AP Art History Unit 5 Cheatsheet: Indigenous Americas, 1000 BCE-1980 CE

Geography & Timeline:

• Olmec: c. 1200–400 BCE, Gulf Coast (San Lorenzo, then La Venta)
• Maya: peaked 1st millennium CE, Yucatan, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras
• Mexica (Aztec): 1428–1521 CE, central Mexico

Shared Traits:

• Similar calendars; pyramidal stepped structures
• Sites oriented to sacred mountains & celestial phenomena
• Valued green materials: jadeite, quetzal feathers

Art Style:

• Figural, realistic; glorified rulers & mythical events
• Shamanic transformation & cosmic realms prominent
• Anthropomorphic interpretations

Content & Cosmology:

• Unity with natural world; five-direction cosmic geometry
• Visionary shamanism; essence over appearance
• Art contains & transfers life force—participatory, not passive

Artists & Patrons:

• Elite specialists; among Maya, second sons of royalty
• Workshops, apprentice-master; gender specialization (women weave, men carve)
• Rulers major patrons; audiences large (plazas) or small (temple interiors)
• Native North America: tribal leaders, elders, family; mostly entire group

Ritual Objects:

• Worn, carried, used in ceremonies; more active = more power
• Intellectual pursuits: astronomy, poetry, song, dance, medicine
• Some restricted by sacred or political nature