Presentation of the civilization of the Middle Ages Maya and Aztecs. Incas, Mayans, Aztecs. Who is it? Pre-Columbian civilizations of America

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Theater of the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas. Lesson MHC grade 9. The author is the teacher of MHK MOU "School No. 20 with UIOP" Ukhta RK Strakhova Nina Pavlinovna.

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Table for work in the lesson. Comparison line Aztecs Maya Incas Rituals (goals) Theater, genres Music, dance

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Aztecs Tenotchetlan. Tenochtitlan is a city-state of the ancient Aztecs, found in the territory of modern Mexico City. Tenochtitlan was founded around 1325 right in the middle of Lake Texcoco, but lasted less than 200 years and was destroyed by Hernan Cortez and his Spanish conquistadors, who were struck by the wealth and splendor of Tenochtitlan. In the center of the city there were two main 30-meter-high temples in the form of pyramids, where the Aztecs made sacrifices: while still alive, they cut out a heart with an obsidian knife and put it on the altar. The rulers of the Aztecs lived in huge palaces surrounded by lush gardens near the temples. Interestingly, the city had a network of aqueducts to supply drinking water. The Spaniards attacked the city several times and after a 70-day siege, the Aztecs were killed, their emperor Montezuma II was killed, and the city was almost completely destroyed, eventually building in its place Mexico City - the possession of the Spanish crown.

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Aztecs. The city of Tenochtitlan was founded in 1325 by the Aztecs on an island in the middle of a lake with swampy shores in the Mexico City Valley. The Aztecs came to the valley from the north under the leadership of their leader Tenoch. According to legend, the sun god Uitzilopochtli ordered them to settle where they would meet a special sign: an eagle holding a snake on a cactus. Less than a hundred years have passed since the city was founded, when Tenochtitlan turned into a huge metropolis with a population of 150-200 thousand. It was connected with the banks by 3 wide dam roads: to the north, to the south and to the west. Moving inside the city often had to be by water. In the middle of the city there was a gigantic ritual center with many temples and altars, where the 45-meter Great Temple towered over everyone.

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Aztecs Great Temple. The great temple was built in the form of a pyramid, with its façade facing west. A wide double staircase led to the very top of the pyramid, where there were two smaller temples. These were the temples of the two most revered gods by the Aztecs: Uitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war, and Tlaloc, the god of rain and water. Subsequently, the stone blocks of the temple were used by the Spaniards for the construction of the Catholic Cathedral - the largest on the territory of the American mainland (the construction of the Cathedral took three centuries). During the excavations, many stone statues and masks of Tlaloc were found, but not a single image of Witzilopochtli. From the Spanish chronicles it is known that his images were usually made from a special kind of dough and seeds that had decomposed long ago.

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Games and entertainment The most important sport in Mexico was the ball game, which the Aztecs, who saw the will of the gods in literally everything, gave religious significance. A court in the shape of the letter "I" with enlarged crossbars was used for the game. The central section was about 60 meters long, up to 9 meters wide, and was surrounded by walls over 4 meters made of stone and plastered. From the center of each side wall protruded at right angles above the main court, about 3 meters above the ground, a stone ring — with a hole large enough to accommodate a 15 centimeter diameter rubber ball. The court, as described in the Mendoza Codex, was divided into four parts, painted in different colors.

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Games and entertainment. It is more usual for us to divide the court for this game into two halves - by a line drawn from one ring to the other. Players had to throw the ball over this line, points were awarded every time the team managed to send the ball into the cross section of the opponent's half. For striking the ball, it was allowed to use only knees and elbows, and since the ball was made of hard rubber, they were protected from hits by leather belts stuffed with cotton. They put on something like shields on their hands and knees, as they were often forced to throw themselves on the ground towards the ball. Despite all these precautions, players often died of exhaustion or were bruised so badly that doctors had to bleed them.

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Games and entertainment. If a player managed to throw the ball into one of the rings, his team was awarded the victory. As a reward, the winners had the right to take away clothes and other property of spectators. This was not so easy to do, as the audience tried to hurriedly make their way to the exit, while the players and their fans tried to grab as many victims as possible.

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Games and entertainment. On a symbolic level, the playground represented the universe, the ball acted as the sun, moon, or one of the planets. The game itself was dedicated to the gods and was part of religious ceremonies. The sites were usually built next to the most important temples. In Tenochtitlan, the temple complex housed two playgrounds dedicated to the Sun and the Moon. The game was also used as a test of divination. Thus, Texcoco pledged his kingdom against three turkeys in a match with Montezuma to determine if the Tescocan astrologers were telling the truth when they predicted that outsiders would soon rule Mexico. The first two games were won by Montezuma, but Netzahualpilli won the next three and emerged victorious. The Aztec ruler, as it is easy to assume, left the site very worried, and it did not take long before the day when the prediction came true.

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Music and dancing. The Aztec Orchestra consisted of only a few instruments capable of outputting melody, but had serious percussion instruments. Thus, the music gravitated towards rhythm rather than melody, drums and rattles played an important role. The lead role was played by the uewetl, a vertical drum made of a hollow log about a meter high and 30 centimeters in diameter. The top of the drum was covered with hide or snakeskin. Bas-reliefs are carved on the sides. These vertical drums could be tuned - the tone was raised by heating the instrument near the brazier. Usually they hit the hueuetle with their hands. Diaz noted that the drums in the temples made a "sad sound" that could be heard 6 miles away. Smaller weewells were hung around the neck or clamped under the arm. Higher sounds were made by teponastli - a wooden gong in the form of a horizontal cylinder. They beat him with rubber-tipped sticks. Aztec gongs were often made in the form of animals or humans, and in the Mistec country they were decorated with carved mythological or religious scenes.

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Music and dancing. Another type of drum - ratchet, noise - was made from the shell of a sea or freshwater turtle. There were also rattles of bizarre shapes made of clay or wood. Percussion instruments also included dried pumpkins filled with seeds or pebbles, and when shaken they made a rustling sound. The largest instrument of the kind of ratchets was hung with bells and wooden discs that banged against each other when one end of the instrument hit the ground. Another rhythmic instrument is a "grater" made of serrated bone, along which a stick or the edge of a shell was driven. Moreover, the dancers, in order to enhance the rhythmic effect, attached copper bells to their clothes and took bunches of strumming objects - shells, bones, dried nuts. Stringed instruments were unknown to the Aztecs, and the melodic line was led by flutes. They were made of clay (less often bamboo or bone), were 6-8 inches long, and could only produce a certain amount of notes. Usually there were five notes, which suggests that the Aztecs used an octave of five notes, but they also used double and triple flutes, which had up to sixteen valves in total.

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Music and dancing. Artists entertaining to know. The show features musicians, a juggler, hunchbacks and a dwarf.

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Maya Palenki. The Maya civilization existed on Earth for almost a thousand years. These were the most developed people in America, which the Spaniards faced during the conquest of new lands. The architectural complex of Palenque (Mexico) is one of the most brilliant Mayan cities, its history goes back 9 centuries - from the end of the 1st millennium BC. e. until the end of the 1st millennium A.D. e. Previously, it was the capital of the Baakul kingdom. In Palenque, the remains of a palace, several buildings and temples, and a pyramid similar to the tombs of the pharaohs in Egypt have been preserved. First, archaeologists conducting excavations in Palenque discovered an unusual slab in the floor of one of the temples, and after 4 years of work, they excavated a tunnel with a staircase leading down, and found a triangular stone weighing more than a ton. Behind this "door" was discovered a stone sarcophagus, inside of which lay a skeleton, whose face was covered by an almost intact mosaic mask inlaid with jade, obsidian and mother-of-pearl. Scientists believe that Palenque died as a result of the invasion of tribes from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in the 9th century.

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Mayan theater. Archaeologists from the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History have discovered the remains of a Mayan theater, built for the local elite about 1.2 thousand years ago. The ruins of the structure were found in the town of Plan de Ayuta in the state of Chiapas. Archaeologist Luis Alberto Martos suggests that the structure housed 120 people and was intended for the elite of the ancient Mayan city. The theater was created at the direction of the city's ruling elite. On its stage, works glorifying the rulers were presented, and only prominent figures of the tribe were invited to the performances.

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Mayan theater. It was a unique theater within the palace complex, which makes it different from others already studied, which were usually located in places intended for the crowd. It was surrounded by several buildings erected earlier in 250-550. AD The façade of one of these structures was demolished to create a stage and improve acoustics. Near the ruins of the theater, archaeologists have discovered statues created by ancient sculptures in honor of the gods of corn, which was the main food for the Mayan people. There are also found statues in honor of the rulers of the sun and bats.

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Mayan theater. Earlier, the ruins of theaters were found on the territory of the archaeological center Tikal (Guatemala), created in antiquity by the Mayan people, as well as in several regions of Mexico. The archaeological zone of Okosingo is located 128 km from the ancient city of Palenque, where archaeologists have made a number of important discoveries earlier. According to the researchers, the finds discovered there significantly expand the knowledge about the culture of the Mayan civilization.

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Mayan theater. According to archaeologists, the city of Ayutla was created by the Mayan people in 150 BC. and existed until the 12th century A.D. It was abandoned by residents for reasons that researchers have not yet accurately established. INAH archaeologists have suggested that in 800-850 A.D. in the city a new ruling dynasty was legalized by the local elite through the political theater.

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Mayan theater. According to experts, the theater was used by the ruling group to legitimize power through the presentation of works of a political nature. The rulers publicly exercised their power using the theater in negotiations or at ambassadorial receptions. Then there were conflicts over power struggles, there was a failed attempt to establish a new dynasty, and the city was abandoned between 1000 and 1100. AD

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Inca. Machu - Picchu. The mysterious Inca city of Machu Picchu (in the translation from the Inca "old mountain") is located in the mountains, at an altitude of more than 2 thousand meters above the valley of the Urubamba River (Peru). This city was built around 1440 by the ruler of the Incas - Pachacutec. The city was conceived as a sacred haven and in 1532, when the Spanish conquistadors invaded the Inca empire, all the inhabitants of the city mysteriously disappeared. Nobody lived here for 400 years. The conquistadors never reached Machu Picchu and did not manage to destroy it. But until now, its inhabitants, its exact purpose, culture and way of life of the Incas are a big mystery for scientists. Machu Picchu is located far enough from the center of the ancient state of the Incas, perhaps only because of this it has survived to this day, despite the invasion of Europeans.

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Theater of the Incas. Due to historical circumstances, quite a few examples of literary creativity of traditional American cultures have survived. Therefore, those rare texts that exist cannot fill the gaps in our knowledge of the literary and - even more so - theatrical traditions of pre-Columbian America. The same that has been preserved by history has recently been available in Russian. Of the dramas of the ancient Incas, two ("Apu-Ollantai" - the most famous work, "Utkha-Pavkar") have survived completely and one ("Surimana") - in the form of one fragment-dialogue. The poetic works of the Incas were created by the amauta singers, who, on the basis of dance pantomime and mythological and historical legends, also created a theater. The chroniclers' descriptions contain information about the performances of various plays, which were played several times a day. The dramas were presented on a round-shaped platform, fenced off from behind by an artificial forest. The actors were in the middle of this area (malka). Inca dramas have survived in the Quechua language (also called Runa-simi, that is, the language of man), which is very difficult to translate.

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Theater of the Incas. The genres of Inca drama are Huanca (dramas depicting historical events, exploits of commanders, leaders, rulers) and Aranway (depicting private and often quite everyday life). The finale was not necessarily bright (as in "Apu-Ollantai", "Utkha-Pavkar"), tragic ones ("Surimana") were also allowed. The combination of tragedy with comic in the texts is not uncommon (among the characters in the plays there were jesters-kanichu). Dramas were staged with music: the so-called aravi (songs, 3 - in "Ollantai", 1 - in "Utkha-Pavkar"), in which we see metaphorical duplication of the plot. It is interesting that among the Incas we see a ban on the representation of persons continuing their existence, p.ch. this either draws the living into the world of the dead, or creates a situation of a split personality (scientists differ in their interpretations).

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Inca masks. In ancient Mexico, gods were often depicted as masks. This wooden mask of the rain god Tlaloc is richly decorated with mosaics of turquoise and other (colored stones. This god can be recognized by his owl-like eyes. During ritual processions, masks were worn by the priests, so they wanted to unite with the deities whose masks they were wearing. The wearer of the j mask for a time In order to emphasize their power, the kings and princes ordered to put such masks in their graves.; For many tribes, the art of the mask was and is a magical means with which you can approach the distant gods and merge with them by force. Homework: 1. Attractions of Washington. 2. The history of the emergence of the city. 3. Coat of arms of Washington. summaries of other presentations

"Ancient Civilizations of America" \u200b\u200b- The Aztec Religion. Inca architecture. Loincloth. The Incas worshiped the Sun. The richest musical culture. Culture of civilizations of Ancient America. Inca calendar. Art. Civilizations of Ancient America. Education and Science. Clothing. Mayan religion. Religion. Mayan calendar.

"Empire of the Incas" - The air in the city is thin, and therefore it is difficult to breathe here. The Temple of Thunder, the Temple of the Rainbow, and the premises for sacrifices have already been restored. The slopes of the mountains around the city are cut by ledges, a kind of terraces that the Incas created. The Incas. Manco Capac. Contemporary Cusco. Temple of St. Dominic. Empire of the Incas. The Incas were able to assert their rule over other tribes. To the Inca Empire. Cuzco is the most beautiful city of Peru, which has preserved many palaces and churches of the 16th-18th centuries.

"Tribes of the Incas" - Agriculture in the land of the Incas. A trifling matter. Indians. The rainy season. Peruvian Indians. Powerful fortresses. The Incas. Ruler. Pepper. Vessels. Thin fabrics. Farming. Commodity exchange and trade. Peruvians. Dense forests. Wooden stake. Peruvian Farmers. Temple of the Sun. Gold and silver.

"Ancient Incas" - Inca Cities: Cuzco. Transport highways. Gods of the Incas. Reasons for the fall of the Tahuantinsuyu empire. Power hierarchy. Arts and Crafts. The writing of the Inca Kipu. The death of the empire. Founding of an empire. Ancestors of the Incas. Inca cities: Machu Picchu. Inca mummies. Inca Empire. In 1532 the town of Tumbes was sacked. The medicine. Atahualpa is brought to Cuzco, where he is killed.

"Easter Island" - Island. Picnics are held in palm groves for tourists. Also not far from the Anakena Bay are the ahuAture-Huki and ahu Naunau. The local name of the island is Rapa Nui (rap. Rapa Nui). Moai. Some scholars have championed the American origins of the Polynesians. On the shores of Anakena Bay is one of the most beautiful beaches of the island with crystal white coral sand. The Kon-Tiki raft, built by Heyerdahl after the model of ancient Peruvian rafts.

"Peoples of Pre-Columbian America" \u200b\u200b- Discipline. The size of the army. Occupations of the inhabitants of America. Aztec civilization. The peoples of America. Mayan civilization. States and peoples of pre-Columbian America. Controllers. Inca state. Maya at work.

Studies have shown that the Olmecs had well-planned cult centers and stepped pyramids, stone sculpture, arts and crafts, hieroglyphic writing, and a ritual calendar. The Olmec architecture is poorly preserved, as earth and rubble, covered with a thick layer of plaster, were used as building materials.

One of the famous sculptures depicts a young man with a wide and flat nose, as if flattened in the middle, thick lips and almond-shaped eyes, slightly covered by heavy eyelids. The height of the sculpture is 2.41 m, weight is 25 tons. On the head of the young man is a tight-fitting helmet decorated with a relief pattern with headphones.

By the beginning of the new era, the Olmec culture had disappeared. What caused its decline is unknown, but it was replaced by new civilizations, and above all the city of Teotihuacan in Central America (II century BC. VII century AD.). In this city, located near modern Mexico City, two main temples dedicated to the Sun and the Moon have survived from the heyday. They are located on top of a huge step pyramid. The temples were decorated with colorful murals and brightly painted statues of the gods. The eyes of the sculptures are inlaid with precious stones and mother-of-pearl.

The most grandiose architectural structure is the Pyramid of the Sun (Mexico), which currently has a height of 64.6 m (in all likelihood, in ancient times it was even higher). Unlike other stepped pyramidal structures, the Pyramid of the Sun is four large, diminishing truncated pyramids stacked on top of one another. On one side of the pyramid is a system of gradually tapering ramps that led to the sanctuary in the temple. The planes between the terraces of the building were constructed in such a way that spectators at the foot of the large staircase could not see what was happening at its top. The pyramid was built from a huge number of adobe bricks and faced with stone plastered slabs.

Statue of Coatlicue Aztec sculpture reached a special heyday. Monumental statues of deities are abstract and conventional. An example is the huge statue of Coatlicue, the goddess of earth, death and spring fertility, the mother of the supreme deity of war. This statue only vaguely resembles a human figure: it has no face, no head, no arms, no legs. It is made of various materials: corn cobs, jaguar claws and fangs, human skulls and palms, feathers, wriggling snakes, eagle paws. All this jumble of various objects is strictly symmetrical and balanced.

Unlike Egypt, tetrahedral stepped pyramids were built here, on the truncated top of which a temple with two or three rooms was erected. From the foot of the pyramid to the door of the sanctuary there was a long wide staircase, sometimes such stairs were located on all four sides of the pyramid.

Pyramid of Kukulkan One of the peaks of Mayan architecture, the nine-step pyramid of Kukulkan in the city of Chichen Itza on the territory of modern Mexico. This was the main temple of the city. It rose to a height of twenty meters above the surrounding area and defined the architectural silhouette of the city. The gaze of a person, located at any point, invariably presented this majestic architectural structure.

Pyramid of Kukulkan To each of the four sides of the pyramid there was a staircase consisting of 91 steps, giving a total of 364. If we take into account the platform at the top of the pyramid, we get the number 365, equal to the number of days in a solar year. Nine steps of terraces, separated by a staircase, form 18 sections on one side, which corresponds to the number of months in the Mayan calendar. Each staircase was surrounded by columns with images of winged dragons.

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Temple of the Sun One of the most outstanding structures of the Inca period is the main temple of the Sun "Golden Fence". According to the descriptions, it was surrounded by a triple wall, which had a circumference of about 380 m. The perfectly hewn stones were tightly fitted to each other without the use of a binder solution. The wall was decorated with a belt of gold plates "four palms wide and four fingers thick". The main wall had the only entrance leading from the Sun Square directly to the sanctuary of the deity. In the central hall of the sanctuary, an image of the sun god was erected in the form of a huge golden disk decorated with precious stones. An unquenchable fire was constantly maintained in front of him.
Garden of the Incas Around the main buildings were the premises of the priests and servants of the temple and the world famous "Golden Garden" of the Incas. Its dimensions reached approximately 220 x 100 m, and the garden itself and all its inhabitants, people, birds, lizards, insects, were made in full size from pure gold and silver.

Relief on the gates of the Sun The Incas also achieved some success in sculpture. One of the most significant sculptural monuments is the relief at the Gate of the Sun in Tiahuanaco. On the front side of the huge monolithic stone block, there is a relief depicting the supreme deity. The deity stands on a dais with wands in both hands.

His headdress resembles a radiating serpent. The figure of the deity is squat, he has unnaturally small legs, and his face is wide and square. On either side of him are three rows of minor deities, or winged geniuses, facing him. The relief gives the impression of calm grandeur and power of power. The most mysterious thing about this structure is the frieze calendar depicting human figures, animals and ornaments. Even an elephant can be found among the many animals carved at the Gate of the Sun.

Inca craftsmen created gold jewelry, exquisite luxury items, in which they used whimsical graphic ornaments on mythological plots about the creation of the world, the struggle of heroes against fantastic monsters, as well as episodes from everyday life (hunting, fishing, weaving)

The Incas, Maya, 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 unsolved mysteries of their development. So,

Mayan

Maya peoples inhabited the Yucatan Peninsula. Their civilization developed in the territory that today belongs to Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, and its basis was formed by separate city-states. The largest of them is Tikal.

Under the rule of large cities were the adjacent lands and smaller towns. All the cities of the Mayan state were connected by roads along which trade routes passed. The Maya traded among themselves and other peoples in jade, cocoa beans, salt and jaguar skins.

It 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, porters carried them along the roads. Outside the city walls, the Mayans were engaged in peasant labor, mainly growing corn.

Today, the Maya's knowledge of mathematics and astronomy is striking. Entire scientific works have been written about the accuracy of the calendar compiled by the Mayan priests, and the writing system developed by the Maya contains a variety of symbols.

After centuries of prosperity, the Mayan civilization by the XIV century suddenly mysteriously fell into decay, and in the 1500s the Spanish conquerors (conquistadors) completed its disintegration.

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 \u200b\u200babout 15 sq. Km and was located on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco.

Religion played a very important role in the lives of the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs. 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!). On the tops of these pyramids, the Aztecs made human sacrifices to their gods.

Another sign of the Aztec civilization is the widespread passion for the ball game, similar to modern basketball. True, the ring in this game was located vertically, and the ball could only be touched by the forearms and hips of the legs. The players on the losing team were often sacrificed.

The names of the rulers of the Aztecs, under whom their empire reached its peak, have come down to us - Montezuma I (1440-1468 years of reign) and Montezuma II (began reign in 1502). The Aztec civilization, like the Maya, also perished under the onslaught of the conquistadors. It happened in 1521.

The Incas

The Inca Empire stretched 2000 km along the Pacific coast of South America. It flourished in the late 1400s and early 1500s. In addition to the Incas, there were other states of the 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 (they burned and cultivated meadows in the Amazon jungle), hunting, trade and construction. Their capital, the city of Cuzco, was high in the Andes, and the Incas built a whole network of high-mountain roads, with rope suspension bridges over the gorges.

In the 16th century, the Incas, Maya and Aztecs were conquered and enslaved by Europeans, and who knows how the fate of their civilizations would have developed if they had possessed firearms by the time the conquistadors appeared.

Information of the children's encyclopedia "Mysteries of World History"

LECTURE

The Art of American Civilizations. Pre-Columbian era. Aztecs. Mayan. The Incas.

M. Stingle. Secrets of Indian Pyramids., M .: "Progress", 1982.

M. Stingle. Star worshipers. In the footsteps of the disappeared Peruvian states, M .: "Progress", 1983.

M. Stingle. Inca State. 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 possessed a special, unique style. Only in the territopia of Mexico there were about 11 thousand.

Among these cultures, three are the most significant:

· Aztec Culture (Central Mexico);

· Mayan culture (Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras);

· Inca culture (Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador).

The culture of the Aztecs.

The culture has evolved over almost four centuries, starting withXII in. 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 Kartes 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 come down to us badly damaged. These are primarily tetrahedral pyramids, on which temples or palaces were located. The Aztecs believed that every half century begins a new period in the development of the world, 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 turned out to be inside the renewed pyramid, on top of which another temple was being built. In one of the pyramids in Tenayuk, 8 consecutively walled temples were discovered. Sometimes palaces and temples on the peaks were built of wood, but they have not survived.

The sculpture of the Aztecs is distinguished by its rigor and schematism. They created huge cult statues, sometimes vaguely reminiscent of 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" of feathers glued to dense fabric and works of the finest jewelry have come down to us.

On the territory of Mexico, the bloodiest cult in the history of mankind, associated with the planet Venus, manifested itself. 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 200´ 170 m. Height 12 m. The palace itself has the following dimensions 9812 8.5 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 Chuck. Chuck is an intermediary deity between God and man, this is a dwarf guardian.

There was a cult of the Feathered Serpent among the Teotihuacans, Toltecs, then among the Aztecs. People worshiped him as a donor of civilization.

Mayan culture.

A vibrant culture created by the Mayan peoples. Already inII - III centuries AD Maya 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 at the top of the pyramids; vast palaces on high stone pillars (foundations) that formed around an open courtyard. Mayan houses were usually built on the ledges of a natural or artificial hill, which made their buildings seem multi-story. Mayan architecture is more picturesque and richly decorated than that of the Aztecs. The facades of the buildings were decorated with geometric patterns, reliefs and masks of deities. Sometimes the solid wall is completely hidden under the 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. To the top of the Kukulkan pyramid in Chichen Itza there are four staircases of 91 steps (91´ 4 \u003d 364). At the top of the sanctuary of Kukulkan - Quetzalcoatl there is another 365th step. The pyramid is decorated with 52 reliefs. The Toltecs brought the Venus calendar and the highest calendar cycle to Mayak culture - 52 years (365 days each)

The sculpture has reached a high level of development. In accordance with a very complex Mayan calendar, stone steles with reliefs were erected every 20 years. On the front side of the pan, the figure of a deity or ruler was depicted. The other three sides were covered with hierographic inscriptions.

Maya culture reached its highest flowering inVIII - IX centuries AD At this time, complex reliefs with multi-figured compositions appeared (stele Piedras Negras, 795). The Maya had palaces, temples, monasteries, observatories, courtyards, markets, ceremonial grounds, and buildings for steam baths. They created underground stone reservoirs - Chultuny. Reservoirs were carved into the rocks, connected by canals and served to accumulate rainwater. Maya built roads - sakbe (covering - lime concrete, rammed with a stone roller), but did not know the wheels.

Maya have no central government, no capital, all cities are equal.

The best examples of Mayan painting are the frescoes of the Bonampak Temple (opened in 1946). Three rooms of the temple are covered with murals depicting preparation for battle, battle and the celebration after the battle. The craftsmen used clean, bright colors. The color correlated with certain symbols. The ancient inhabitants of Mexico, noticing a red figure in the composition, knew that they were talking about the god of the Earth, Xipetoteca, and thus about the eastern sky with its meanings of sunrise, youth and spring.

Over the priests performing the rite of sacrifice, the priests-prophets and the priests-servants of the Sun, stood the high priest of the Mayak state. He was also the Master of Hierographic Writing, Chief Astrologer and Astronomer.

Inca culture.

The Inca Empire existed for a relatively short time from the beginningXv in. until 1532, when the country was captured by the Spanish conquerors. The writing of the Incas is not fully deciphered. The capital was the city of Cuzco, famous for its Golden Garden (perhaps the craftsmen who created it were from the Chimu people).

The architecture is simple and unadorned. Temples, dwellings, fortresses are built of huge stone blocks (up to 350 tons in weight), very precisely fitted to each other, but not fastened with binding solutions (Saksauaman fortress). The houses had powerful stone walls and cramped interiors. Most houses are windowless and illuminated through doors. According to the description of travelers, the buildings were originally decorated with wide belts of thick gold plates. The use of precious metals not as money, but as a decoration material is typical of the Incas. For example, in the Temple of the Sun in the city of Cuzco, 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 was almost never developed 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, 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 form of a human head, sometimes conveying individual features. Later, vessels appear in the form of animals, fruits and plants.

The main food of the Incas is potatoes (including canned ones), corn, 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 lawful wife and, as a rule, the mother of the heir. In addition to the main wife, he had a harem and could live with any of the nuns of the monasteries, since he was the embodiment of the sun god on Earth. The heir was appointed during the life of the ruler by the ceremony of public hair cutting. The future heir helped his father and studied management. There were 10 age groups of the population, each of which had specific rights and responsibilities. Group 1: infants. Group 2: children under 2 years old. Group 3: playing children. Group 4: children 9-12 years old. Group 5: adolescents 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. This is why it is sometimes called "Indian socialism." There was no money in the empire, only natural exchange in the market. Gold is used as a decoration. The army is well trained and equipped (clubs with stone or metal ends). There were wonderful roads and post office. The messengers ran from parking lot to parking lot about two kilometers, as a result of the relay race, 2000 km were covered in 3 days. The Incas composed poems that were later recorded by the Jesuits. Widespread nodular kipu, which can be counted to 1,000,000. Nobility studied at universities for 4 years, where she studied the Quechua language, solar religion, nodular kipu, history and military science. The Incas weaved dense fabrics with a density of 80´ 45 threads / cm (modern parachute fabric has a density of 60´ 30 strands / cm). They performed operations, including craniotomy.

The last Inca was called Tupaca Omaru.

Additional information.

The oldest cultures of Peru are related toIII millennium BC

Near lima there was a culture at this 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 sign-gesture is found in Colombia.

Culture Chavinassociated with the cult of the Jaguar was widespread in the lateII - the middle of the 1st millennium BC

Culture Nasca(middleII in. BC) correlates with the valleys of the Ica, Pisco and Nazca rivers. Here was found "wooden Stonehenge Peru" - the sanctuary of Eskucheria. It consists of hundreds of dried mesquite trunks. The center of the composition is a square formed by 12 rows of 12 columns each. Found giant images in the Nazca desert. The Pampa de Nazca Gallery includes platforms, lines, spirals, human and animal "figuras" (geoglyphs). The head of a giant bird (length 120m) is directed towards the point of sunrise on the day of the winter solstice. According to M. Stingle, the Indians buried the deceased with a triangular balloon. The deceased at sunset was placed in a wicker basket, the balloon rose above the sea and hid behind the horizon.

Culture Mochica (I - VII centuries BC) left behind the pyramids of the Sun and the Moon. In Pampa Grande. The Pyramid of the Sun has a base of 342´ 159 m. Gold items are unique. 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 soared in the air with slight fluctuations in the air, has reached us. The butterflies were melted by the conquerors. As a result, they received 4 kg of 700 g of pure gold. Around Lake Titicaca, many chulps have been found - funerary towers of rectangular and cylindrical, extended upwards.

According to legend, the founder of the Chimu culture sailed to Peru from the north with his detachment on rafts. His name is Naimlan. "Hiring" means "bird" or "flight". Chimu built the city of Chan-Chan with an area of \u200b\u200b18 square meters. km. The city is surrounded by two rows of defensive walls and divided into 10 blocks 450´ 300 m.In many respects, the customs that reigned in the state of Chimu differed little from the customsXxv in. Inca. In the 1460s. two cultures collided - the coastal Chimu culture, which worshiped the Moon, and the Inca mountain culture, which worshiped the Sun. The victory remained for the second. Clay reliefs depicting birds, fish, lizards, foxes, ornaments have survived from the Chimu culture. Since ancient times, the supreme deity in Peru has been depicted in the frame of an arch-snake, surrounded by predators. The arch symbolized the rainbow, the Milky Way, thunder, the firmament.

Culture Olmekov- one of the cultures of ancient Mexico. San Lorenzo - the capital of the Olmecs - was abandoned for unknown reasons in 900. La Venta became the second capital of the Jaguar Indians. Huge stone heads were found in La Venta.

Tribes Chol and Zeltal left in Palenque (Mexico) the famous ensemble, in which the tower of the palace, a 4-storey building, was also an observatory.

The culture of the Toltecs is interesting. The Pyramid of the Morning Star in Tula (Tollan) has been preserved.