Travelogue Continued… Cultures of Central America Item Number: 100028 $0.00

DescriptionIt’s now time we leave South America and venture north. While there are several cultures that produced rather amazing art, I still find Central American cultures lacking a bit when compared to the magnificent art found in Peru. That being said, the tour group is leaving, so let’s keep on walking…

PANAMA

• Cocle, from the province of Cocle, near the Santa Marta River, Ca. 500 to 1000 AD. Pottery characterized by bold designs using 3-4 colors, and divided into five phases: Tonosi, Conti, Macaracas, Joaquin and Parita. Cocle art usually depicts fantastic zoomorphs or human transformational beings in a very abstract, geometric form. Some of the finest potteries from Central America come from the Cocle region. This region also produced fine-quality gold work, again most often in zoomorphic form, using both solid gold and gold tumbaga (mixture of gold and copper).
• Chiriquí, Chiriquí Province, Ca. 500 to 1500 AD. Pottery from this region usually consists of rounded ollas, decorated using a negative-resist technique or added red, black and cream slip. Gold production was also quite popular in this region.
• Veraguas, Gran Chiriquí, Ca. 500 to 1500 AD, producing some of the finest gold-work of Central America and renown for their fine avian pendants.

• Atlantic Watershed. Costa Rica’s ancient art is often divided between those found on the eastern slope (Atlantic) and the western slope (Pacific). The Atlantic Watershed includes Chorotega and Linea Viejatega, both of which can include brightly decorated bowls and ollas as well as more utilitarian items some of the most interesting pieces include what are often called Spider-Leg tripods, usually decorated with reptiles, birds and monkeys. The Atlantic watershed area also produced wonderful stonework. In volcanic basalt, we find incredible metates (grinding tables) in animal and avian forms, trophy heads (representing the heads taken in battle), as well as standing warriors (often holding trophy heads) and other standing human figures. In hard stone (including jade and jadeite), Costa Rican cultures produced exquisite mace heads, attached to short clubs and used in warfare to bash in the skulls of their foes. Some of these forms include jaguars, human heads, avians and reptiles. And finally, jade and jadeite carvings from Costa Rica include some of the finest stonework from the New World. Ax gods, pectorals, birds, reptiles, mace heads, celts, shamanistic figures, pendants and beads in every size shape and form were created by master craftsmen. These jades are some of the most desirable examples of ancient art coming from Central America.
• Pacific Watershed includes Diquis, Guanacaste and Gran Nicoya (which stretches well up into Nicaragua), Ca. 500 to 1500 AD. Of these, the potteries from the Gran Nicoya region are the far most desirable as they tend to be much more artistic, colorful and better executed in general. The Nicoya polychrome slipped pottery, often in the form of standing jaguars or human effigies are among the finest potteries produced in Central America, or perhaps even all the Pre-Columbian world. While most of the volcanic stone artifacts seem to come from the other side of the mountains, there are great examples coming from the Guanacaste region, as well as very fine jade and hard-stone carvings. Gold production in the Diquis region was also quite prolific and of very fine quality.

Period III ( - 1000 BCE (BC)) types include: Toya Incised, Palmar Incised, Diria Incised, Rosales Zoned Engraved, Espinoza Red Striped Espinoza Red Striped, Rivas Negative, Usulutan-like styles, and Cukra Point Complex.
• Period IV (1000 BCE (BC) - 500CE (AD)) types include: Bocana Incised, Matanga Polychrome, Red Jobo Excised, Chaguitillo Polychrome, Rodeo Sieve, Red Andes Incised, Jicaro Polychrome, Red Coyolito Engraved, Bonifacio Excised and Engraved, Guarumo Incised and Punctate, Red-on-Biege Nispero, White-on-Brown Capulin, Black-on-Biege, Yoboa Excised Polychrome, Jarkin Complex, Smalla Complex, and Siteia Complex.
• Period V (500 CE (AD) – 1000 CE (AD)) types include: Chavez White-on-Red, Velasco with Black Stripes, Potosi Appliqué, Leon Punctate, Tola Trichrome, Papagayo Polychrome, Mora Polychrome, Sacasa Striated, Pataky Polychrome, Ometepe Red-slipped Incised, Delirio Red-on-White, Subasa Polychrome, Oregano Polychrome, Zamora incised, Red-and-Black Drum, Arrayan Black Incised, Ulua Polychrome, Babilonia Polychrome, Cacauli Red-on-Orange, Tenampua Polychrome, Tapias Polychrome.
• Period VI (1000 CE (AD) – 1530 CE (AD)) type include: Vallejo Polychrome, Castillo Engraved, Luna Polychrome, Madeira Polychrome, Murrillo Applique, Patastule-on-Red Bands, Combo Sieve, Carlitos Polychrome, Red-and-White Oluma, Miragua, Red Coronado.