Art and the Senses in Ancient America

This book explores the materiality and sensory dimensions of pre-Columbian art in Mesoamerica and the Andes. Chapters examine the physicochemical study of raw materials, sensory arts like music and cuisine, and the sociocultural meanings of textures, sounds, and scents, linking ancient practices to modern indigenous traditions.

Art and the Senses in Ancient America addresses three essential questions. The first is the materiality of the arts in pre-Columbian America, considering different cultures of both ancient Mesoamerica and the Andean area. In several of its chapters, the importance of physicochemical studies applied to the study of the art of past cultures is evident, because they offer results on the raw materials that were used, which were not always referenced in written or visual sources. The volume approaches art not only from its tangible dimension, but also from its immaterial one, as demonstrated by chapters focused on the culinary, aromatic and musical arts, which appeal to the senses of taste, smell and hearing. This brings us to the second dimension under discussion: the close relationship between the materiality of the arts and their sociocultural meanings. In this sense, the raw materials from which the images, textures, sounds, fragrances and flavors were made, which were part of the art and daily life of these pre-Columbian cultures, had meanings of great importance in their environments of belonging and use, whether they were public or private. This, finally, leads to the third argument that this book explores: the senses and sensory perception of art and daily life that participated in the sacred and the profane, giving identity to numerous sociocultural practices that are present in today’s indigenous communities, who safeguard the historical memory of their ancestors.

Introduction. Art and the Senses in ancient America - Ma. Luisa Vazquez de Agredos Pascual, Ana Garcia Barrios, Megan E. O'Neil Part I. Art, sensory perception and experience among the ancient Maya Chapter 1. Materia, textura, color y percepcion de las imagenes sagradas mayas - Ana Garcia Barrios, Alejandra Martinez de Velasco Cortina Chapter 2. A miniature world of sensorial art - Mary E. Miller Chapter 3. Modelando el sonido en barro: figurillas-silbatos miniatura del basurero de un noble del Grupo IV de Palenque - Ana Garcia Barrios, Andres Ciudad Ruiz, Jesus Adanez Pavon Chapter 4. Aromas y experiencia olfativa en la cultura maya prehispanica - Ma. Luisa Vazquez de Agredos Pascual, Patricia Horcajada Campos Chapter 5. Envolviendo a los gobernantes mayas. Un estudio arqueometrico de dos contextos funerarios del sitio arqueologico de Calakmul, Campeche, Mexico - Vera Tiesler, Patricia Quintana Owen, Kadwin Perez Lopez, Daniel H. Aguilar Trevino, Ivan Oliva Arias, J.V. Cauich Rodriguez, William J. Folan, Maria del Rosario Dominguez Carrasco Chapter 6. Flavours, aromas and textures: art and everyday life among the ancient Maya - Lilia Fernandez Souza Chapter 7. Mixtures and textures in Maya culinary art: evidence from yesterday and today - Maria Jesus Novelo-Perez, Esteban Moises Herrera-Parra Chapter 8. Entrando a un patio domestico maya del Clasico Tardio-Terminal - Marie Charlotte Arnauld Chapter 9. La serpiente en la cultura visual maya. Materia y simbolismo - Cristina Vidal Lorenzo Chapter 10. Los grafitos mayas prehispanicos: percepcion y representacion - Nuria Feliu Beltran Chapter 11. Archaeometric study of the stuccos in archaeological sites of the Northern Maya Lowlands (Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico): the lime from the mortars of the preparation layers - Nuria Guasch-Ferre, Jose Luis Prada Perez, Ma. Teresa Domenech-Carbo, Ma. Luisa Vazquez de Agredos Pascual, Laura Osete-Cortina Chapter 12. Thrones of the Dresden Codex: The Materiality of Power - Merideth Paxton Part II. Art, sensory perception and experience among other Mesoamerican and Pre-Columbian Cultures Chapter 13. Eternity Carved in Stone: Mayan and Olmec Greenstone Artifacts Characterized by in situ Spectroscopic Methods - Mayra Dafne Manrique-Ortega, Jose Luis Ruvalcaba-Sil, Edgar Casanova-Gonzalez, Laura Filloy-Nadal, Pieterjan Claes, Maria Angelica Garcia-Bucio, Malinalli Wong-Rueda, Valentina Aguilar-Melo Chapter 14. Analisis tecnologico del mono de obsidiana de la sala mexica del Museo Nacional de Antropologia de la Ciudad de Mexico - Emiliano Melgar Tisoc, Reyna Beatriz Solis Ciriaco, Bertina Olmedo Vera Chapter 15. Scrolls of Smoke and Sky: Reevaluating Scent and Sound in the Borgia Group Manuscripts - Alanna S. Radlo-Dzur Chapter 16. Estudios de la materialidad de los codices mesoamericanos: I. Apuntes para una historia de los analisis cientificos - Davide Domenici, Elodie Dupey Garcia Chapter 17. Estudios de la materialidad de los codices mesoamericanos: II. Acercamientos desde la historia y perspectivas para el futuro - Elodie Dupey Garcia, Davide Domenici Chapter 18. Sounds of Copper and Fire. Acoustic Symbolism of Copper Alloys in pre-Hispanic Musical Instruments - Monica Gudemos Chapter 19. Colours from the past: Mesoamerican pre-Hispanic dyes in Spanish Colonial Architecture in Northern Mexico - Karla Munoz Alcocer, Laura Fuster-Lopez, Ma. Luisa Vazquez de Agredos Pascual, Marcello Picollo, Diana Maldonado-Escobar, Daniel Salazar-Aleman,

Introduction. Art and the Senses in ancient America – Ma. L. Vázquez de Ágredos Pascual, A. García Barrios, M. E. O’Neil

Part I. Art, sensory perception and experience among the ancient Maya

Ch. 1. Materia, textura, color y percepción de imágenes sagradas – A. García Barrios, A. M. de Velasco Cortina

Ch. 2. A miniature world of sensorial art – M. E. Miller

Ch. 3. Sonido en barro: figurillas-silbatos miniatura de Palenque – A. García Barrios et al.

Ch. 4. Aromas y experiencia olfativa maya – Ma. L. Vázquez de Ágredos Pascual, P. Horcajada Campos

Ch. 5. Envolviendo a los gobernantes mayas: estudio arqueométrico en Calakmul – V. Tiesler et al.

Ch. 6. Flavours, aromas and textures in Maya life – L. Fernández Souza

Ch. 7. Mixtures and textures in Maya culinary art – M. J. Novelo-Pérez, E. M. Herrera-Parra

Ch. 8. Entrando a un patio doméstico maya – M. C. Arnauld

Ch. 9. La serpiente en la cultura visual maya – C. Vidal Lorenzo [Open Access - DOI: 10.32028/9781803278117-p122-139]

Ch. 10. Grafitos mayas prehispánicos: percepción y representación – N. Feliu Beltrán

Ch. 11. Archaeometric study of stuccos, Northern Maya Lowlands – N. Guasch-Ferré et al.

Ch. 12. Thrones of the Dresden Codex: the materiality of power – M. Paxton

Part II. Art, sensory perception and experience in other Mesoamerican and Pre-Columbian cultures

Ch. 13. Greenstone artifacts via in situ spectroscopy – M. D. Manrique-Ortega et al.

Ch. 14. Análisis tecnológico del mono de obsidiana – E. Melgar Tísoc et al.

Ch. 15. Scrolls of Smoke and Sky: scent and sound in Borgia manuscripts – A. S. Radlo-Dzur

Ch. 16. Materialidad de los códices mesoamericanos I: historia de análisis – D. Domenici, É. Dupey García

Ch. 17. Materialidad de los códices mesoamericanos II: historia y perspectivas – É. Dupey García, D. Domenici

Ch. 18. Sounds of copper and fire: symbolism of copper alloys – M. Gudemos

Ch. 19. Pre-Hispanic dyes in Colonial architecture, N. Mexico – K. Muñoz Alcocer et al.

• Edited by María Luisa Vázquez de Ágredos Pascual
• Edited by Ana García Barrios
• Edited by Megan E. O’Neil