The indigenous cultures of ancient Mesoamerica created a variety of highly sophisticated sculptures in different styles and materials, both as reliefs and as sculptures in-the-round. Many of these sculptures represent their religious beliefs, embodying the Mesoamerican pantheon of gods, while others depict the elite members of the nobility. Later Mestizo (mixed Hispanic and … [Read more...] about Images of Mesoamerican Elites and Deities in Reproduction: Researched by Whitney Mosley
The word most commonly used to describe the occurrence of small, solid, ceramic figurines is “ubiquitous,” as they are found everywhere in Mesoamerica. Throughout the Preclassic/Formative period (1500 BCE-250 CE) archaeological sites, figurines such as the objects in this display have been recovered in large numbers. While the find sites for these five figurines is unknown, a … [Read more...] about Preclassic/Formative Period Mesoamerican Figurines: Researched by Grace Young
Cultures throughout Mesoamerica produced ceramic figurines from the earliest periods through the time of contact with Europeans. These figurines depicted people of all levels of status, from common people to rulers, and the figurines also depicted deities. The study of ceramic figurines also illustrates how depictions of deities changed and developed through time. The … [Read more...] about Mesoamerican Sculptures in Reproduction: Researched by Jordan Seyer
The plaques in this display illustrate colorfully painted brass figures, each on a blackened wooden base. The images portrayed on these wooden plaques are reproductions of characters found in Mesoamerican codices, or screenfold books, that were used to record histories, the calendar system, and religious belief systems. The clear style and depiction of the figures indicates … [Read more...] about Aztec/Mixtec Codex Images of Deities, in Reproduction: Researched by Katie Kimbrough
In the 20th century, tourists began visiting traditional towns and villages of Guatemala, spurring the revival of certain artforms such as traditional pottery, but also encouraging the development of new crafts and artforms that would provide a stable income for local artisans. Among these new artforms were small figures made of paper and straw, clothed in scraps of … [Read more...] about Guatemala Maya Tourist-Trade Figures: Researched by Elizabeth Ferguson and Ngozi Ekeke