TEMPLE STONE, AZTEC

LATE POST CLASSIC [1200 B.C.- 1521 C.E.]

Throne of New Fire Ceremony- Motecuhzuma II would associate himself with the sun and fire. This was every 52 years when the ritual and sun calendar aligned.

The warriors on the sides symbolize either past ancestors in warrior attire, hold sacrificial flint knive, or, deities due to the goggles on on figure who would be Tlaloc, another earth lord/storm deity.

The cactus and eagle on the back symbolize the founding of Tenochtitlan, with the cactus embedded in earth's mouth. The earth lord, Tlatecuhtli, has spears, swords and skulls, emblematic of a sacred war.

TEMPLE STONE, AZTEC

TENOCHTITLAN, POST CLASSIC, [1200 BC-1531CE]

The importance of the Temple Stone is its symbolism in the continuity of Aztec tradition and heritage. Huitzilopochtli on the left, a warrior goddess who is represented as a hummingbird, and Moteczuma II on the right, carrying flint knives, regarding their ritual celebration of sacrifice.

The arcitecture of the Temple Stone is both a:

Throne: Where Mot. could align his kingship with the deities

Temple: Where sacrifices were made to feed the gods

Symbolic representation of Aztec culture: The cactus at the back, the deities and ancestor warriors, the flint knives, and the sun stone.

In front left "one rabbit' = 1507

SUN STONE, AZTEC

TENOCHTITLAN, POST CLASSIC [1502-1519 CE]

Middle image: SUN DEITY, Tonatiuh, sacrificial knife hanging from mouth. He is hungry for blood.

Comissioned by Motecuhzoma II, symbol placed upped left of Tonatiuh, in association with the sun.

Four edges, clockwise like a cosmological map:

Four Wind, Four Jaguar, Four Water, Four Rain

Forces of creation and destruction; sacrifice to feed the gods

Two snakes at the bottom, warriors emerging. Their bodies create a frame that links the upper world and under world, Tonatiuh being the axis-mundi

COYOLXAUHQUI, AZTEC

TENOCHTITLAN, POST CLASSIC, [1200 BC- 1531 CE]

Base of the Templo Mayor,

"She of the Gold Bells"

Skull buckle on back, sign of earth goddess

Bells tattooed on her face, attached to her wrists

She is nude, a sign of humiliation. Tied with serpants, a sign of imprisonment

Birthing wrinkles = she gives life, but skulls means she take life.

Dismemberment by brothers, thrown down Coatepec "Serpent Hill"

Monsters on joints, defines her movement

A warning not to defy the Aztec empire

COATLICUE, AZTEC

TENOCHTITLAN, POST CLASSIC, [1200 BC- 1531 CE]

Mother of Huitzilopochtli,  "Serpent Skirt"

Fertility deity, skull on backside, monster on joints

Contrast of opposing forces; life and death, so powerful the Aztecs were scared of her

Holding corn and hearts

Aztec sculpture: Combination of human and animal

TEMPLO MAYOR, AZTEC

TENOCHTITLAN, POST CLASSIC [1200 BC-1531CE]

Looking at it, Left (North) is Tlaloc [storm deity, earth lord, Chacmool in front

-Offretory caches..shells, green stones and fishing scenes AND Olmec pieces]

Right (South) is Huitzilopochtli [war deity, sacrificial stone in situ]

Faces West, united with the Sun and is the Axis-Mundi of the Aztec Empire

Made in 7 stages/layers

"Coatepec"- Serpent Hill

-indicates successful economy, wealth, politcal and conquest power

Instead of stelas (like in Maya art), emperors expanded upon Templo Mayor

TENOCHTITLAN, AZTEC

POST CLASSIC, [1325 CE]

-Founded by eagle that landed on a cactus, middle of Lake Texcoco

3 raised causeways for entrance, split into 4 quadrants

Children taught in trade schools, Nobility had no work

Hierarchial; encouraged war honors.

Capitol city; Axis-Mundi of Aztec Empire

SUNKEN CIRCLE IN "EL CASTILLO", CHAVIN

CHAVIN DE HUANTAR, EARLY HORIZON [900 BC- 100 BC]

Procession of Jaguars, characteristic pendent eye. Evidence Chavin knew of Amazon

Above, procession of shamans, facing castillo,

Kennings snakes for hair and fangs

HOLDING a cactus [refer to shaman slide]

Small ritual space, aligned with the stairs up to El Castillo and to El Lanzon

SHAMANS OF CHAVIN DE HUANTAR, CHAVIN

CHAVIN DE HUANTAR, EARLY HORIZON [900 BC - 100 BC]

Holding a San Pedro cactus, symbolic of a halucinagentic for shamans

Chavin de Huantar was deified, an oracle of sacridity

"EL LANZON"/ "THE GREAT IMAGE", CHAVIN

CHAVIN DE HUANTAR, EARLY HORIZON [900 BC- 100 BC]

In situ

Inside El Castillo, ceiling to floor, very private viewing area

Rocks are ancestors and spirits; only natural the most sacred to be protected by a formation of rocks

-Is linked with "coa stick" = fertility and agriculture

"axis-mundi" of Chavin de Huantar

Oriented East, eyes look out open door towards rising sun

Animalistic traits, wearing clothes, fingernails, limbs claw-like, anthropromorphic feline

Characteristic pendent eye

EL LANZON CONTINUED

Oracle-like, kind of like the Oracle of Delphi in the Greek Empire

Conch shells would be blowing, creating an eerie sound while spending time with El Lanzon

Room right above El Lanzon, priest could answer dillemmas

MEANT TO BE VIEWED IN 3D!!

BLACK AND WHITE PORTAL, CHAVIN

CHAVIN DE HUANTAR, EARLY HORIZON [900 BC- 100 BC]

Emphasizes dualism with black limestone and white granite

Just like TINKUY, dualism is everywhere in Chavin de Huantar

Lintel and Columns indicate architectual abilities

From sunken plaza, through this portal and into a deified realm, past this point the viewer would be a part of a sacred area

CHAVIN DE HUANTAR LAYOUT, CHAVIN

EARLY HORIZON [900 BC- 100BC]

In the middle of the connecting two rivers, symbolic of opponent forces coming together.

Faces East, small pilgramiging site

Can tell stages of construction due to materials, such as Black and White Portal due to granite

Chavin was the "mother" culture of the Andes [just like Olmec], no texts, no palaces

Had clear appreciation of agriculture and incorporation of their surroundings

The surrounding peaks create a daunting effect, cosmically aligned, the real axis-mundi of the Chavin civilization

STIRRUP SPOUT VESSELS, CHAVIN AND MOCHE

"CHAVIN DE HUANTAR", "CERRO BLANCO" AND "SIPAN"

EARLY INTERMEDIATE PERIOD [100CE- 700 CE]

Symbolize part of tinkuy

Made of terra cotta, ceramics

Kept liquid from evaporating, way to paint and transcend time

Handle was put on separetely

ROYAL BURIAL PLATFORMS OF SIPAN, MOCHE

SIPAN, EARLY INTERMEDIATE PERIOD [100CE - 700 CE]

-Functioned as a place for rituals, palaces placed on top, a religious and political center and burials of important figures

Built in 6 phases [like Temple Mayor], burial chambers had layers

-founding of believed warrior priest brought evidence to back up Moche Ceramic paintings of the Sacrificial ceremony

SACRIFICIAL CEREMONY, MOCHE

NORTHERN PERU, EARLY INTERMEDIATE PERIOD [100CE- 700CE]

-War and the act of cutting and sacrifice on the bottom of the "pyramid" [from step formations]

-Warriors have clubs

-Priests would hold gold plate over the cup before offering

-Crescent shaped headdress and backflaps suggest sacridity, warrior priest wears to connect to battle warriors

MOCHE CERAMIC TECH., MOCHE

EARLY INTERMEDIATE PERIOD, [100CE - 700CE]

-Would shape the mold on the outside, a way of doing a 3-D technique

A lot of recovered prisoner of war ceremics, indicating the importance of blood sacrifice of these prisoners.

-Important that they are humiliated, tied and almost completely nude

HUACA DEL SOL LOOTERS HOLE, MOCHE

CERRO BLANCO, EARLY INTERMEDIATE PERIOD, [100CE-700CE]

Had buried treasures inside, stopped any progress of learning about the Moche culture

NO STONE! Had to use adobe; combination of mud, water and straw

Very problematic when rain (El Nino) came, not water resistant

Adobe was sun dried

HUACA DEL SOL, MOCHE

CERRO BLANCA, EARLY INTERMEDIATE PERIOD

[100CE-700 CE]

-Geomancy of the sacred mts; water would flow down from them, just as the blood would flow from El Huaca del Sol.

Was a replication of power, highly dependent upon those mts to produce water, reason why blood sacrifice was crucial

-Only 50% of the pyramid remains, was the biggest in all of the Andes

-Terraced, built in 8 stages, rotational labor with individual markings from different brick makers as way of paying taxes and contributing

QUIPU, INCA

LATE HORIZON [1430-1534]

-Knotted form of counting, different colors and knots

Crucial for officials in inventory, censuses

Shows the organization techniques of the Inca

TOCAPU, INCA

LATE HORIZON, [1430-1534]

Uncus often distinguished rank and identity in Inca culture. Weaving was a mastered art, and different patterns meant different groups

Tocapu, was a pattern of royalty. It consists of multiple patterns that would take days to weave.

It was their way to communicate, it was their gifts

Textiles tunics were important for survival

SILVER LLAMA OFFERING, INCA

LATE HORIZON [1430-1534]

-Importance of llamas in high altitude

-showed metal working valor

HAMMERED GOLD FIGURINES, INCA

LATE HORIZON [1430-1534]

-Extended ear lobes on males, symbolic of power

Spanish called them "Orejones", members of Inca nobility

INCA NICHE IN CORICANCHA, INCA

LATE HORIZON [1430-1534]

-Throne like structure for Sapa Inca to sit

-Start of the new year, he would inaugerate and associate himself with the sun

Previous ruler mummified in this niche

Just like the Aztecs [Motecuhzoma II and the Temple Stone], important for Sapa Inca to be connected to the sun

CORICANCHA, INCA

CUZCO, LATE HORIZON [1430-1534]

-Multiple Kanchas: "an enclosure with an open courtyard"

Trapezoid was signiture for windows, storage, doors

-Was the Axis Mundi of Inca empire

Original fountains, water was a purifiying component

Gardens of earth AND GOLD, all guarded

Sand was imported, offerings of shells and gold; symbolized abundance of expansion and fertility

United all aspects of empire

FUNTION:

Religious: Housed Deities

Calenderal: Center of Ceque system

Political: Sapa Inca crowned and returned annually to welcome the new year

POLIGINAL MASONRY, INCA

LATE HORIZON [1430-1534]

"Jigsaw" technique

Type of Stone and neatness would determine the quality of a building

Inca proud of their abilities in stone working

CORICANCHA "GOLDEN ENCLOSURE"

CUZCO, LATE HORIZON [1430-1534]

Golden frieze

Curved wall marked sacred spot [just as in Machu Picchu]

Shadow casting upon the rocks

CHACMOOL, AZTEC

TENOCHTITLAN, LATE POST CLASSIC [1325 CE]

In front of Tlaloc side of Templo Mayor

Probably made earlier, shows how far Aztec architecture has come

Water creatures, hollow stomach possibly for blood

TLATECUHTLI, AZTEC

TENOCHTITLAN, LATE POST CLASSIC,[1325 CE]

Near Templo Mayor

Earth goddess, largest ever found

neutral tone,blood streaming from mouth, same wrinkles on stomach significant of birthing

Had numerous offerings underneath it

-dog, guard into the underworld

-green stone offerings

-golden eagles

RAIMONDI STELA, "STAFF DEITY", CHAVIN

CHAVIN DE HUANTAR, EARLY HORIZON [900BC- 100BC]

Set in wall, polished granite

Chavin pendent eyes, rubbery mouth downturned, claws

Headdress is exploding with power rays

-can be viewed upside down as a cayman [croc] , so the gods can see it from heaven

Digging sticks converted into riutal designs

Staff deity was one of agriculture, and possibly sky due to affiliations with eagles and hawks

TELLO OBELISK, CHAVIN

CHAVIN DE HUANTAR, EARLY HORIZON [900BC- 100BC]

3D view, four sided, sign of axis-mundi at the top

Cayman crocodile, Harpee eagle, conch shell and agricultural plants; uniting land, sea, water and jungle

Composite creature, tail ends in feathers

Base wider than the top

Big blocks turned into smaller ones, slanted upward

Earthquake proof

Land of the Four Quarters

Governed by 4 leaders, under Sapa Inca

Cuzco=capital (just like Tenochtitlan)

Could communicate through: Quechua, set religious deities, textiles and ceramics

CHAVIN STIRRUP SPOUT

EARLY HORIZON [900BC-100BC]

Jaguar holding a San Pedro cactus symbolizes the connection with the Chavin to the Amazon and to shamanistic practices.

A jaguar was one of the most common depicted power animals of Chavin shamans, and holding the psychotropic drug indicated this passage into the underworld

Can be compared to Olmec "were-jaguars"

SMILING GOD HOLDING SHELLS, CHAVIN

CHAVIN DE HUANTAR, EARLY HORIZON [900BC-100BC]

Snakes as hair, Kennings theory

Clawed feet, pug nose

Represents DUALSIM: Holding a Strombus shell [man] and a Spondylus shell [woman]

MOCHE

EARLY INTERMEDIATE

[100CE-700CE]

TEXTILE OF STAFF GODDESS, CHAVIN

EARLY HORIZON [900BC-100BC]

Textiles were a way of communicating beliefs

KENKO ROCK SHRINE, INCA

LATE HORIZON [1430-1534]

Rocks were the ancestors and spirits of the Inca people

They were given offerings and considered the most sacred natural formations

KENKO INCA ROCK CAVE, INCA

LATE HORIZON [1430-1534]

INTIHUATANA, INCA

MACHU PICCHU, LATE HORIZON [1430-1534]

"Hitching post of the sun"

Offerings made, sacrifice of llama

Could be throne-like

Geomancy