Mayan Art Chapter 1 Essay

1. Explain the contributions of the Maya to art and civilization, describing at least one Mayan work of art as part of your answer. Please include page number from your book where art piece is found. The Maya invented a written language, a great calendar, advanced mathematics, and huge temples made of stone. The temples that they built suggest that the Maya priests were high power. The walls of their temples were richly carved and painted. On page 343, I found a great example of the Mayan art. The art piece is called Lintel 24 from Yaxchilan. This art piece is a sculpture. The sculpture has written symbols on the sides of it. There is a King standing holding a flaming torch. In it as well is his wife kneeling in front of him facing towards him. This is a really interesting sculpture because it has true meaning to the Mayans. The sculpture also has the wife drawing blood from her tongue. She has patterned clothing on. Their clothing is very detailed with textures.
Describe a totem of the Tlingit. What is it, what does it signify, what does it look like? A totem of the Tlingit that I liked personally was the Tlingit Community House totem. "A totem is an object such as an animal or plant that serves as an emblem of a family or clan; it often symbolizes original, prehuman ancestors." The Tlingit Community House totem has shapes of beavers, bears, whales, and ravens. It also consist of symbols, "which held a family clan to remember its history back to mythological times, much like a family