Arts of the Americas before 1300

Some of the most important artifacts from this South American culture are their complexly woven textiles, which were often status symbols:

Paracas

The Nazca culture of Peru are best known for their:

Geoglyphs

The Temple of the Inscriptions pyramid at Palenque was built on top of:

The tomb of Pakal the Great

The Olmec culture is famous for its:

Colossal heads carved from basalt

Many Mesoamerican and South American cultures prized items made from:

Jade

Many Puebloan sites feature multiple or sunken ritual spaces:

Kivas

The Maya lintels from Yaxchilan show engaged in an act of ritual bloodletting:

Lady Xok

This was the largest earthen mound in the Americas and the largest pyramid structure north of Mesoamerica:

Monks Mound

The name we now use for Teotihuacan was actually given to that site by its later occupants, the:

Aztecs

This was the site of the largest pyramid north of Mesoamerica:

Cahokia

In addition to the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent, Teotihuacan has two other pyramids dedicated to the:

Sun and Moon

The Pyramid of the Feathered serpent uses this "slope-and-panel" style of architecture:

Talud-Tablero

This Mississippian earthen mound can be found in Ohio:

The Great Serpent Mound

This culture was known for its naturalistic and individualized ceramic portraits vessels:

The Moche