What a strange sensation to recognize the familiar in long-vanished civilizations and then discover the undeniable otherness. This is the overwhelming sensation when viewing the collection of Mesoamerican Art at the Marjorie Barrick Museum. It’s easy to relate to the ceramic figurines of ball-players, until you learn the game’s losers will be beheaded and ritually sacrificed; or coo at the adorably plump ceramic dogs, until you learn that domestic dogs were bred to be eaten; or recognize the haughtiness of the Mayan elite depicted on ceramic vessels, until you think about their ritual hallucinogenic enemas. These items are just a few of the thousands donated by Manetta and Michael Braunstein, and they constitute literally an underutilized treasure trove waiting to be discovered.
The Braunsteins’ passion—and now mine—is to comprehend the paradox of
civilizations that can evolve to encompass the brutal and the humane, the spiritual and the material, the playful and the serious. These pieces illustrate the cultural and historical continuity of Mesoamerican art. Most of the vessels, figurines, masks and ceremonial pieces were made before the Spanish Conquest.
The pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican population was diverse but shared cultural and linguistic traditions over long periods. Three of the most well-known and advanced civilizations were the Olmec (the mother culture of ancient Mesoamerica), the Mayan and the Aztec. They erected great cities, devised accurate calendars, did advanced calculations, developed a highly nuanced written language and devised an elaborate system to explain man’s role in nature and the cosmos.
Amerindians identified themselves with animal deities. Accordingly, the Mayan rulers were adorned for religious rituals and ceremonies in elaborate costumes incorporating features of the animals they were associated with. These included headdresses and bustles made of bird plumage, animal masks and body paint. The painted vessels depicting the Mayan elites are stunning examples of this. A particularly gorgeous drinking vessel depicts a procession of well-fed nobles in fantastic headgear, their pompous expressions identifying them as important personages. Another shows a high-hatted, high-stepping figure parading around a cylindrical vase, looking very much like a modern drum majorette.
Ceremonies and rituals were important to Mesoamericans. Even ballgames had ritual associations, seen as a reenactment of a mythological tale of two brothers who were sacrificed by the gods and buried in the original ball court. Several lively figurines show what these Mesoamerican gladiators looked like in great detail, down to their protective pads, yokes and elaborate headgear. It’s hard to imagine these charming little figures were effigies of players in a life-and-death sport.
Dogs, as well, had an important role in the cosmic order and figured prominently in Mesoamerican creation myths. It was believed they saw spirits and would lead their masters’ souls to the realm of the dead (Xibalba). Some of the most adorable figurines depict women holding a puppy or small dog. Paradoxically, although loved as pets, they were raised to provide meat for ceremonial consumption and were an important source of protein. One of my favorite parts of the exhibit is an assortment of lifelike canines; pot-bellied, wide-muzzled, short-tailed and hairless, their smooth, rounded forms and glossy finish make you want to hold and stroke them.
For more than 2,000 years, the people of Mesoamerica created objects that reflected their beliefs and daily lives. Although drawn in by their beauty, I’ve come to understand them as reflective of Amerindian beliefs about man’s role in the cosmos. Communication with the spirit world was seen as essential. This was accomplished through rituals of human sacrifice, animal spirit guides and the use of hallucinogens.
Although human sacrifice is horrifying to the modern sensibility, it becomes more comprehensible in the context of a belief system that requires rituals of regeneration to maintain the cosmic order. Although they were great observers of nature, naturalness was never the goal of their art. Rather, they sought an understanding of life and its meaning.
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Pre-Columbian Art (permanent collection)
Marjorie Barrick Museum of Natural History
UNLV, 4505 Maryland Parkway
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4:45 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
895-3381
Free