Mesoamerican Art History

4.0 credits

An introductory survey of art and architectural achievements of Indigenous societies within specific cultural sphere of Mesoamerica (including parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica) from colossal monolithic portraits of Olmec rulers in the 10th century BCE to the delicate feather paintings commissioned by Nahua elites as gifts sent to the courts of sixteenth-century Europe. Participants will learn to recognize the formal features of material culture and built environments of major historic groups as well as their descendant communities. Through work by contemporary artists, we will also consider how these images continue to participate in the social and political realities of today.