Tuesday, April 16, 2013

The Pre-Columbian era Pottery

The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during the Early Modern period. While the phrase "pre-Columbian era" literally refers only to the time preceding Christopher Columbus's voyages of 1492, in practice the phrase usually is used to denote the entire history of American indigenous cultures until those cultures were conquered or significantly influenced by Europeans, even if this happened decades or centuries after Columbus's first landing. For this reason the alternative terms of Precontact AmericasPre-Colonial Americas or Prehistoric Americas are also in use. In areas of Hispanic America the term usually used is Pre-Hispanic.
Indigenous peoples of the Americas continue to evolve after the pre-Columbian era. Many of these peoples and their descendants continue traditional practices, while evolving and adapting new cultural practices and technologies into their lives.
The pottery shown on the card is that of a Jaguar Effigy bottle with Bridge Spout with Resist from Peru. Far North Coast Piura Valley. It is possibly of the Late Horizon/Early Intermediate period, Vicus 400-200 bc.
Resist is a coating that is put on pottery or ceramic to protect a certain area from paint or glaze. When the piece is fired, the resist will burn away and the area that it was put on will show with the paint or glaze surrounding it.
Thank you Billy for this interesting card.