Art History 203 Inka

The Qorikancha temple

1440 C.E. Cusco. Distinguished by the curved surface shown on the front of the building, the Inca originally referred to this site as the "Temple of the Sun." As a temple dedicated to the creator god Viracocha and the gods of the sun, moon, stars, and the elements, the interior of Qorikancha was coated with sheets of gold, silver, emerald, and life-size statues of silver and gold. It housed mummies of some of the early rulers and was the center of a network of shrines and temples. The invading Spanish later built the church of Santo Domingo on top of the temple, converting it to fit with their religious customs. stripped the temple of the gold, silver, jewels, and statues and used different masonry techniques to build the church directly on top of the temple. This was a statement of the disapproval of Inca beliefs and of the European mission to convert the indigenous people to their customs and religious philosophies. convent added 1550-1650 C.E.

Andean culture

Andean region in South America was home to several cultures that lived in 3 distinct ecosystems: the dominant Andes Mountains, a narrow desert coast, and the Amazon. Art of these cultures is connected to nature, using and incorporating natural elements, animal imagery, and plant imagery. practiced artificial mummification, or embalming, of the dead, along with leaving items with the bodies in graves for use in the afterlife. Golden jewelry found in tombs was in natural shapes like birds and other creatures, evidence of both funerary art practices and the connection of natural elements in artworks. The architecture of the Andean region integrated the environment and was a representation of power and social hierarchy within the culture and community. The Chavín culture gave way, (after succession of a few different cultures) to the Inca Empire.

City of Cusco

Central highlands, Peru. Inka. c. 1440 C.E. capital, symbolic and political center of the Incan Empire. planned in the shape of a puma. This plan was replicated at other sites in the Inca Empire. The puma is significant because it was a symbol of Inca power and the shamanistic reverence of nature. In the city plan, the head of the puma is at the northmost point where the fortress of Sacsahuaman is located. The body is the giant plaza at the center of the town, and the puma's tail formed by the two rivers that join in the south.

All-T'oqapu tunic

Inka. 1450-1540 C.E. Camelid fiber and cotton. This tunic is the highest-status textile preserved from the Inca Empire. Sixteenth-century illustrations by Guaman Poma de Ayala show Inca rulers in tunics like this one, speculating that it was made for a monarch. The toquapus are oriented in a white-and-black checkerboard with a red V at the top in the All'T'oqapu tunic is symbolic of a tiny army uniform, indicating that its wearer was a soldier. The tunics of the lower-status elite had only one toquapu motif and conformed to rigid design rules The All-T'oqapu tunic has many toquapus that do not follow an overriding pattern. The lack of a specific pattern suggests that the wearer rules over a large number of people and that he is both the source of order and above it.

Mesa Verde cliff dwellings

Montezuma County, Colorado. Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi). 450-1300 C.E. Sandstone. The ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi) in Colorado had communal living spaces in which there was no social separation. The carefully planned cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde featured 200 rectangular rooms constructed of stone and timber, and then plastered inside and out with adobe. These living spaces were built in a sheltered ledge above the valley floor and were carefully designed to use the sun to provide heat in the winter and the ledge as shade during the summer. there is a strong ceremonial value to the community at Mesa Verde. sensitivity to surroundings, careful reverence of the landscape Dozens of large circular roofed underground structures called kivas are scattered around the living spaces. functioned as spiritual centers of communion with nature, counsel houses, storage for ritual items, and places of preparation for private rituals and public ceremonies.

masonry in the Incan Empire

Stone was regarded as sacred material. often incorporated living rock as part of a structure; or offerings were made on natural precipices, mountaintops, and other places with untouched stone. This relationship enabled buildings to be adapted to natural features and natural features to be incorporated into buildings and cultural events. Incas used stone to convey political meaning as well as to interact with the spiritual world. The stones were laid without mortar and joined perfectly leaving faint lines of separation between the blocks. The stonemasons accomplished this by sanding and shaping the blocks to fit tightly together.

City planning of Machu Picchu

The resident population was little more than 1,000. stone buildings occupied terraces around central plazas. consists of a large temple section as well as palaces, baths, storage rooms, and around 150 houses. surrounded by agricultural terraces sufficient to feed the population, watered by natural springs. outstanding example of Inca architectural planning. The site of the city is laid out in several zones, including a lower-class residential district and the royalty area.

How did inkans display power

Through size rather than ornamentation. Many buildings have little ornamentation

How big did the Incan Empire get

Within the lifespan of 5 kings, the Inca gained control of the west coast of South America, becoming the largest nation in the world at that time, and existed for less than a century.

Inca labor taxation & unity of the Incas

although ruling officials changed, local languages and ethnic cultures in the 80 provinces remained intact. Rulers imposed conformity in religious practices and instituted the Inca language, Quechua, as the primary method of communication. the Inca relocated groups of people within the empire to redistribute uncooperative tribes to loyal areas, while weavers, farmers, stone workers, and artisans were moved to areas where there was a need for their skill set. This contributed to the rapid growth of the Inca Empire and established a complex system of labor taxation. This system required citizens to contribute by providing labor for community-managed lands, for construction needs, for military campaigns, or for textile production.

The City of Machu Picchu:

c. 1450-1540. royal country estate of the Inca ruler Pachacuti. utilized by the Inca both as a secret ceremonial city and as a method to institute Incan presence in the area. 9,000 feet above sea level between 2 high peaks in the Andes Mountains. Looking down on the Urubamba River, the city allowed the Inca to observe and supervise all trade routes and to enforce Incan supervision and influence over the acquired territories.

How does Machu Picchu reflect nature

designed with sensitivity to its surroundings. Buildings were placed specifically so that windows and doors framed views of sacred peaks and landscape. echoes the shamanistic views of the holiness of nature and exemplifies the instinctive grasp of the harmonious relationship of architecture to the site.The Inca were masters of shaping and fitting stone, and they carefully selected stones echoing the shapes of the mountains beyond. This separates the artist from the laborer, as the artist placed emphasis on the harmony of the shapes of the stones. Many of the building blocks weigh 50 tons or more and are precisely sculpted and fitted together without mortar. They feature minimal ornamentation as the Inca sought to display power through the size of the buildings as compared to symbols of power.

Intihuatana stone

large, flat, ornamentation-free stone located near the main square of Machu Picchu features a projection from the center, which casts a shadow as the sun moves across the sky. It has been shown to be a precise indicator of the date of the two equinoxes on March 21 and September 21, the dates when the sun crosses the equator (the sun stands almost directly above the pillar, creating no shadow) Intihuatana means "hitching post of the sun" in Quecha, at the equinoxes that the sun is "hitched" to the rock. At these periods, the Incas held ceremonies at the stone in which they "tied the sun" to halt its northward movement in the sky. Intihuatana stones were extremely sacred objects to the Inca people, as they were believed to be the ties of the city to the gods. There were several examples of Intihuatana stones in the Inca Empire, which gives support to the high value of the stones in ceremonies. Shamanic legends tell that when sensitive people touch their forehead to the Intihuatana stone, it opens their vision to the spirit world.

toquapus

square patterns woven into Inkan tunics. were both decorative and symbols of authority. The patterns and designs on the cloth carried symbolic meaning, including indications of a person's ethnic identity and social rank.

The goods and services produced were redistributed to the population in 3 ways

support of religious needs support of the emperor, construction, & military campaigns support of the citizens

The dyed woolen cloth of camelids:

was burned in offerings and used as clothing for golden icons—it was highly valued and was deemed appropriate for the gods.