MESOAMERICAN ART

Lecture 8D: Post-Classic Maya

Aztecs

THE POST-CLASSIC PERIOD:

CHICHEN ITZA

• Warfare and climate change forced the Maya to move to the Yucatan Peninsula.

• Largest site was Chichen Itza “at the mouth of the well of the Itza”. Called cenote.

• Remains are a combination of Classic Maya and Classic Mexica (Teotihuacan/Toltec) styles.

• At its height was approx. 6 square miles.

The cenote at Chichen Itza.

From a vacation website (I’m sold).

TEMPLE OF WARRIORS AND

GROUP OF THE 1000 COLUMNS

TEMPLE OF THE

WARRIORS

• Large stone architectural forms, temples on top,

staircases seen from the Maya tradition.

• Large courtyards in front of building, and ceremonial

centers as seen in Mexica parts of Mesoamerica.

• Arcade of warriors once held up a roof. Abstracted,

sturdy figures (bad state of preservation) show Toltec

influence.

Chacmool figure from Chichen Itza, on display in the National Museum of

Anthropology.

El Castillo at Chichen Itza (Temple of Kukuklan the Feathered Serpent)

EL CASTILLO

• 98 feet tall, 9 square levels. 20 feet tall temple on top.

• Same type of slanting walls as seen at the Temple of

Quetzacoatl at Teotihuacan.

• On the spring and autumn equinox the shadow cast

takes on the appearance of a serpent going down the

staircase…the feathered serpent? The serpent points

in the direction of the cenote.

The serpent effect demonstrated with artificial light during night-time.

THE AZTECS

• The Last of the Great Mesoamerican civilizations.

• Capital city of Tenochtitlan founded on an island in Lake Texcoco surrounded by numerous artificial canals. Home to 200,000 people.

• The city became capital to a large empire that expanded across modern Mexico.

• Tenochtitlan: rock, cactus, place of.

Codex Mendoza, 1545.

• Coatlicue, Serpent

Skirt

• Mother of the Sun

God, Huitzilopochtli

• Typical Aztec

sculpture in that it is

massive and dramatic.

The Aztec Calendar Stone,

1502-1520.

THE ARRIVAL OF THE CONQUISTADORES

• Cortez arrived in the Aztec Empire in 1519. He was welcomed in an attempt to learn his weaknesses and run him out of town.

• “When we saw so many cities and villages built on the water and other great town on dry land…we were amazed…some of our soldiers asked wheter the things that we saw were not a dream.” (Bernal Diaz del Castillo).

• By 1521 the Spanish had overrun Tenochtitlan, destroyed its temples, stolen its gold, and renamed it Mexico City.

Feathered Headress of Moxtezuma II, ca. 1520. Perhaps a gift to Cortez

that was then sent to King Charles V Holy Roman Emperor.

AFTER THIS LECTURE YOU SHOULD

BE ABLE TO…

• Explain why the Maya left their traditional homeland, and the effects the move had on their art and architecture.

• Identify several of the main buildings and sculptures from Chichen Itza.

• Describe the rise of the Aztec and the layout of Tenochtitlan.

• Describe the formal elements, iconography, and functions of Aztec sculpture.

• Explain the Spanish conqueror's response to Aztec art and architecture.