Respond to the following question with 250 words . Please no plagiarism, no AI, No chat bots .

From your perspective, “Why is it important to study pre-Columbian art from a global and cultural perspective?”

Please use this book as a reference

TEXTBOOK

The History of Art: A Global View: 1300 to the Present

ISBN-13: 9780500293560

ISBN-10: 0500293562

Publisher: Thames & Hudson

Publication Date: 2021-12-01

Author: Robertson, Jean, Hutton, Deborah, Colburn, Cynthia, Harmansah, mr, Kjellgren, Eric, Koontz, Rex, Lee, De-nin, Luttikhuizen, He

What do you know about the ancient arts of the Americas?

Have you heard the term Pre-Columbian before this class? What does it refer to in the cultures of the world?

We are leaving Italy and Europe to explore the arts of the Americas. What has been called Pre-Columbian Art that is art created before the Western World of Europe knew that this world existed. These works of art are the product of the peoples living on the continentThe Inca, Aztec, Mayan and more. These cultures date back to millennia. Including the Olmec.

When Columbus arrived, there were already monumental architecture, sculpture, textile weaving, ceramics as well as metal works in production and in use. Most often, these works were in use in rituals, ceremonies and relating to cosmological and religious uses. These works reflect cultural traditions, world views and beliefs.

Cultural Groups

Mesoamerica: Cultures: Olmec, Maya, Aztec Artworks: Stone carvings. Pyramids. Goldwork. Hieroglyphs. Ceramics and Murals. Books.

Andean: Cultures: Moche, Nazca, Inca. Artworks: Naca lines (massive desert glyphs) Textiles. Ceramic vessels. Monumental architecture.

North America. Cultures: Hopewell, Mississippian. Art works: Earthwork mounds. Stone and bone tools, Textiles. Basketry.

• Achievements: Major advancements in astronomy, mathematics, engineering, art (pyramids, temples), and agriculture (maize, beans).
• Trade: Extensive trade networks existed, exchanging goods like obsidian, textiles, and cacao across vast distances.
• Significance: Marks the era before dramatic shifts caused by European disease, conquest, and cultural exchange.

• What does pre-Columbian mean?
• The original inhabitants of the Americas traveled across what is now known as the , a passage that connected the westernmost point of North America with the easternmost point of Asia. The Western hemisphere was disconnected from Asia at the end of the last Ice Age, around 10,000 B.C.E.
• In 1492, the Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus arrived at the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic), mistakenly thinking he had reached Asia.
• Columbus miscalculation marked the first step in the colonization of the Americas, or what was then seen as a New World. Incorrectly referring to the native inhabitants of Hispaniola as Indians (under the assumption that he had landed in India), Columbus established the first Spanish colony of the Americas. Pre-Columbian thus refers to the period in the Americas before the arrival of Columbus.
• The term pre-Columbian is complicated however. For one thing, although it refers to the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the phrase does not directly reference any of the many sophisticated cultures that flourished in the Americas (think of the Aztec, Inka, or Maya, to name only a few) and instead invokes a European explorer.
• For this reason and because Indigenous peoples flourished before and after the arrival of the Europeans, the term is often seen as flawed. Other terms such as pre-Hispanic, pre-Cortesian, or more simply, ancient Americas, are sometimes used.
• Maya Jimnez, “Defining pre-Columbian and Mesoamerica,” in Smarthistory, August 19, 2016, accessed January 16, 2026, .
• Before 1607 in North America, an introduction
• by

Great Serpent Mound, Ohio North America

12 minutes

Take notes from this video along with the article on the Great Serpent Mound in Ohio!

Respond to Questions at the end of the article.

Fort Ancient Culture: Great Serpent Mound

Fort Ancient Culture(?), Great Serpent Mound, c. 1070, Adams County, Ohio (photo: )

A serpent 1300 feet long

The Great Serpent Mound in rural, southwestern Ohio is the largest serpent effigy in the world. Numerous mounds were made by the ancient Native American cultures that flourished along the fertile valleys of the Mississippi, Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri Rivers a thousand years ago, though many were destroyed as farms spread across this region during the modern era. They invite us to contemplate the rich spiritual beliefs of the ancient Native American cultures that created them.

The Great Serpent Mound measures approximately 1,300 feet in length and ranges from one to three feet in height. The complex mound is both architectural and sculptural and was erected by settled peoples who cultivated maize, beans and squash and who maintained a stratified society with an organized labor force, but left no written records. Lets take a look at both aerial and close-up views that can help us understand the mound in relationship to its site and the possible intentions of its makers.

Ephraim George Squier and E. H. Davis, “The Serpent;” entry 1014, Adams County Ohio. Pl. XXXV, Ancient monuments of the Mississippi Valley: comprising the results of extensive original surveys and explorations (Washington: Smithsonian institution, 1848)

Supernatural powers?

The serpent is slightly crescent-shaped and oriented such that the head is at the east and the tail at the west, with seven winding coils in between. The shape of the head perhaps invites the most speculation. Whereas some scholars read the oval shape as an enlarged eye, others see a hollow egg or even a frog about to be swallowed by wide, open jaws. But perhaps that lower jaw is an indication of appendages, such as small arms that might imply the creature is a lizard rather than a snake. Many native cultures in both North and Central America attributed supernatural powers to snakes or reptiles and included them in their spiritual practices. The native peoples of the Middle Ohio Valley in particular frequently created snake-shapes out of copper sheets.

Aerial view of the Great Serpent Mound, c. 1070, Adams County, Ohio

The mound conforms to the natural topography of the site, which is a high plateau overlooking Ohio Brush Creek. In fact, the head of the creature approaches a steep, natural cliff above the creek. The unique geologic formations suggest that a meteor struck the site approximately 250-300 million years ago, causing folded bedrock underneath the mound.

Celestial hypotheses

Aspects of both the zoomorphic form and the unusual site have associations with astronomy worthy of our consideration. The head of the serpent aligns with the summer solstice sunset, and the tail points to the winter solstice sunrise. Could this mound have been used to mark time or seasons, perhaps indicating when to plant or harvest? Likewise, it has been suggested that the curves in the body of the snake parallel lunar phases, or alternatively align with the two solstices and two equinoxes.

View of tail, Fort Ancient Culture(?), Great Serpent Mound, c. 1070, Adams County, Ohio (photo: )

Some have interpreted the egg or eye shape at the head to be a representation of the sun. Perhaps even the swallowing of the sun shape could document a solar eclipse. Another theory is that the shape of the serpent imitates the constellation Draco, with the Pole Star matching the placement of the first curve in the snakes torso from the head. An alignment with the Pole Star may indicate that the mound was used to determine true north and thus served as a kind of compass.

Of note also is the fact that Halleys Comet appeared in 1066, although the tail of the comet is characteristically straight rather than curved. Perhaps the mound served in part to mark this astronomical event or a similar phenomenon, such as light from a supernova. In a more comprehensive view, the serpent mount may represent a conglomerate of all celestial knowledge known by these native peoples in a single image.

Who built it?

Determining exactly which culture designed and built the effigy mound, and when, is a matter of ongoing inquiry. A broad answer may lie in viewing the work as being designed, built, and/or refurbished over an extended period of time by several indigenous groups. The leading theory is that the Fort Ancient Culture (1000-1650 C.E.) is principally responsible for the mound, having erected it in c. 1070 C.E. This mound-building society lived in the Ohio Valley and was influenced by the contemporary Mississippian culture (700-1550), whose urban center was located at Cahokia in Illinois. The rattlesnake was a common theme among the Mississippian culture, and thus it is possible that the Fort Ancient Culture appropriated this symbol from them (although there is no clear reference to a rattle to identify the species as such).

View of the Great Serpent Mound, 1070(?), Adams County, Ohio (photo: Katherine T. Brown)

An alternative theory is that the Fort Ancient Culture refurbished the site c. 1070, reworking a preexisting mound built by the Adena Culture (c.1100 B.C.E.-200 C.E.) and/or the Hopewell Culture (c. 100 B.C.E.-550 C.E.). Whether the site was built by the Fort Ancient peoples, or by the earlier Adena or Hopewell Cultures, the mound is atypical. The mound contains no artifacts, and both the Fort Ancient and Adena groups typically buried objects inside their mounds. Although there are no graves found inside the Great Serpent Mound, there are burials found nearby, but none of them are the kinds of burials typical for the Fort Ancient culture and are more closely associated with Adena burial practices. Archaeological evidence does not support a burial purpose for the Great Serpent Mound.

Debate continues

Whether this impressive monument was used as a way to mark time, document a celestial event, act as a compass, serve as a guide to astrological patterns, or provide a place of worship to a supernatural snake god or goddess, we may never know with certainty. One scholar has recently suggested that the mound was a platform or base for totems or other architectural structures that are no longer extant, perhaps removed by subsequent cultures. All to say, scholarly debate continues, based on on-going archaeological evidence and geological research. But without a doubt, the mound is singular and significant in its ability to provide tangible insights into the cosmology and rituals of the ancient Americas.

Essay by Katherine T. Brown

Respond to the following questions:

What are your thoughts on the Great Serpent Mound? Have you heard of it before? What does it suggest to you about the people that built it?

Mayan Art View the following videos and take notes to be submitted.Please no Plagiarism, no A I , No chat bots. paper will be checked.

2 minutes

3 minutes

4 minutes

Assignment: View the pdfs for Chapters 41 and 42 Along with reading both chapters. PDF Attached. and you will need to log in for the book.Please no plagiarism, no A I , no chat bots paper will be checked. Please original work.

Suggestion: View questions before reading the chapters and the PDF file.

1. Discuss the changes in Indigenous American art forms and materials after the arrival of the Europeans. Which elements of style and meaning (iconography) persisted? Which art forms and materials were transformed? The History of ArtA Global View Jean Robertson, Deborah Hutton, et a Chapter 41
2. Woven textiles were a key part of Inka artistic culture. How did the act of weaving affect Inka style? What were the main functions of elite garments? Chapter 42

Questions from the Chapters:

1. In what ways does architecture reflect cosmology and social order in Mesoamerican cultures?
2. How does symbolism function differently in Aztec, Maya, and Inca visual traditions?
3. What role did art play in maintaining social hierarchy and state control in these civilizations?

Please choose one of the following prompts. Your post should be at least two full paragraphs in length (5 sentences each), using complete sentences and proper grammar. Please no Plagiarism, No AI, NO Chat bots paper will be checked. Please use. the material provided.Consider including musical examples in your discussions from the text if applicable. Your original post must contain at least 280 words minimum.

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Supplemental Items for Country Music and the Jazz Age

Please choose one of the following prompts. Your post should be at least two full paragraphs in length (5 sentences each), using complete sentences and proper grammar.Please no Plagiarism, No A I , No chat bots paper will be checked. Please use. the material provided . Consider including musical examples in your discussions from the text if applicable. Your original post must contain at least 280 words minimum.

• How might Amy Cheney Beach’s professional experience have differed had she lived a half century later?
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