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Unit 3 - Terminology/Concepts
Terminology and concepts of Mesoamerica & South America
29
Art History
Undergraduate 1
12/06/2012

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Cards

Term
Quincunx
Definition
 four direction with central axis (axis mundi) 
Term
Vigesimal 
Definition
base count of 20; used in Mesoamerica in their calendar system
Term

talud-tablero

[image]

Definition

architectural design of rectangular panel (tablero) with inset is placed over a sloping wall (talud); clear marker of Mesoamerican architecture

[image]

Term

polychrome 

 

Definition

multicolored stone

[image]

Insence Burner, Teotihuacan 

Term
Features of Urbanism 
Definition
  • Systematic Site Planning 
  • Division of Labor/Craft Specialization
  • Market Economy - Teotihuacan center
  • Social Stratification (class system)
Term
Roofcomb 
Definition

prominent structure that tops a pyramid in monumental Mesoamerican architecture that increases height of structure

[image]

 

Term
Human Sacrifice (1)
Definition

The ritual destruction or killing of warriors or captives, exchanging human blood for the blood of the gods at creation

"In this way, sacrifice as directed toward an 

expiatory or reciprocal end differs from 

warfare or violence as social or political acts."

Term
Blood Letting (2)
Definition
A form of auto sacrifice (self sacrifice) used to call upon ancestors or to induce a divine vision; instruments of blood letting included stingray spines, obsidian blades, and carved bones 
Term

sarcophagus 

[image]

Sarcophagus Lid, Tomb of Pakal

Definition

flesh-eating stone, stone facing holding individual in tomb

 

Term
Classic Maya Architecture
Definition

(1) Roofcombs 

(2) 'Maya' Arch (Corbel Arch)

[image]

Term
Chacmool 
Definition

reclining figures holding plates that served as sacrificial/offering

[image]

Chacmool, Temple of the Warriors, Chichen Itza, Postclassic Maya

Term
Cenote 
Definition

natural sinkhole 

[image]

Cenote, Chichen Itza

Term
Maya Blue 
Definition

mixture of indigo (vegetal dye) and fine clay; seen in the temple rooms of Bonampak

[image]

Room 3, Structure 1 [Temple of the Murals], Bonampak, 790 CE

Term
Chinampa 
Definition

raised fields used in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan 

[image]

Term
Kiva 
Definition

room used for religious rituals typically reserved for males; features subterranean layout, an enclosing wall with bench, and a roof entrance with ladder

Possibly related to mythic origins; people emerging from underground thru sipapu (hole in floor) 

[image]

Great Kiva, Chetro Ketl, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, 

Term
Petroglyph
Definition

 image carved into or pecked out of rock face

[image]

Petroglyph, Chaco Canyon 

Term
Pictograph
Definition

 image painted onto rock surface

[image]

Pictograph, Horshoe Canyon, Utah

Term
Dendrochronology 
Definition
 dating a site by tree ring analysis
Term

Contour Rivalry 

[image]

Definition

 ability to see same image as composed of either two profile forms or one frontal, central image; 

seen on Lanzon at Chavin de Huantar 

Term
Anatropic Design 
Definition

ability to rotate and image 180 degrees to produce a new legible image; seen on the Raimondi Stela at Chavin de Huantar 

[image]

Raimondi Stela, Chavin de Huantar 

Term
Geoglyph
Definition

designs created in large scale on the earth (geo) surface

[image]

Spider Geogplyph, Peru 

Term

Reduce-fire Ceramics 

[image]

Definition

Ceramic technique used by the Moche in Peru; 

(1) Reducing the amount of oxygen during the firing process

(2) Clay carbonizes and/or fire smudges surface

(3) Brown to black coloration

(4) Burnishing for luster

Term

Oxidized Ceramics 

[image]

 

Definition

Another ceramic technique used by the Moche in Peru

(1) Allowing in considerable amounts of oxygen into firing process 

(2) Clay takes on its natural color or only slight change

(3) White to red coloration

(4) Paint and/or slip decoration

 

Term

Ornaments of Power 

[image]

Earspool, Peru, Intermediate Period [Moche], 100-600 CE 

Definition

Ornaments/jewelry worn by Moche rulers representing: 

Supernatural - Hide the physical ruler underneath

Immortality - Provide a sense of permanence

Power - Display material and social wealth

Ideology - Place ruler within greater cosmology

Term
Tenon 
Definition

architectural feature where one part is set into wall to support a feature extending beyond façade; seen in the tenoned heads at Tiwanaku 

[image]

Tenoned heads, Semi-subterranean temple, Tiwanaku, Bolivia

Term
Maquette 
Definition
 small scale model, draft
Term
Orthostats 
Definition
upright pillars; seen at Tiwanaku, Bolivia
Term

Quipu 

[image]

Definition
"knot" record-keeping devices made of knotted cords; used as substitute for writing system in the Inca culture; counted with decimal system (base count 10)
Term

Cumpi

[image]

Dumbarton Oaks Tunic, Late Horizon [Inca], 1473-1532 CE

Definition
finest cloth for the Inca culture's royal classes; prime example of the Inca's fine textile crafting; seen on the Dumbarton Oaks tunic 
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