a commoner to the explosively, awe inspiring lives of the priests and warriors. Clendinnen has used thoughtful insights and a fresh perspective that will have general readers and specialist readers alike engaged in a powerful and elegantly written interpretation that is hard to put down without reflection upon this lost culture.
Guthe, Carl. Pueblo Pottery Making: A study at the Village of San Ildefonso. Massachusetts: Yale University Press, 1925.
The pieces of sculpture are both carved using the subtractive method of sculpting from stone. However, the types of stone used were very different. The sculpture of Mycerinus and Kha-merer-nebty II was carved from a stone called greywacke, a dark colored, very hard stone the Egyptians prized for sculpture despite the fact t...
The Aztec Calendar stone has become one Mexico’s national symbols. After decades of Latin American Art being degraded, underappreciated, forgotten, and abused, it has become one of Mexico’s most national treasures. After years of research from the Codex Mendoza, the Calendar, and documents by the Spanish conquistadors, it has gradually become clear as to how the Aztecs truly lived and how art played such a huge role in their society. It has not only given researchers insight to the Aztec culture and religion and has also given influence to modern and the mainstream media today such as fashion and graphic design.
The perspective of another society is always subjective, especially when two completely different cultures interact for the first time. In Bernal Diaz del Castillo’s The History of the Conquest of New Spain, the first-hand account illustrates a barbaric and pagan society where sacrifices are pervasive in everyday life. However, David Carrasco’s essays titled “The Exaggeration of Human Sacrifice” and “Human Sacrifice / Debt Payments from the Aztec Point of View” shed a significant amount of insight into the religious roles that human sacrifice played in Aztec society, rather than the cruel and barbaric connotations which Daz heavily implied. Based on the readings of Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Carrasco’s essays offered an outside perspective into the ritualistic practices of human sacrifice and in doing so, introduced the concept of nextlaoalli as well as the commonality of the ritual human sacrifice in Aztec society.
A major element of Aztec life was religion, as often is in the case in ancient civilizations. The Aztecs were a polytheistic people, and they often made use of human sacrifice to please their gods. Diaz often makes reference to the blood-stained walls of the Aztec temples in his account of the conquest. In reference to the success of Cortes and his soldiers, an anci...
The Popol Vuh doesn’t fall short in referencing and glorifying maize. One such reference in the Popol Vuh categorizes maize as a way to determine fate; if an ear of maize is planted and dries up, it indicates death. The article, “The Flowering of the Dead” concludes, “In Atiteco religion, ‘Flowering Mountain Earth’ is a place at the world’s centre whose primary manifestation is a maize plant or tree.” (Carlsen 27). A “Flowering Mountain Earth” is the center of the world that represents life, beauty, and the gods. Among this place, maize is an important object that animates and projects the qualities of a Flowering Mountain Earth. Maize is axis mundi, the center of the world. It is a staple crop in the Maya people; it is essential to the people and heavily relied on. The Maya saw maize as a fetish that truly gave them everything. Without it, everything that ties the Maya together falls apart. Successful growth of maize represents the life and well-being of the Maya, while a dying maize plant all but points to death and the failure of civilization. It is with the importance of maize in Maya culture, that it is omnipresent throughout the Popol
Many tribes successfully preserved their art. For instance, local Indians of New Mexico still embroider beautiful blankets that have many geometric figures such as triangles and diamonds, similar to tessellations. See Figure 2 below (“Mathematics Used,” n.d.).
My friends, after traveling through the Asian continent and Japan, I continued on to the Americas. The art in the Americas has three regions, North America, Central America, and South America. Each region has a very distinct aspect to their forms of art. All cultures have some kind of art. Being curious about art, I have collected samples from five different areas. The following works of art are very different from European art, but there are still some similarities. The similarities of the human spirit are evident in the following images.
Throughout the worlds history, many forms of folk art have been established. One easily identifiable is that of the Mexican folk art. Mexican folk art has great range and variety. This is primarily because the difference in available materials spread throughout the land. There are over a hundred types of clay, different woods and metals, and even a vast array of vegetable fibers used in textile work that let to a drastic amount of recognizable differences in the art. Artists used a large variety of animal, mineral, and vegetable products to dye and paint their pieces. There is also a very different stylization based on geographic locations and split of communities. This is due to the settling of invading Mesoamerican culture mixed with the Spanish and Arabic cultures. Although there is a vast amount of traditional folk art products from Mexico, pottery, wood burning, glass blowing, and paper mache are staples of the Mexican folk art culture. When Mexico ...
This paper first discusses the elements of art that Obata has used in his work. We see that Wasaka has company: his dog stares in despair while his master gives way and the barbed-wire fence stands throughout, rugged and forbidding. Bold and strong lines have been used to make Wasaka the focus of the work along with the fence of the camp while lighter and thinner curved lines have been used to bring closure and completeness to details like the wrinkles in the man’s clothes or the secondary outline of the dog beside him. Horizontal lines have been utilized to mark the barbed wire and in order to give the viewer a sense of a vast expanse of wilderness
Taube, Karl. “The major Gods of Ancient Yucatan.” Studies in Pre-Columbian Art & Archaeology 32 (1992): 11-27. Print.
Although the Aztec civilization is a popular subject studied by the scholars, it tends to be one-dimensional: the elite and religion are the hearts of the study. The work here goes beyond that, as it tries to give us a new perspective on the “ordinary people”. The book studied here is titled Aztecs: An Interpretation, by Inga Clendinnen, first published in 1991. It studies the Aztecs people, also known as Mexicas, living in the empire that was Tenochtitlan, in the valley of Mexico. This work tries to be a reconstruction of the pre- colonial kingdom, before the arrival of the Spaniards in August 1521. Clendinnen successfully highlights how religion and sacrifices are perceived among the common people, and how they forge the lives of the inhabitants of Tenochtitlan. Nevertheless, even if she brings fascinating new elements, her lack of multiple sources puts doubt on the truth and accuracy of her statements.
The Olmec’s religion had bizarre beliefs and ways of worshipping gods. The Jaguar was an ancestor and a god. They supposedly had influence on good in bad the world. Rain ceremonies were believed as a way to control weather. When they needed it most, they would smoke to summon rain. When the Olmec’s tribe master died, they would put them in the middle of a burial mound, which can be found in one of the four corners of the exhibit. When he was put in, they would toss in jade jewelry with the body. The Olmec really stood out from the other tribes because they worshipped a half man, half jaguar, stone heads, and other things.