When the first Europeans came to the American continent, they faced a civilization that was very different from everything that they had previously seen. The locals had no idea about many concepts that had long been firmly rooted in the Old World. The peoples of pre-Columbian America did not use the wheel, did not make iron guns and did not ride horses.
All the more surprising is the fact that the Indians, as the natives of Europe called the Native Americans , managed to build several fairly developed civilizations. They had cities, states, long cobbled roads between settlements, writing, astronomy, as well as unique artifacts.
The civilizations of pre-Columbian America arose independently from 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 developed cultures arose in Mesoamerica.
The earliest civilization was the Olmecs, who lived on the Gulf of Mexico. They had a tremendous influence on the traditions of all subsequent peoples who inhabited 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 Olmec civilization are giant heads made of basalt 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 scholars are inclined to believe that these are most likely portraits of ancient rulers. This is indicated by the details of hats, as well as the fact that the faces of the sculptures are not alike.
Another area of Olmec art is jade masks. They were executed with great skill. Already after the disappearance of the Olmec civilization, these masks were discovered by the Aztecs, who collected and stored these as valuable artifacts. In general, the culture of pre-Columbian America was formed under the strong influence of this ancient people. Drawings, statuettes and sculptures of the Olmecs are found hundreds of kilometers from the territories that they once inhabited.
Mayan civilization
The next great Mesoamerican culture arose around 2000 BC and lasted until the era of European colonialism. It was a Mayan civilization, leaving behind a huge number of works of fine art and architectural monuments. The highest rise of Mayan culture occurred in the period from 200 to 900 years of our era. In this era of pre-Columbian America was experiencing the heyday of urban development.
The frescoes, bas-reliefs and Mayan sculptures are made with great grace. They quite accurately convey the proportions of the human body. Maya had a written language and calendar, they also created a detailed map of the starry sky and were able to predict the trajectory of the planets.
Mayan art
Color images are poorly preserved in humid climates. Therefore, not so many Mayan wall paintings have survived to this day. Nevertheless, fragments of such images are everywhere found in the ancient cities of this people. The surviving fragments testify that the art of pre-Columbian America was not inferior to the best works of classical civilizations of the Old World.
Maya achieved high craftsmanship 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. Mayans made jewelery and carved wood.
Many sculptures and bas-reliefs have been preserved, which reflect the history of pre-Columbian America of that period. Mayan artists often left important events in public life sealed in stones. Many of the images contain inscriptions, which helps historians a lot in interpreting the subjects presented on them.
Mayan architecture
The culture of America during the Maya was experiencing 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 Mayans built observatories to observe celestial objects. They also had ball pitches. They can be considered the forerunners of modern football fields. The balls themselves were made from rubber tree sap.
Maya erected temples in the form of step pyramids, on top of which 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 is an abandoned city of ancient Indians with well-preserved buildings. Nowhere did the architecture of pre-Columbian America reach such heights (in the literal and figurative sense) as in Teotihuacan. Here is the Pyramid of the Sun - a gigantic 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 of Teotihuacan. It was built after the Pyramid of the Sun and was dedicated to the great goddess of the earth and fertility. In addition to two large ones, the city has several smaller four-tier stepped structures.
Images in Teotihuacan
Almost all buildings in the city have murals. The background in them is usually red. Other colors are used to portray characters and other details of the picture. The plots of frescoes are mostly symbolic and religious, illustrating the myths of pre-Columbian America, but scenes of everyday activity are also found. 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 between the decline of the Mayan civilization and the rise of the Aztecs. It is believed that at that time the Toltecs lived in Mesoamerica. Information about them, modern scientists draw mainly from Aztec traditions, in which real facts are often intertwined with fiction. But archaeological finds still provide some reliable information.
The Toltec capital was the city of Tula, located in what is now Mexico. In its place, the remains of two pyramids were preserved, one of which was dedicated to the god Quetzalcoatl (the Feathered Serpent). At its top are four massive figures depicting Toltec warriors.
Aztec Culture
When the Spaniards sailed to central America, they met a powerful empire there. It was an Aztec state. We can judge the culture of this people not only by architectural monuments. Thanks to the Spanish chroniclers who described the civilization they saw, information was preserved about the poetic, musical and theatrical art of the Aztecs.
Aztec Poetry
The poetic art of pre-Columbian America, apparently, had a long tradition. In any case, by the time the Spaniards arrived, the Aztecs already had poetry contests held with a large crowd of people. In poems, as a rule, metaphors, words and phrases with a double meaning were present. There were several literary genres: lyric poetry, military ballads, mythological legends, etc.
Fine Arts and Aztec Architecture
The capital of the Aztec empire was Tenochtitlan. Its buildings were dominated by the architectural forms that had been invented by previous civilizations of pre-Columbian America. In particular, a 50-meter-high pyramid towered over the city, reminiscent of similar Mayan structures.
Aztec drawings and bas-reliefs depict scenes from everyday life, as well as a variety of historical and religious events. There are also pictures of human sacrifices that were held during religious festivals.
One of the most unusual and mysterious Aztec artifacts is the Stone of the Sun - a large round sculpture with a diameter of almost 12 meters. In its center is the god of the Sun, surrounded by the symbols of four past eras. Around the deity is a calendar. It is believed that the Stone of the Sun served as a sacrificial altar. In this artifact, the culture of pre-Columbian America reveals several of its facets at once - astronomical knowledge, cruel rituals, and artistry merge into a single whole.
Inca culture
The peoples of pre-Columbian America have reached a high level of development not only in the central part of the continent. In the south, in the Andes, a unique Inca civilization flourished. These people were geographically divorced from Mesoamerican cultures and developed separately.
The Incas achieved high mastery in many arts. Of great interest are their patterns on fabrics called tokapu. Their purpose was not only to make clothes more elegant. Each of the elements of the pattern was also a symbol denoting a word. Located in a certain sequence, they formed phrases and sentences.
Inca music
The musical art of pre-Columbian America was partially preserved in the Andes, where 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 rites, many songs were associated with a 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 in the language of local Indians means "old peak". Buildings in the city are made of stone. The blocks are so precisely matched to each other that the skill of the ancient builders surprises even modern specialists.
North American Culture
The Indians who lived north of present-day 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 river basin of the Mississippi and Missouri, are also quite interesting. In this region, many ancient mounds have been preserved.
In addition to simple mounds in the form of a hill, in the valley of the Mississippi River there are stepped platforms, as well as barrows, in the outlines of which figures of various animals, in particular snakes and crocodiles, are guessed.
The influence of the art of pre-Columbian America on the present
Civilizations of the ancient Indians 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. The paintings of Mexican artists often reveal stylistic techniques characteristic of the Mayan art. And in the books of Colombian writers, fantastic events are fantastically woven into a realistic plot with ease familiar to Aztec poetry.