Ancient Mexican Art Research Paper

All over the world there are many features that make up a culture. Culture can be defined as the characteristics, attitudes, knowledge and beliefs of a group of people, relating to language, cuisine, religion, interaction, lifestyle, and more which is learned through socialization. These aspects of cultures are what distinguishes it from others. It is interesting to explore and learn about new cultures. I will be focusing on the Mexican culture, their religion, death, family life, weddings and ….

A typical Aztec women would usually take care of her family, specifically her children. An Aztec women would provide by doing household work and creating clothing for her own family. However, women were also able to have a career. Some Aztec women created and ran their own business, trading at a market or working as market referees. Some Aztec women devoted their time to become midwives, a priestess or they could work as healers.

Common aztec homes were made out of adobe (sun dried brick made of adobe clay). The main area of the aztec shelter was one room split up equally into four rooms. The aztecs began with the development that was around their environment and it provides nourishment from agricultural goods and guidance of seasonal changes for other beliefs. The aztec empire was in the central and southern regions of present day mexico. In 1519 there were 5 million people tenochtitlan which is at a site that is present at mexico.

I enjoy all kinds of art. When I was a kid, I went to multiple art exhibits (unfortunately, I do not have much time to do that anymore). On the other hand, I am not good at making art. In addition to enjoying art, I also enjoy history. I watch T.V. shows relating to history as much as I can. I have always excelled in history classes. In this essay, I will compare and contrast Tenochtitlan and the figurehead of Andrew Jackson. These two artifacts are very much unlike each other.

How did the entire Aztec population get wiped out? In theses two books I read, “Conquest of New Spain“ by Bernal Castillo and “Broken Spears” by Miguel Portilla, to piece together to form my own opinion of how a small group of Spaniards was able to completely take control of and completely wipe out the Aztec empire.

One of the most advanced civilizations of the ancient world was thriving for centuries in Central America. This empire had built magnificent temples, was plentiful with gold and silver, and was brought to its knees by the Spaniards. The Aztecs. This mysterious, unworldly nation was destroyed in less than a month’s time. The Spaniards, who erased hundreds of years of history and culture, were honored and held in high regard, but at a price. The destruction and carnage that the Spaniards left across the once majestic empire, was the heinous crime of genocide.

The DMA has a large variety of art varying from the 16th century to present day, and also varying from different regions around the world such as China and South America. Throughout the experience, it was visible that the people were especially drawn to the art of the ancient past times and of foreign lands. This resulted in the most interesting art in the DMA not being that of recent times but that of the distant past and of the unknown regions of the world.

The year of 1519 is when the Spaniards first entered the great Aztec empire. The conquest of the Aztec empire was an eventful battle. I know this because not only did I live through it, but I fought for my home. During the Spanish conquest, us Aztec warriors were prisoners most of the time. However, we always put up a fight until the very end. Follow along with me, as I walk you through my memoir of the Spanish conquest of Mexico.

The Aztecs were originally from Mexico and they lasted two centuries. When they were in Mexico that was the fastest growing country in their time. They also had lots of religious laws like you must do everything the gods say and they believed that their emperor could talk to them.

m. No one wanted them around. For about 200 years, the aztecs moved from place to place, never welcome, always fighting.

The panic in the eyes of the Aztec emperor’s victim escalated hastily, making nothing comprehensible and fearing what the life ahead of him has in store. Taking advantage of each element of the human body, the most important reason for sacrificing humans was donating the blood to their god. The Aztecs utilized every resource available to them to make them a proficient and accomplished civilization. The Aztec civilization adapted their way of life in Mesoamerica to become a notorious culture; from their advanced rituals and authority they have continued their legacy to today.

Art and architecture have both long been a gateway to understanding earlier peoples and their civilizations. While it may not always be possible to know every detail, or sometimes just the slightest bit of information, through the study of art and architecture one can get one step closer to understanding the way of life and history of ancient civilizations throughout the world. Although each different culture presents an equally different challenge, clues do exist if one is willing to look long, hard, and close enough to understand. In what is present-day Mexico but was previously considered ancient Mesoamerica, there lived a mysterious yet powerful civilization called the Olmec. Even today not much is known about the Olmec people, but through the Olmec’s various forms of art and architecture, one can get glimpses into the way of life and the beliefs that, what is considered to be the first great Mesoamerican civilization, held and lived by.

While certain symbols and figures maintained the significance and meanings despite the passage of time, art styles utilized by the different Mesoamerican civilizations evolved with the passage of time. Having a unified system in which each of the figures possessed the same meanings and importance for each civilization, allowed for the emergence of an art style that could be easily understood and utilized by most. Before the Postclassical International system, there was not a unified art style used through Mesoamerica; this system was an expression of the unification among the dominant religious and political views at the time after the fall of Teotihuacan and before the rise of Tula (Kubler “Ecleticism” 172). Developing a unique, yet universal style was enabled by the similarities in the ideologies of the different Mesoamerican civilizations. Through repeated interaction, the symbols and styles merged. In order to create a system different cultures could understand and identify, the meaning attributed to each of the symbols had to be somewhat similar throughout the different regions. The merger could not have occurred if the symbolized used by the different population did not resemble each other. Due to their similarity, with repeated interaction the

Art of the Indigenous Americas is among some of the Earth’s oldest artistic traditions. Art of the Indigenous Americas developed between c. 10,000 B.C.E. and 1492 C.E., which marked the beginning of the invasions by European explorers. Regions and cultures are referred to as the Indigenous Americas to signify the importance and influence of the cultural traditions of the nations and societies which first settled in these areas over those of the colonizers who took over the American continents over the past five hundred years. Artworks and archaeological sites of the Indigenous Americas provide archaeologists and scholars with crucial information about how the indigenous people lived, their beliefs and the influence of these beliefs on

Mayan culture existed a thousand years ago, in what is now part of Central America. Its ruins were almost entirely abandoned by 600 A.D, and were not rediscovered until the early 1500’s, by Spanish settlers. Mayan architecture astounded the early conquistadors, and continues to be of great interest to modern archeologists as well. These scientists have labeled a certain period of Mayan architectural history as the “Classic” period.