Mesoamerica

Mesoamerica is composed of different cultures and civilizations such as Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. Researchers have explored history through several methods. However, when investigating Mesoamerican cultural history many factors play an important role such as the economic perspective and the art from different cultures to really understand every aspect of the Mesoamerican life.

while reading “Transcending Cultural Models’ article, it gives a very important perspective concerning different methods towards analyzing mesoamerican history. The Author states that “Culture-based explanations tend to minimize the role of the economic factors, which are crucial in the shaping social and cultural forms and very useful in drawing regional comparisons. Innovative scholarship by Rosalinda Gonzalez, David Montejano, and Douglas Monroy moves away from culture-based models and toward an emphasis on economic power and processes. The goal here is to advance and elaborate on some of these ideas about socioeconomic forms and a more systematic manner” (Gonzalez G. and Fernandez R. 1994 p.470-471) Throughout the article, Mesoamerican facts and history are given such as the different cultures, agriculture and communities being formed. Gonzalez and Fernandez state “the culture based explanations tend to minimize the role of economic factors”(Gonzalez G. and Fernandez R. 1994 p.470-471). However, in order to picture any period of time living conditions are crucial. Economy might have not been as immense concerning the amount of money being produced however it caused conflicts and several situations bringing factors that were the effect of economy. Aside from economical views art captures mesoamerican history beautifully as well.

Mesoamerica can be told as a story when reviewing art in the forms of pottery and sculptures.While viewing the art timeline provided by the Metropolitan Museum of Art , it was left to notice from the years 8000 to 2000 b.c art was not being displayed. According to Metropolitan Museum of Art “ca. 7000 B.C. American Archaic cultures are those that occur between Paleoindian hunters and the peoples who have realized some combination of pottery making, burial mound construction, and garden technology. The combination varies from area to area.” (The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ) meaning from the beginning of the 8000’s there was not much art however what would be considered art would be the garden technology, pottery making or burial mound.

Until 2000–1000 B.C sculptures were displayed for example the bowl named “Bowl (Tecomates)” , “Female figure” , or the “Mask”. The Bowl caught attention because to modern day bowls get used in every home and remain part of Mesoamerican traditions. “Actual gourds of similar shape have been used for everyday storage in Mesoamerican households since at least the second millennium B.C.; the very word tecomate means gourd. By emulating such a quotidian object, the potter evoked the vessel's origin in natural forms while creating an object of greater value that indicated the elevated social status of its owner”(The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2006) This was the beginning of a type of art that contained deeper meaning. Compared to the 1400–1600 a.d. time period , Art has become focused on beauty, expanded on different organisms being represented in sculptures as well as the change in texture and color.

For Instance, the frog ornaments described as “Necklaces made of numerous small beads often in the form of animals, including shells, turtles, and frogs, are among the many types of gold ornaments worn by Aztec nobility. These creatures are all associated with water and rain and the sustenance it assures. Towards the ending of the time line during 1400–1600 a.d. it is stated in history “The influx of tribute and trade goods from environmentally diverse regions into Tenochtitlan provides a wide range of agricultural staples and utilitarian and luxury goods, to be consumed by rapidly growing urban populations. Full-time artists create impressive