History of Ancient America. Civilizations of the Mayans, Aztecs, Incas
When we hear the concepts “Inca”, “Maya” or “Aztec”, we are mentally transported overseas, to the mountains and jungles of the American continent. It was there that these Indian tribes, little known to mankind, lived - the creators of the civilization of the Incas, Aztecs and Mayans, about whom we will briefly talk further. From history we only know about them that they were skilled craftsmen. The Incas built large cities connected by roads that looked as if cars were racing along them. The pyramids were built like the Egyptian ones, but according to local religious views. Irrigation canals made it possible to feed the people with their own agricultural products.
The Incas created calendars, chronology and writing, had an observatory and were well oriented by the stars. And suddenly, overnight, all civilizations disappeared. Many scientists are working to unravel the causes of a rather strange, even from the standpoint of modern science, socio-demographic phenomenon. First, let's introduce the Inca civilization in a brief description.
Ancient Incas
If you look at the geographical map of the South American continent, you will notice its vertical division by the Andes mountains. To the east of the mountains extends Pacific Ocean. This area, closer to the north, was chosen by the ancient Indian tribe of the Incas, pronounced “Quechua” in their language, in the 11th – 15th centuries. In such a short period, on a certain scale, it is difficult to create a unique and one of the early class civilizations of Mesoamerica. The Incas succeeded at this, perhaps with some outside help.
It stretched for five thousand kilometers from north to south - this is exactly half the length of the Russian Federation. It included the territories, in whole or in part, of eight modern Latin American countries. These regions were inhabited by about twenty million people.
Archaeologists say: Quechua culture did not begin out of nowhere. It has been proven that a significant part either came to the Quechua from outside, or they settled on foreign territory and appropriated the achievements of previous civilizations.
The Incas were good warriors and did not hesitate to conquer new territories. From the Mochica culture and the Kari state they could adopt the technology of making colored ceramics, laying canals in the fields, and from Nazca - the construction of underground water pipelines. The list goes on.
What the Quechuas themselves excelled at was stone-cutting. The blocks for the buildings were cut so beautifully that no binding material was required when laying them. The pinnacle of architecture is a group of temples under the general name of the Golden Court with the temple of the Sun God. The supreme rulers of the Quechuas simply adored gold; the emperor’s palaces were covered with it from floor to ceiling. The Spanish conquistadors melted down all this luxury and transported it home in ingots. Only the majestic pyramids on the lifeless land remind of past greatness.
Ancient Mayans
The Maya had everything that characterized ancient civilizations, except the wheel and metal tools. Tools were made of high quality from strong stone, even for cutting wood.
The Mayans skillfully erected buildings using arched ceilings, rare for those times, and knowledge of geometry helped to correctly lay irrigation canals. They were the first to know how to get cement. Their surgeons performed operations with scalpels made of frozen glass.
Like the Incas (Quechua), the Mayans had great knowledge about space and the stars. But hardly any of them could own spacecraft. But then why did they need a domed observatory tower that has survived to this day? The building is positioned in such a way that it is better to navigate the orbit of the brightest planet. Just to create a calendar aimed at this planet? Obviously there were other plans. No wonder there are mysterious images of flying people on the rocks.
There is also this version of the origin of the Mayans: perhaps they sailed to America on ships from another continent. Like the Incas, the Mayans used the experience of a more developed civilization - the Olmecs, who appeared from nowhere on the American continent. For example, their experience of making drinks from a substance similar to chocolate, and in religion they adopted deities in the form of animals.
The Mayans disappeared in the 10th century AD. The Incas, Mayans, and Olmecs suffered the same fate - their civilizations ceased to exist in their prime. There are two popular versions of the Mayan demise: ecology and conquest. The second is supported by artifacts from the presence of other tribes in the territory where the Mayans lived.
Ancient Aztecs
Up to a dozen tribes lived on the fertile lands of the Valley of Mexico for centuries. At the beginning of the 14th century, the Tepanec tribe appeared there. Warlike, incredibly cruel, it conquered all other tribes. Their allies in the seizure of territories were a small tribe of tenochki.
These were the Aztecs. Neighboring tribes called them by this name. The Aztecs are driven out by other tribes to a deserted island. And from here the power of the Aztecs spread over the entire valley of Mexico, where up to ten million people already lived. They traded with everyone who accepted them. Thousands of people lived in cities. The state has grown to unprecedented proportions.
The Incas, Mayans, Aztecs are the peoples who inhabited South and Central America before this continent was discovered and colonized by Europeans. America of the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs is also called pre-Columbian. These peoples (today they are called Indians) created highly developed civilizations and left to their descendants many hitherto unresolved mysteries of their development. So,
Mayan
The Mayan peoples inhabited the Yucatan Peninsula. Their civilization developed in the territory that today belongs to Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras and was based on individual city-states. The largest of them is Tikal.
Large cities controlled the surrounding lands and smaller towns. All the cities of the Mayan state were connected by roads along which trade routes passed. The Mayans traded among themselves and other peoples with jade, cocoa beans, salt and jaguar skins.
This is surprising, but the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs had no idea about the wheel and goods, if it was not possible to deliver them by water, were carried by porters along the roads. Outside the walls of the cities, the Mayans were engaged in peasant labor, mainly growing corn.
Today, the Maya's knowledge of mathematics and astronomy is amazing. Entire scientific works have been written about the accuracy of the calendar compiled by the Mayan priests, and the writing system developed by the Mayans contains a wide variety of symbols.
After centuries of prosperity, the Mayan civilization suddenly mysteriously fell into decline by the 14th century, and in the 1500s the Spanish conquerors (conquistadors) completed its collapse.
Aztecs
The Aztec Empire was located west of the Mayan lands, in the territory of modern Mexico. The capital of the Aztecs, the large city of Tenochitlan occupied an area of about 15 square kilometers and was located on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco.
In the life of the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs, religion played a very important role. They worshiped many gods, and their temples in the form of stepped pyramids amaze with their grandeur no less than the Egyptian pyramids (the height of some of them reached 45 meters!). At the tops of these pyramids, the Aztecs performed human sacrifices to their gods.
Another sign of the Aztec civilization is the widespread passion for a ball game similar to modern basketball. True, the ring in this game was located vertically, and the ball could only be touched with the forearms and thighs of the legs. Players from the losing team were very often sacrificed.
The names of the Aztec rulers, under whom their empire reached its greatest prosperity, have also reached us - Montezuma I (1440-1468 reign) and Montezuma II (began reign in 1502). The Aztec civilization, like the Mayans, also perished under the onslaught of the conquistadors. This happened in 1521.
Incas
The Inca Empire extended over 2000 km along the Pacific coast South America. Its heyday occurred in the late 1400s and early 1500s. In addition to the Incas, there were other states of South American Indians (for example, Tiahuanaco, Guari or Chimu), but they all fell into decay and were conquered by the Incas.
The Incas were engaged in slash-and-burn agriculture (burning and cultivating clearings in the Amazon jungle), hunting, trade and construction. Their capital, the city of Cusco, was located high in the Andes, and the Incas built a whole network high mountain roads, with rope suspension bridges across the gorges.
In the 16th century, the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs were conquered and enslaved by Europeans, and who knows what the fate of their civilizations would have been if they had possessed firearms by the time the conquistadors appeared.
Information from the children's encyclopedia "Riddles of World History"
By the time Columbus “discovered” America (1492), it was inhabited by many Indian tribes and ethnic groups, most of which were at a primitive stage of development. However, some of them, living in Mesoamerica (Central America) and the Andes (South America), reached the level of highly developed ancient civilizations, although they were far behind Europe: the latter was by that time experiencing the heyday of the Renaissance.
The meeting of two worlds, two cultures and civilizations had different consequences for the meeting parties. Europe borrowed many of the achievements of Indian civilizations; in particular, it was thanks to America that Europeans began to consume potatoes, tomatoes, corn, beans, tobacco, cocoa, and quinine. In general, after the discovery of the New World, the development of Europe accelerated significantly. The fate of ancient American cultures and civilizations was completely different: the development of some of them actually ceased, and many completely disappeared from the face of the earth.
Available scientific data indicate that the American continent did not have its own centers of formation of ancient man. The settlement of this continent by people began in the Late Paleolithic era - approximately 30-20 thousand years ago - and came from Northeast Asia through the Bering Strait and Alaska. The further evolution of the emerging communities went through all known stages and had both similarities and differences from other continents.
An example of a highly developed primitive culture of the New World is the so-called Olmec Culture, existed on the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico in the 1st millennium BC. Much remains unclear and mysterious regarding this culture. In particular, the specific ethnic group that bears (the name “Olmec” is arbitrary) this culture is not known, the general territory of its distribution, as well as the features of the social structure, etc., have not been determined.
Nevertheless, the available archaeological information suggests that in the first half of the 1st millennium BC. The tribes inhabiting Verascus and Tabasco reached a high level of development. They have the first “ritual centers”, they build pyramids from adobe and clay, and construct monuments of monumental sculpture. An example of such monuments were huge anthropomorphic heads weighing up to 20 tons. Relief carvings on basalt and jade, the production of celtic axes, masks and figurines are widespread. In the 1st century BC The first examples of writing and calendar appear. Similar cultures existed in other areas of the continent.
Ancient cultures and civilizations developed by the end of the 1st millennium BC. and existed until the 16th century. AD - before the arrival of Europeans. In their evolution, two periods are usually distinguished: early, or classical (1st millennium AD), and late, or postclassical (X-XVI centuries AD).
Among the most significant cultures of Mesoamerica of the classical period are Teotihuacan. originated in Central Mexico. The surviving ruins of Teotihuacan - the capital of the civilization of the same name - indicate that it was a political, economic and cultural center throughout Mesoamerica with a population of 60-120 thousand people. Crafts and trade developed most successfully in it. Archaeologists have discovered about 500 craft workshops, entire neighborhoods of foreign merchants and “diplomats” in the city. Crafts from craftsmen are found throughout almost all of Central America.
It is noteworthy that almost the entire city was a kind of architectural monument. Its center was carefully planned around two wide streets intersecting at right angles: from north to south - the Road of the Dead Avenue, over 5 km long, and from west to east - an unnamed avenue up to 4 km long.
At the northern end of the Road of the Dead rises the huge silhouette of the Pyramid of the Moon (height 42 m), made of raw brick and lined with volcanic stone. On the other side of the avenue there is an even more grandiose structure - the Pyramid of the Sun (height 64.5 m), on the top of which a temple once stood. The place where the avenues intersect is occupied by the palace of the ruler of Teotihuacan - the “Citadel”, which is a complex of buildings that included a temple god Quetzalcoatl - The Feathered Serpent, one of the main deities, patron of culture and knowledge, god of air and wind. All that remains of the temple is its pyramidal base, consisting of six decreasing stone platforms, as if placed on top of each other. The facade of the pyramid and the balustrade of the main staircase are decorated with sculpted heads of Quetzalcoatl himself and the god of water and rain Tlaloc in the form of a butterfly.
Along the Road of the Dead there are the remains of dozens more temples and palaces. Among them is the beautiful Palace of Quetzalpapalotl, or the Palace of the Feathered Snail, reconstructed today, the walls of which are decorated with fresco paintings. There are also excellent examples of such painting in the Temple of Agriculture, which depicts gods, people and animals. The original monuments of the culture in question are anthropomorphic masks made of stone and clay. In the III-VII centuries. Ceramic products—cylindrical vessels with picturesque paintings or carved ornaments—and terracotta figurines are widely used.
The culture of Teotihuacan reached its peak at the beginning of the 7th century. AD However, already at the end of the same century beautiful city suddenly dies, destroyed by a gigantic fire. The causes of this disaster still remain unclear - most likely as a result of the invasion of militant barbarian tribes of Northern Mexico.
Aztec culture
After the death of Teotihuacan, Central Mexico plunged into troubled times of interethnic wars and civil strife for a long time. As a result of repeated mixing of local tribes with newcomers - first with the Chichemecs, and then with the Tenochki-pharmacies - the Aztec capital was founded in 1325 on the deserted islands of Lake Texcoco Tenochtitlan. The emerging city-state grew rapidly and by the beginning of the 16th century. turned into one of the most powerful powers in America - the famous Aztec Empire with a huge territory and a population of 5-6 million people. Its borders extended from Northern Mexico to Guatemala and from the Pacific Coast to the Gulf of Mexico.
The capital itself, Tenochtitlan, became a large city with a population of 120-300 thousand inhabitants. This island city was connected to the mainland by three wide stone causeway roads. According to eyewitnesses, the Aztec capital was a beautiful, well-planned city. Its ritual and administrative center was a magnificent architectural ensemble, which included a “sacred area” surrounded by walls, inside which were located the main city temples, dwellings of priests, schools, and a ground for ritual ball games. Nearby were no less magnificent palaces of the Aztec rulers.
basis economy The Aztecs were agriculture, and the main cultivated crop was corn. It should be emphasized that it was the Aztecs who were the first to grow cocoa beans And tomatoes; they are the authors of the word "tomatoes". Many crafts were at a high level, especially gold coinage. When the great Albrecht Durer saw Aztec goldwork in 1520, he declared: “Never in my life have I seen anything that moved me so deeply as these objects.”
Reached the highest level spiritual culture of the Aztecs. This was largely due to the effective education system, which included two types of schools in which the male population is educated. In schools of the first type, boys from the upper class were brought up, who were destined to become a priest, dignitary or military leader. Boys from ordinary families studied in schools of the second type, where they were prepared for agricultural work, crafts and military affairs. Schooling was compulsory.
System of religious-mythological ideas and cults The Aztecs were quite complex. At the origins of the pantheon were the ancestors - creator god Ome teku aphids and his divine consort. Among the active ones, the main deity was the god of the sun and war Huitzilopochtli. War was a form of worship of this god and was elevated to a cult. A special place was occupied by the god Sintheoble, the patron of corn fertility. The protector of the priests was Lord Quetzalcoatl.
Yacatecuhali was the god of trade and patron of merchants. In general, there were many gods. Suffice it to say that every month and every day of the year had its own god.
Developed very successfully . It was based on philosophy, which was practiced by sages who were highly respected. The leading science was astronomy. Aztec astrologers could freely navigate the starry picture of the sky. Satisfying needs agriculture, they developed a fairly accurate calendar. taking into account the position and movement of stars in the sky.
The Aztecs created a highly developed artistic culture. Among the arts has achieved significant success literature. Aztec writers created didactic treatises, dramatic and prose works. The leading position was occupied by poetry, which included several genres: military poems, poems about flowers, spring songs. The greatest success was enjoyed by religious poems and hymns that were sung in honor of the main gods of the Aztecs.
No less successfully developed architecture. In addition to the beautiful ensembles and palaces of the capital already mentioned above, magnificent architectural monuments were created in other cities. However, almost all of them were destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors. Among the amazing creations is the recently discovered temple in Malinalco. This temple, which had the shape of a traditional Aztec pyramid, is notable for this. that it was all carved right into the rock. If we consider that the Aztecs used only stone tools, then one can imagine what a gigantic effort the construction of this temple required.
In the 1980s, as a result of earthquakes, excavations and excavations, the Main Aztec Temple was opened in the very center of Mexico City - Templo Mayor. The sanctuaries of the main god Huitzilopochtli and the god of water and rain, patron of agriculture, Tlaloc, were also discovered. Remains of wall paintings and samples of stone sculpture were discovered. Among those found, a round stone with a diameter of more than 3 m with a bas-relief image of the goddess Coyol-shauhki, the sister of Huitzilopochtli, stands out. Stone figurines of gods, corals, shells, ceramics, necklaces, etc. were preserved in deep hiding pits.
The Aztec culture and civilization reached its peak at the beginning of the 16th century. However, this flowering soon came to an end. The Spaniards captured Tenochti glan in 1521. The city was destroyed and arose from its ruins. new city— Mexico City, which became the center of the colonial possessions of European conquerors.
Mayan civilization
Mayan culture and civilization became another amazing phenomenon of pre-Columbian America, which existed in the 1st-15th centuries. AD in southeastern Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. A modern researcher of this region, G. Lehman, called the Mayans “the most fascinating of all the civilizations of ancient America.”
Indeed, everything connected with the Mayans is shrouded in mystery and mystery. Their origin remains a mystery. The mystery is their choice of settlement - the rugged jungles of Mexico. At the same time, the ups and downs in their subsequent development seem like a mystery and a miracle.
In the classical period (I-IX centuries AD), the development of Mayan civilization and culture proceeded along a steep upward trajectory. Already in the first centuries of our era, they reached the highest level and amazing perfection in architecture, sculpture and painting. The emerging large and populous cities became centers of craft production, marked by a real flowering of painted ceramics. At this time, the Mayans created the only developed hieroglyphic writing, as evidenced by inscriptions on steles, reliefs, and small plastic objects. The Mayans compiled an accurate solar calendar and successfully predicted solar and lunar eclipses.
The main type of monumental architecture there was a pyramidal temple built on high pyramid- up to 70 m. If you consider that the entire structure was erected on high pyramidal hills, then you can imagine how majestic and grandiose the entire structure looks. This is exactly how the Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque appears, which served as the tomb of the ruler like the pyramids Ancient Egypt. The entire structure was covered with hieroglyphic relief inscriptions that decorate the walls, crypt, sarcophagus lid and other objects. Leads to the temple steep stairs with multiple platforms. In the city there are three more pyramids with temples of the Sun, the Cross and the Foliated Cross, as well as a palace with a five-story square tower, which apparently served as an observatory: on the top floor there is a stone bench on which the astrologer sat, peering into the distant sky. The walls of the palace are also decorated with reliefs depicting prisoners of war.
In the VI-IX centuries. achieve the highest successes monumental sculpture and Mayan painting. The sculptural schools of Palenque, Copan and other cities achieve rare skill and subtlety in conveying the naturalness of the poses and movements of the characters depicted, which are usually rulers, dignitaries and warriors. Small plastic works are also distinguished by amazing craftsmanship - especially small figurines.
The surviving examples of Mayan painting amaze with the elegance of their design and richness of color. The famous frescoes of Bonampak are recognized masterpieces of pictorial art. They talk about military battles, depict solemn ceremonies, complex rituals of sacrifice, graceful dances, etc.
In the 1st-10th centuries. Most Mayan cities were destroyed by the invading Toltec tribes, but in the 11th century. Mayan culture was revived again in the Yucatan Peninsula and in the mountains of Guatemala. Its main centers are the cities of Chichen Itza, Uxmal and Mayapan.
Still developing most successfully architecture. One of the remarkable architectural monuments of the postclassical period is the pyramid of Kukulcan - the “Feathered Serpent” in Chichen Itza. To the top of the nine-step pyramid, where the temple is located, there are four staircases bordered by a balustrade, which begins at the bottom with a beautifully executed snake head and continues in the form of a snake body to the upper floor. The pyramid symbolizes the calendar, for the 365 steps of its stairs correspond to the number of days in a year. It is also notable for the fact that inside it there is another nine-step pyramid, in which there is a sanctuary, and in it there is an amazing stone throne depicting a jaguar.
The “Temple of the Magician” pyramid in Uxmal is also very original. It differs from all others in that in horizontal projection it has an oval shape.
By the middle of the 15th century. Mayan culture enters into a severe crisis and declines. When the Spanish conquerors entered at the beginning of the 16th century. to Mayan cities, many of them were abandoned by their inhabitants. The reasons for such an unexpected and sad ending to a thriving culture and civilization remain a mystery.
Ancient civilizations of South America. Inca culture
In South America, almost simultaneously with the Olmec civilization of Mesoamerica, at the end of the 2nd millennium BC, an equally mysterious Chavin culture, similar to the Olmec, although not related to it.
At the turn of our era in the northern part of the coastal zone of Peru appears Mochica Civilization, and in the south - Nazca civilization. Somewhat later, in the mountains of northern Bolivia, an original Tiahuanaco culture. These civilizations of South America were in some respects inferior to the Mesoamerican cultures: they did not have hieroglyphic writing, an accurate calendar, etc. But in many other ways - especially in technology - they were superior to Mesoamerica. Already from the 2nd millennium BC. The Indians of Peru and Bolivia smelted metals, processed gold, silver, copper and their alloys and made from them not only beautiful jewelry, but also tools - shovels and hoes. They had developed agriculture, built magnificent temples, created monumental sculptures, and produced beautiful ceramics with polychrome painting. Their fine fabrics made of cotton and wool became widely known. In the 1st millennium AD the production of metal products, ceramics and textiles reached a large scale and a high level, and it was this that constituted the unique originality of the South American civilizations of the classical period.
The Postclassical period (X-XVI centuries AD) was marked by the emergence and disappearance of many states in both the mountainous and coastal zones of South America. In the XIV century. The Incas create the state of Tauatin-suyu in the mountainous zone, which, after a long war with neighboring small states, manages to emerge victorious and subjugate all the others.
In the 15th century it turns to the gigantic and famous Inca Empire with a huge territory and a population of about 6 million people. At the head of the huge power was a divine ruler, the son of the Sun Inca, who relied on a hereditary aristocracy and a caste of priests.
The basis economy was agriculture, the main crops of which were corn, potatoes, beans, and red peppers. The Inca state was distinguished by its effective organization public works, called "mita". Mita meant the obligation of all subjects of the empire to work one month a year on the construction of government facilities. It made it possible to gather tens of thousands of people in one place, thanks to which irrigation canals, fortresses, roads, bridges, etc. were built in a short time.
From north to south, the Inca Country is crossed by two paraplegic roads. one of which had a length of more than 5 thousand km. These highways were connected to each other by a large number of transverse roads, which created an excellent network of communications. Along the roads at certain distances there were postal stations and warehouses with food and necessary materials. There was a state post office in Gauatinsuyu.
Spiritual and religious life and matters of cult were the responsibility of the priests. The supreme deity was considered Viracocha - Creator of the world and other gods. Other deities were the golden sun god Inti. god of weather, thunder and lightning Ilpa. A special place was occupied by the ancient cults of the mother of the Earth, Mama Pacha, and the mother of the sea, Mama (Sochi). The worship of the gods took place in stone temples, decorated inside with gold.
Regulated all aspects of life, including the personal life of citizens of the empire. All Incas were required to marry before a certain age. If this did not happen, then the issue was resolved by a government official at his own discretion, and his decision was binding.
Although the Incas did not have real writing, this did not stop them from creating beautiful myths, legends, epic poems, religious hymns, and dramatic works. Unfortunately, little has survived from this spiritual wealth.
Highest flourishing culture the Incas reached at the beginning XVI V. However, this prosperity did not last long. In 1532, the most powerful empire of pre-Columbian America submitted to the Europeans almost without resistance. A small group of Spanish conquerors led by Francisco Pizarro managed to kill Inca Atahualpa, which paralyzed the will to resist his people, and great empire The Incas ceased to exist.
M. Stingle. Secrets of Indian pyramids., M.: “Progress”, 1982.
M. Stingle. Worshipers of the stars. In the footsteps of the disappeared Peruvian states, M.: “Progress”, 1983.
M. Stingle. State of the Incas. Glory and death of the “sons of the Sun”, M.: “Progress”, 1986.
One of the characteristic features of the art of pre-Columbian America is the existence of a huge number of different cultures, each of which had a special, unique style. There were about 11 thousand of them in Mexico alone.
Among these crops, three of the most significant stand out:
Aztec culture (Central Mexico);
Mayan culture (Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras);
Inca culture (Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador).
Aztec culture.
The culture developed over almost four centuries, starting from the 12th century. Until 1521, when the Spanish conquistadors (conquerors) destroyed the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan (ancient Mexico City). Cartes, the leader of the conquistadors, fell in love with Marina (a name that came to Europe from the Aztecs), the daughter of the last Aztec leader Mantesula. Only by chance did Cartes manage to defeat the Aztecs. Wounded, he snatched the spear from the leader, and the Aztec troops began to obey him.
Most of the stone buildings of the Aztecs have reached us severely damaged. These are primarily tetrahedral pyramids on which temples or palaces were located. The Aztecs believed that every half century a new period in the development of the world began, and in accordance with this they renovated temples and palaces. The previously built temple, together with the pyramid, was covered with several layers of masonry, so that it ended up inside the updated pyramid, on top of which another temple was built. In one of the pyramids in Tenayuca, 8 successively walled temples were discovered. Sometimes the palaces and temples on the peaks were built of wood, but they have not survived.
Aztec sculpture is distinguished by its severity and schematism. They created huge cult statues, sometimes vaguely resembling a person and composed of symbolic images: corn cobs, fangs, etc. For example, the statue of the goddess of Earth and Fertility Coatlicue.
Few examples of painting have survived. Bright decorative “mosaics” made of feathers glued to thick fabric, and works of the finest jewelry art have come down to us.
On the territory of Mexico, the bloodiest cult in the history of mankind, associated with the planet Venus, appeared. A wall of skulls coated with clay was found here.
Uxmal is a complex of ancient American culture. The Palace of the Rulers in Uxmal is located on an artificial platform 200170 m, 12 m high. The palace itself has the following dimensions: 98128.5 m. The upper part of the Supreme Palace is decorated with a huge relief. The main character of the relief is the god of Rain and Fertility Chak. Chuck is the intermediary deity between God and man; he is a guardian dwarf.
There was a cult of the Feathered Serpent among the Teotihuacans, Toltecs, and then among the Aztecs. People worshiped him as the giver of civilization.
Mayan culture.
A vibrant culture was created by the Mayan peoples. Already in the II-III centuries. AD The Mayan tribes founded small city-states headed by priests and aristocracy.
Like the Aztecs, the Mayans built their buildings on stone foundations. Two types of structures are more common: temples on top of the pyramids; extensive palaces on high stone pillars (bases) that were formed around an open courtyard. Mayan houses were usually built on the ledges of a natural or artificial hill, making their buildings appear multi-story. Mayan architecture is more picturesque and richer in decoration than that of the Aztecs. The facades of the buildings were decorated with geometric patterns, reliefs and masks of deities. Sometimes the wall mass is completely hidden under stone lace. Columns are often used. Famous monuments of this culture: the Temple of the Sun in Palenque, the Temple of the Jaguars and the Temple of the Warriors in Chichen Itza. There are four staircases of 91 steps (914=364) leading to the top of the Kukulkan pyramid in Chichen Itza. At the top of the sanctuary of Kukulcan-Quetzalcoatl there is another 365th step. The pyramid is decorated with 52 reliefs. The Toltecs introduced the Venus calendar and the highest calendar cycle into the Mayac culture - 52 years (365 days each)
Sculpture has reached a high level of development. In accordance with the very complex Mayan calendar, stone steles with reliefs were erected every 20 years. On the front side of the stele a figure of a deity or ruler was depicted. The remaining three sides were covered with hierographic inscriptions.
The Mayan culture reached its peak in the 8th-9th centuries. AD At this time, complex reliefs with multi-figure compositions appeared (Piedras Negras stela, 795). The Mayans had palaces, temples, monasteries, observatories, courtyards, markets, ceremonial sites, and steam bath buildings. They created underground stone reservoirs - Chultuns. Reservoirs were carved into rocks, connected by canals and served to store rainwater. The Mayans built roads - sakbe (surface - lime concrete compacted with a stone roller), but did not know wheels.
The Mayans have no central government, no capital, all cities are equal.
The best examples of Mayan painting are the frescoes of the temple in Bonampak (opened in 1946). Three rooms of the temple are covered with paintings depicting the preparation for the battle, the battle and the celebration after the battle. The masters used clean, bright colors. Color was associated with certain symbolism. The ancient inhabitants of Mexico, noticing a red figure in the composition, knew that we were talking about the god of the Earth Xipetoteki, thereby about the eastern sky with its meanings of sunrise, youth and spring.
Above the priests performing the ritual of sacrifice, the priest-prophets and the priests-servants of the Sun stood the high priest of the Mayak state. He was also a Master of Hierographic Writing, Chief Astrologer and Astronomer.
Inca culture.
The Inca Empire existed for a relatively short time from the beginning of the 15th century. until 1532, when the country was captured by the Spanish conquerors. The Incan writing system has not been fully deciphered. The capital was the city of Cusco, famous for its Golden Garden (perhaps the craftsmen who created it were from the Chimu people).
The architecture is simple and unadorned. Temples, dwellings, and fortresses are made of huge blocks of stone (up to 350 tons in weight) very precisely fitted to each other, but not held together with binding mortars (Sacsahuaman fortress). The houses had strong stone walls and cramped interior spaces. Most houses have no windows and are lit through doors. According to travelers' descriptions, the buildings were originally decorated with wide belts of thick gold plates. The use of precious metals not as money, but as a decorative material was characteristic of the Incas. For example, in the Temple of the Sun in the city of Cusco, several rooms are decorated with images of the Sun, Moon, rainbow and stars made of gold, silver and precious stones. Unlike Central America, the Incas built pyramids up to 40m high. not for temples, but for burials. Trapezoidal entrances and niches are characteristic features of Inca architecture.
Stone sculpture received almost no development among the Incas.
The art of making and painting ceramics has been developed. It is conventionally divided into several periods. In the first period, the vessels depict scenes of battle, fishing, and mythological subjects. In the second period, the paintings practically disappear, but the vessels themselves turn into real sculpture. Most often, the vessels were made in the shape of a person’s head, sometimes conveying individual features. Later, vessels appear in the form of animals, fruits and plants.
The main food of the Incas was potatoes (including canned ones), corn, and pumpkins. The Incas grew coca, a narcotic plant. In the empire there was a clear division of the population into the elite and the bulk of the inhabitants. According to the law, the Inca (ruler of the empire) married his sister, who became his legal wife and, as a rule, the mother of the heir. In addition to his main wife, he had a harem and could live with any of the nuns of the monasteries, since he was the incarnation of the Sun God on Earth. The heir was appointed during the life of the ruler by the ritual of public hair cutting. The future heir helped his father and learned management. There were 10 age groups of the population, each of which had certain rights and responsibilities. Group 1: infants. Group 2: children under 2 years old. Group 3: children playing. Group 4: children 9-12 years old. Group 5: teenagers 12-18 years old. Group 6: 18-25 years old - serving in the army. Group 7: 25-50 years old – married and running a household. Group 8: 50-80 years old – old people. Group 9: 80 years and older - deaf old people. Group 10: patients.
There were no uprisings in the state. This social system provided security for old age. It is therefore sometimes called “Indian socialism.” There was no money in the empire, only natural exchange on the market. Gold is used as decoration. The army is well trained and equipped (clubs with stone or metal ends). There were excellent roads and a post office. The messengers ran about two kilometers from parking lot to parking lot; as a result of the relay race, 2000 km were covered in 3 days. The Incas composed poems that were later written down by the Jesuits. The knotted quipu script is widespread, in which one can count up to 1,000,000. The nobility studied at universities for 4 years, where they studied the Quechua language, solar religion, knotted quipu script, history and military affairs. The Incas wove dense fabrics with a density of 8045 threads/cm (modern parachute fabric has a density of 6030 threads/cm). They performed operations, including craniotomy.
The last Inca was called Tupacu Omaru.
Additional information.
The oldest cultures of Peru date back to the 3rd millennium BC.
Not far from Lima There was a culture at that time whose representatives did not know about the existence of metals, but erected clay and stone temples on artificial platforms. The Temple of the Crossed Hands is famous. Later, this gesture-sign is found in Colombia.
Culture Chavin, associated with the cult of the Jaguar, was widespread at the end of the 2nd - middle of the 1st millennium. BC
Culture Nazca(mid-2nd century BC) correlates with the valleys of the Ica, Pisco and Nazca rivers. Here the “wooden Stonehenge of Peru” was found – the Escuquería sanctuary. It consists of hundreds of dried mesquite tree trunks. The center of the composition is a square formed by 12 rows of 12 columns each. Giant images found in the Nazca Desert. The Pampa de Nazca Gallery is platforms, lines, spirals, human and animal “figuras” (geoglyphs). The head of a giant bird (120m long) is directed towards the point of sunrise on the winter solstice. According to M. Stingle, the Indians buried the deceased using a triangular-shaped balloon. At sunset, the deceased was placed in a wicker basket, the balloon rose above the sea and disappeared beyond the horizon.
Culture Mochika(I-VII centuries BC) left behind the pyramids of the Sun and Moon. In Pampa Grande. The Pyramid of the Sun has a base of 342159 m. Gold products are unique. We have reached the legend of the existence of a golden garden and eyewitness accounts of a room with five thousand golden butterflies, each of which weighed less than a gram and hovered in the air with slight fluctuations in the air. The butterflies were melted by the conquerors. As a result, they received 4 kg 700 g of pure gold. Around Lake Titicaca, many chulpas were found - funerary towers of rectangular and cylindrical shape, extended upward.
According to legend, the founder of the Chimu culture sailed to Peru from the north with his detachment on rafts. His name was Naimlan. "Hire" means "bird" or "flight". Chimu built the city of Chan-Chan with an area of 18 square meters. km. The city is surrounded by two rows of defensive walls and divided into 10 quarters 450300 m. In many respects, the customs that reigned in the Chimu state differed little from the customs of the 25th century. Inc. In the 1460s. two cultures collided - the coastal Chimu culture, which worshiped the Moon, and mountain culture Incas who worshiped the Sun. The victory remained for the second. Clay reliefs depicting birds, fish, lizards, foxes, and ornaments have been preserved from the Chimu culture. Since ancient times, the supreme deity in Peru has been depicted framed by a snake arch, surrounded by predators. The arch symbolized the rainbow, the Milky Way, thunder, and the firmament.
Culture Olmec- one of the cultures of ancient Mexico. San Lorenzo, the capital of the Olmecs, was abandoned for unknown reasons in 900. The second capital of the “jaguar” Indians was La Venta. Huge stone heads have been found at La Venta.
Tribes Chol and Tzeltal They left in Palenque (Mexico) a famous ensemble in which the palace tower, a 4-story building, was also an observatory.
The Toltec culture is interesting. The Pyramid of the Morning Star in Tula (Tollan) has been preserved.
When the first Europeans arrived on the American continent, they encountered a civilization that was very different from anything they had previously seen. Locals had no idea about many concepts that had long been firmly rooted in the Old World. The peoples of pre-Columbian America did not use the wheel, make iron tools, or ride horses.
All the more surprising is the fact that the Indians, as the people from Europe called them, managed to build several fairly developed civilizations. They had cities, states, long paved roads between settlements, writing, astronomy, and unique artistic artifacts.
The civilizations of pre-Columbian America arose independently of each other in two geographical regions - Mesoamerica and the Andes. Until the Spanish conquest, these areas were the centers of intellectual and cultural life of the continent.
Mesoamerica
This geographic area covers areas of central and southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The first people appeared here in the 12th millennium BC. Cities and states arose in the third millennium BC. From then until the beginning of Spanish colonization, several advanced cultures emerged in Mesoamerica.
The earliest civilization was the Olmecs, who lived on the Gulf Coast. They had a huge influence on the traditions of all subsequent peoples who inhabited this region.
Olmec culture
The most ancient art of pre-Columbian America is represented by very unusual and mysterious artifacts. The most famous monument of the Olmec civilization are giant heads made from basalt boulders. Their sizes vary from one and a half meters to 3.4 meters, and they weigh from 25 to 55 tons. Since the Olmecs did not have a written language, the purpose of these heads is unknown. Most scientists are inclined to believe that these are most likely portraits of ancient rulers. This is indicated by the details of the headdresses, as well as the fact that the faces of the sculptures are not similar to each other.
Another direction of Olmec art is jade masks. They were made with great skill. After the disappearance of the Olmec civilization, these masks were discovered by the Aztecs, who collected and stored them as valuable artifacts. In general, the culture of pre-Columbian America was formed under the strong influence of this ancient people. Drawings, figurines and sculptures of the Olmecs are discovered hundreds of kilometers from the territories they once inhabited.
Mayan civilization
The next great culture of Mesoamerica emerged around 2000 BC and lasted until the era of European colonialism. This was the Mayan civilization, which left behind a huge number of works of fine art and architectural monuments. The greatest rise of Mayan culture occurred from 200 to 900 AD. During this pre-Columbian era, America experienced the heyday of urban planning.
The Mayan frescoes, bas-reliefs and sculptures are executed with great grace. They quite accurately convey the proportions of the human body. The Mayans had writing and a calendar, they also created a detailed map of the starry sky and were able to predict the trajectory of the planets.
Mayan art
Color images do not hold up well in humid climates. Therefore, not many Mayan wall paintings have survived to this day. Nevertheless, fragments of such images have been found everywhere in the ancient cities of this people. The surviving fragments indicate that the art of pre-Columbian America was not inferior to the best works of the classical civilizations of the Old World.
The Mayans achieved high skill in making ceramics, including painted ones. From clay they sculpted not only dishes, but also figurines depicting gods, rulers, as well as scenes from everyday life. The Mayans made jewelry from precious stones and were engaged in wood carving.
Many sculptures and bas-reliefs have been preserved, which reflect the history of pre-Columbian America of that period. Mayan artists often left important social events depicted in stone. Many images contain inscriptions, which greatly helps historians in interpreting the subjects presented on them.
Mayan architecture
The culture of America during the Mayan times experienced its heyday, which could not but be reflected in the architecture. In addition to residential buildings, cities had many specialized buildings. Being keen astronomers, the Mayans built observatories to observe celestial objects. They also had ball courts. They can be considered the predecessors of modern football fields. The balls themselves were made from the sap of the rubber tree.
The Mayans erected temples in the form of a sanctuary on top. Special platforms were also built, reaching four meters in height and intended for public ceremonies and religious rituals.
Teotihuacan
On the territory of modern Mexico there is an abandoned city of ancient Indians with perfectly preserved buildings. Nowhere did the architecture of pre-Columbian America reach such heights (literally and figuratively) as in Teotihuacan. Here is the Pyramid of the Sun - a gigantic structure 64 meters high and with a base of more than 200 meters. Previously, there was a wooden temple on its top.
Nearby is the Pyramid of the Moon. It is the second largest structure in Teotihuacan. It was built later and was dedicated to the great goddess of earth and fertility. In addition to the two large ones, there are several smaller four-tiered stepped structures in the city.
Images in Teotihuacan
Almost all buildings in the city have murals. The background in them is usually red. Other colors are used to depict characters and other details of the drawing. The subjects of the frescoes are mostly symbolic and religious, illustrating the myths of pre-Columbian America, but there are also scenes of everyday activities. There are also images of rulers and fighting warriors. There are many sculptures in Teotihuacan, including those that are elements of the architecture of buildings.
Toltec culture
Little is known today about what pre-Columbian America was like between the end of the Mayan civilization and the rise of the Aztecs. It is believed that the Toltecs lived in Mesoamerica at this time. Modern scientists draw information about them mainly from Aztec legends, in which real facts are often intertwined with fiction. But archaeological finds still provide some reliable information.
The capital of the Toltecs was the city of Tula, located in what is now Mexico. In its place are the remains of two pyramids, one of which was dedicated to the god Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent). At its top stand four massive figures depicting Toltec warriors.
Aztec culture
When the Spaniards sailed to Central America, they found a powerful empire there. This was the state of the Aztecs. We can judge the culture of this people not only by architectural monuments. Thanks to the Spanish chroniclers, who described the civilization they saw, information about the poetic, musical and theatrical art of the Aztecs has been preserved.
Aztec poetry
The poetic art of pre-Columbian America apparently had a long tradition. In any case, by the time the Spaniards appeared, the Aztecs already had poetry competitions held under large cluster people. The poems, as a rule, contained metaphors, words and phrases with double meanings. There were several literary genres: lyric poetry, military ballads, mythological tales, etc.
Fine art and architecture of the Aztecs
The capital of the Aztec Empire was Tenochtitlan. Its development was dominated by architectural forms that were invented by the previous civilizations of pre-Columbian America. In particular, a 50-meter pyramid towered over the city, reminiscent of similar Mayan structures.
Aztec paintings and bas-reliefs depict both scenes from everyday life and a variety of historical and religious events. They also contain pictures of human sacrifices that were carried out during religious festivals.
One of the most unusual and mysterious artifacts of the Aztecs is the Stone of the Sun - a large round sculpture with a diameter of almost 12 meters. In its center is the sun god, surrounded by symbols of four past eras. A calendar is inscribed around the deity. It is believed that it served as a sacrificial altar. In this artifact, the culture of pre-Columbian America reveals several of its facets at once - astronomical knowledge, cruel rituals, and artistic skill merge into a single whole.
Inca culture
The peoples of pre-Columbian America reached a high level of development not only in the central part of the continent. In the south, in the Andes, the unique Inca civilization flourished. These people were geographically separated from Mesoamerican cultures and developed separately.
The Incas achieved great mastery in many forms of art. Their patterns on fabrics, called tokapu, are of great interest. Their purpose was not only to make clothes more elegant. Each of the elements of the pattern was also a symbol denoting a word. Arranged in a certain sequence, they formed phrases and sentences.
Inca music
The musical art of pre-Columbian America has been partially preserved in the Andes, where the descendants of the Incas live, to this day. There are also literary sources from the times of colonization. From these we know that the Incas used a variety of wind and percussion instruments. Music accompanied religious rituals; many songs were associated with the cycle of field work.
Machu Picchu
The Incas also became famous for a unique city built high in the mountains. It was discovered in 1911, already abandoned, so its real name is not known. Machu Picchu means "old peak" in the local Indian language. The buildings in the city are made of stone. The blocks fit together so precisely that the skill of the ancient builders surprises even modern specialists.
North American culture
The Indians who lived north of what is now Mexico did not build stone structures such as the Pyramid of the Sun or Machu Picchu. But the artistic achievements of the peoples of pre-Columbian America who lived in the region and Missouri are also quite interesting. There are many ancient mounds preserved in this region.
In addition to simple mounds in the form of a hill, in the Mississippi River valley there are stepped platforms, as well as mounds, in the outlines of which the figures of various animals can be discerned, in particular a snake and a crocodile.
The influence of art of pre-Columbian America on modern times
Indians are a thing of the past. But the current culture of America bears the imprint of ancient pre-colonial traditions. Thus, the national costumes of the indigenous peoples of Chile and Peru are very similar to the clothing of the Incas. The paintings of Mexican artists often display stylistic techniques characteristic of Mayan fine art. And in the books of Colombian writers, fantastic events are intricately woven into a realistic plot with the ease familiar to Aztec poetry.
