Contrary to popular misconceptions, metalwork dates back to very ancient times in the Americas, with copperworking in the Great Lakes Region of North America starting as early as 5,000 BCE. By the first millennium BCE, the Andean cultures of South America had developed metalwork processes, and these practices spread up into the Isthmian region of lower Central America by the … [Read more...] about Ancient Isthmian Metalwork in Reproduction: Researched by Trevor Heitz
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
This group of artworks consists of tourist-trade reproductions inspired by some famous, and some not-as-famous, works of ancient Precolumbian art, including works from the Olmec, Maya, Aztec, Teotihuacano, Mixtec, and West Mexican cultures. The reproductions are generally made by artisans who are indigenous or are of Mestizo (mixed indigenous and Spanish) heritage, often … [Read more...] about Mesoamerican Art in Reproduction: Researched by Leslie Dunaway and Macaylah Gant Hodge
Ancient Native American stone points from the American Midwest and Great Plains are often comparable to stone points in Mesoamerica, as although they were made at different times and the types of stone may differ, similar points were often developed for similar purposes in different parts of the world. Comparison illustrates that the Midwest Cahokia Point and the Great Plains … [Read more...] about Ozarks vs. Mesoamerican Projectile Points: A Comparison: Researched by Matthew Thomas