Incan (900 BCE-1540 CE) Flashcards
Chavin de Huantar
Series of underground passaged (post and lintel)
Passageway above Lanzon to see sculpture
Center of worship
Faces east to watch the sun
Could hold thousands of people in plaza
Sometimes priests would pretend to be the voice of the sculpture (acting as an oracle)
Left hand up towards celestial realm, right hand down towards terrestrial realm
Shows prosperity and advancement of the civilization
Offerings made of foreign materials were left (implies importance)
Architecture built around sculpture
Chavin de Huantar IDs
Peru
900-200 BCE
Stone, granite, gold
Cusco
Sacred shrine dedicated to the sun god
Imaginary lines connecting to every other shrine
Sun shines over rulers seat during summer solstice
Asymmetrical but balanced stones (gives sense of visual balance)
Flexible architecture
Qorichanka (center of Inca empire, holds a microcosm of the Inca universe)
Divided into sections based on social class, then quarters based on NESW and where you live in the empire
Cusco IDs
Inca
1440 CE
Sandstone
Maize cobs
Shows importance of corn
Offering to sun god
Used in ritual practices that supported state, religion, and government
Symbols of supernatural origins
Symbolizes the control Incas have over the world as descendants of the sun god
Part of tiny microcosm of Inca universe
Maize cobs IDs
Inca
1440-1533 CE
Sheet metal
Machu Picchu
Unable to move during earthquakes
Shows intense architectural understanding
Built on water system to foster a fertile agricultural enviornment
Royal estate for Pachacuti (leader who engineered a vast expansion of the Inca empire)
Observatory (temple for sun god, sun shines through left window for winter solstice and right for summer solstice)
Inthihuana (used to view the sun)
Machu Picchu IDs
Inca
1450-1540 CE
Granite
All-T’oqapu
Squares with non-repeating geometric patterns
The more colors, the higher the status
Elite man’s tunic
Dyes are from different regions of the empire
All-T’oqapu IDs
Inca
1450-1540 CE
Camelid fiber and cotton
