Vessel for grave goods - Tiahuanaco culture - year 667 to 1000 - height 18 cm - Museo Nacional de Arqueología del Instituto Nacional de Arqueología - Bolivia - 1976

Grave vessel of the Tiahuanaco culture 5th period - year 1000 to 1100 - height 12 cm - Museo Nacional de Arqueología del Instituto Nacional de Arqueología - Bolivia - 1976

Ceremonial staff, a mortuary offering found in a grave in a kiva, carved out of the thigh bone of a grizzly bear with a precisely executed geometric design and a finely polished surface. Mogollon Culture, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Slate pallete in the shape of a lizard; 6.8 inches long, .36 inches thick. Mortuary offering, Hohokam Culture, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Middle and bottom: Two small pendants of red shale, the upper one representing a stylized bird, the middle one a sun with a number of rays projecting from it, Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon (New Mexico), CCP.
CCP = Museum Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Chaco Canyon (New Mexico)

Pipes, used as mortuary offerings and in healing ceremonies to blow smoke over the body of the sick person. Uppermost: clay pipe; 6 inches long, Bandelier National Monument (New Mexico), Anasazi Culture, MNM.
MNM = Collections of the Museum of New Mexico, Laboratory of Anthropology, Santa Fe (New Mexico)

Pipes, used as mortuary offerings and in healing ceremonies to blow smoke over the body of the sick person. Two stone pipes, Sanders (Arizona), Anasazi Culture, MNA.
MNA = Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (Arizona)

Objects of clay and stone (perhaps jewelry), found largely in Hohokam burials. In the Southwest the Hohokam are considered the masters of such creations, an art characterized by its style and expressive quality. - Shallow clay bowl in the shape of a curled up snake. The incised lines represent the scaly skin; 4 inches diameter HMP.
HMP = Heard Museum, Phoenix (Arizona)

Objects of clay and stone (perhaps jewelry), found largely in Hohokam burials. In the Southwest the Hohokam are considered the masters of such creations, an art characterized by its style and expressive quality. - Basalt smoke maker in the shape of a big horn sheep (the horns have broken off). Length: 4.28 inches; ASM
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Objects of clay and stone (perhaps jewelry), found largely in Hohokam burials. In the Southwest the Hohokam are considered the masters of such creations, an art characterized by its style and expressive quality. - Sandstone object in the shape of a horned toad; 8 inches diameter, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Objects of clay and stone (perhaps jewelry), found largely in Hohokam burials. In the Southwest the Hohokam are considered the masters of such creations, an art characterized by its style and expressive quality. - Sandstone bowl with seven frogs (water symbol); 3.76 inches diameter, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Anasazi pottery - Bowl, black on gray, with geometric designs (triangles with dots and crossed and zig-zag lines) on the inner surface; mortuary offering. Diameter: 7.24 inches. Wupatki National Monument (Arizona), Sinagua Culture, MNA
MNA = Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (Arizona)

A selection of clay figurines made by the Hohokam, found largely in graves. The faces are quite detailed, eyes and mouths are incised, eyelids clearly delineated. As portraits and as death masks they illustrate the transition from reality to eternity. The median length of the faces is 1.2 inches; the tallest figurine measures 3.36 inches. ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Hohokam pottery with geometric and naturalistic designs. - Lid of a grave jar. Red on ochre, with rhomboids with dots in the centers. Diameter: 6 inches. HMP - -Miniature pot, red on ochre, with N-shaped design. Height 3.6 inches. HMP
HMP = Heard Museum, Phoenix (Arizona)

Hohokam pottery with geometric and naturalistic designs. - Deep bowl, red on ochre, painted with spirals. Height: 2.4 inches. HMP.
HMP = Heard Museum, Phoenix (Arizona)

Hohokam pottery with geometric and naturalistic designs. - Three-legged pot, red on ochre, painted with a coiled snake motif, one of which is being attacked by two birds. Diameter: 4.72 inches. ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Hohokam pottery with geometric and naturalistic designs. - Deep bowl, with concentric circles and parallel lines, later repainted. Height: 2.8 inches. HMP. Pitcher found in a child's grave. Diameter: 5.2 inches. HMP
HMP = Heard Museum, Phoenix (Arizona)

Three bowls found in Hopi graves that represent a link between prehistoric and historic times with their continuity in form and decorative motifs; UCM. - Bowl, brown on ochre, with schematized animal. (PUE-179B/C)
UCM = University of Colorado Museum, Boulder (Colorado)

Three bowls found in Hopi graves that represent a link between prehistoric and historic times with their continuity in form and decorative motifs; UCM. - Polychrome bowl with the magic hand symbol. Diameter: 10.56 inches. (PUE-179A/C)
UCM = University of Colorado Museum, Boulder (Colorado)

Objects of clay and stone (perhaps jewelry), found largely in Hohokam burials. In the Southwest the Hohokam are considered the masters of such creations, an art characterized by its style and expressive quality. - Bowl carved of rhyolite with a "bas" relief of women with joined hands; 3 inches diameter, ASM
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

The legends are only available in German, French or Spanish
Paracas-Necrópolis aux premiers siècles de notre ère. L'incomparable art textile des tisseuses-brodeuses des déserts du Sud-Pérou illustre à profusion le culte obsédant des têtes-trophées et réduites, portées en plastron, en franges et en pendeloques. (Museo nacional de Antropologia y Arqueologia, Lima, Pérou.)

The legends are only available in German, French or Spanish
Exhumés des sables du Pérou septentrional, plus de 100.000 huacas à anse-étrier décrivent de façon réaliste et vivante la vie quotidienne des Mochicas d'il y a deux mille ans. Comme en témoigne ce guerrier agenouillé, coiffé d'un casque matelassé de coton et décoré de spirales, avec de gros rouleaux d'or aux oreilles et un bouclier au bras. (Collection privée, Lima, Pérou.)

The legends are only available in German, French or Spanish
Succédant aux Mochicas, l'opulent royaume des Chimus connut il y a une dizaine de siècles des fastes éblouissants. De merveilleux joyaux, tel ce masque d'or funéraire (22 carats), aux yeux percés de 14 pendeloques d'émeraudes, furent retrouvés dans les ruines des pyramides colossales en briques de pisé. (Museo de Oro del Perù, Miguel Mujica Gallo, Lima.)

The legends are only available in German, French or Spanish
Précieuse parure de momie d'un tombeau antique de Larache, au nord du Chili, datée d'environ 1.000 av. J.-C. par le Père Le Paige. Deux colliers, l'un en rondelles de turquoises, l'autre en petits tubes de lapis-lazuli, entourent une plaque pectorale en or, une grosse turquoise et quatre clochettes d'or, entre deux «plumes» d'or ajourées. (Museo de San Pedro de Atacama, Chili.)

The legends are only available in German, French or Spanish
L'un des «trésors» les plus «hauts» du globe: celui découvert à 6.050 mètres d'altitude, au sommet du volcan Pili, dans les Andes du Chili. Un éventail de plumes rouges, des cordelettes tressées, une ceinture tissée, des fragments de tunique multicolore, des tupus (fibules) et un bracelet de cuivre oxydé, une idole d'argent, furent trouvés près du cratère éteint. Ces offrandes rappellent le culte des volcans d'où se disaient issues de vieilles ethnies, encore pratiqué au moment de la Conquête espagnole. (Museo de San Pedro de Atacama, Chili.)

The legends are only available in German, French or Spanish
Offert en holocauste au dieu Soleil, comme calmement endormi d'hier, la tte entre les mains et prêt à s'éveiller, le petit prince inca du Cerro El Plomo, au Chili, devait avoir neuf ans. Lui aussi comblé d'offrandes d'or et d'argent, d'amulettes emplumées, coiffé de cent vingt-trois nattes, anesthésié de coca et de chicha, il garde miraculeusement depuis plus de cinq cents ans les couleurs de la vie. Porté en litière jusque sur la cime sacrée où le gel le surprit et le momifia, découvert en 1954, il dort aujourd'hui dans un... réfrigérateur au Museo de Santiago, Chili!

Vessel for grave goods - Tiahuanaco culture - year 667 to 1000 - height 18 cm - Museo Nacional de Arqueología del Instituto Nacional de Arqueología - Bolivia - 1976

Objects from a sanctuary inca at the top of the Pili volcano in Chile - 6050 m - above: bag of coca, feather duster, hair / below: cotton shirt, man carved in shell from the Caribbean Sea, poncho - Museo San Pedro de Atacama - 1976

Burial gift of the small, about 9 year old Inca prince from Cerro el Plomo in Chile, who had been offered to the sun god as a sacrifice of atonement and was discovered in 1954 - see photo KDI-111 - in a refrigerated display case in the Museo de Santiago, Chile! - 1975

Funerary vase from temple no. 1 in the ruins of Tikal, Guatemala. It is a polychrome ceramic vessel with a height of 29.8 cm and a diameter of 17.3 cm. This beautiful example dates back to 700 AD. (Museo Nacional de Tikal). The vase represents two figures. One of them is seated; he seems to occupy a particularly important place in the social hierarchy of his group judging by the way he is dressed and the monumental headdress he wears. A number of hieroglyphs and essentially symbolic decorations can also be seen on this pottery, which are closely related to the scene depicted. These signs make it possible to date the funerary vessel with a fair degree of accuracy. Indeed, archaeologists have come to the conclusion that the vessel is about 1300 years old. The colours used are extremely delicate and show both the taste and the incomparable mastery of pre-Columbian artists. The manufacturing techniques were nevertheless very basic, as the Indians did not know how to use a lathe. The method known as the "colombin", known to other populations of the continent, was very widespread among the ancient Maya. It is still used today in many parts of the American continent. It consists of using small clay rods which, when welded together, make it possible to create the desired container. - 1977

Burial vase from temple no. 1 in the ruined fields of Tikal in Guatemala. It is a multi-coloured ceramic of 29.8 cm height. The diameter of the opening is 17.3 cm. This beautiful piece is thought to have been made around 700 AD and is in the Museo Nacional of Tikal. The vase shows two people, one of whom is seated and seems to occupy a high rank in the hierarchy of the community, judging by her clothing and the powerful headdress she wears. One also notices a number of hieroglyphs and symbolic decorations closely related to the scene depicted. These signs make it possible to determine fairly precisely when the vase was made. Archaeologists believe that it must be about 1300 years old. - 1977

Polychrome ceramic plate from tomb no. 33 at Tikal. The interior shows a person dressed in jaguar skin. Diameter 30.5 cm, height 10 cm. - Museo Nacional de Tikal, Guatemala. - 1977

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