Middle Ages Vocabulary List PDF

MIDDLE AGES: Bible: Christian scripture/ holy text, divided into the old and new testament - Early Christian Marble Statuettes: depict Biblical figures and scenes from the bible, such as the Good Shepherd, the Orant Figure, and Jonah Byzantium/Constantinople: former Greek empire, that be...

MIDDLE AGES: Bible: Christian scripture/ holy text, divided into the old and new testament - Early Christian Marble Statuettes: depict Biblical figures and scenes from the bible, such as the Good Shepherd, the Orant Figure, and Jonah Byzantium/Constantinople: former Greek empire, that became the capital site of the Roman empire when moved there by Constantine in order to protect the empire, site of fusion of traditions and syncretism in culture and art - Byzantine Icon of Christ: work of Byzantine art, characterised through the emphasis on naturalism and symbolism through the art, divine iconography typical to Byzantine art Catacomb: mass burial chambers that housed the dead, typical to the Roman empire, style of mass burial in which loculi (horizontal open cavities) were filled by dead bodies - Early Christian Marble Statuettes: christian iconography of the Good Shepherd, and Jonah’s story featured in the art of Roman catacombs, distinctly Christian iconography in the images on the ceiling that form a cross so that the dead rise into the divine realm Christianity: religion defined by following and worshipping the teachings of Jesus Christ, central dogma focused on the holy trinity of the holy spirit, God and Christ - Early Christian Marble Statuettes: these statuettes were dedicated to Christian iconography featuring scenes from the Bible - Good Shepherd at Ravenna: mosaics, such as the Good Shepherd Mosaic, use imagery depicting Christ as the central figure, paralleling Christ’s care for his disciples to the Shepherd’s care for his sheep - Byzantine Icon of Christ: dedicated to Christ, catering to the Christian dogma and focus on Christ as emblematic of the religion as a whole The Good Shepherd: the shepherd is a figure in both the New and Old testament, however, according to Christian religion, Jesus identifies himself as the Good Shepherd in the New Testament - Good Shepherd at Ravenna: vibrant glass tiles used to form mosaic that features Schrist as the Good Shepherd, as a central focal point identified through his gold garments and cross and central position in the composition, additionally, the mosaic is surrounded by a design of snowflake like patterns making the space appear bigger and otherworldly, contributing to the divine effect of the mosaic - Early Christian Marble Statuettes: one of the many biblical narratives conveyed in this artwork was the tale of the Good Shepherd Halo: a disk or circle of light around a character's head to convey their holy status - Byzantine Icon of Christ: emphasized gold halo around the head of Christ reiterates his holy status, and the red cross etched into the halo is symbolic of the presence of God alongside Christ Icon: a devotional image or representation of a sacred person or event, believed to offer a powerful connection to the individual they represent - Byzantine Icon of Christ: Byzantines believed icons could serve as windows/ portals of connection to the divine image they represent, and therefore held iconography up to divine status, created sense of reality of the devotional image through the use of naturalism- focused on identifiable light source (shows how elusive the image and illumination of Christ is) and uneven eyes, gesture creating a devotional context, and book of scripture present in the work Islamicate: artwork made by ans for Muslim’s based on techniques and stylistic elements of Islamic art, but not made under religious contexts - Page from Qur’an: scripture heavy focus and decorative pages through borders and patterns stemming from the text influenced stylistic elements of Islamicate art Mihrab: niche in the wall of a religious site used as a location for prayer that directs user to pray towards Mecca - Page from Qur’an: style of text-focussed art present in the Mihrabs too, that are primarily decorated through text and patterned tile, often with a central scripture or extract from the Qur’an, creating effect of emphasis drawn to the importance and order created by the text Mosaic: works of art/technique involving arranging small pieces of highly stained glass or stone, that come together to form a picture - Good Shepherd at Ravenna: initially appears to be a whole image, but as you come closer, we can see that it is made up of lots of small glass fragments, creating a vibrancy (as glass is coloured highly saturated) and vitality (through the shimmer and reflection of light in different directions) Orant: a religious gesture in which one stands with their arms open and facing upwards in prayer, a gesture first adopted by the early Christians - Early Christian Marble Statuettes: alongside the Christian iconography, the statuettes can be identified as Christian through the figure depicted in this orant gesture typical to the Christian religion Qur'an: holy book of Islam, sacred text believed to be Allah’s gift to Muslims, therefore the words of the text themselves are a divine and holy gift and are treated as such - Page from Qur’an: the page features words evenly spaced and large across the page, written in ornate and exceptionally neat calligraphy, tying to their divine status Syncretism: the amalgamation of different cultures and religious ideologies, and elements of shared belief across different religions - Early Christian Marble Statuettes: many of these statues refer back to the tale of Jonah, which is actually described in depth in the Muslim Qur’an, ties to their shared roots and origins Apse: the holiest space in the building, oriented to the easternmost end of the building creating Eastern facing orientation for the entire building typically - Old St. Peters: when reusing an old Roman site, had to adjust and flip the orientation of the building so that the apse was the furthest end from the entrance therefore is actually at the West end of the building, it contained mosaics featuring both Christ as well as devotional imagery directed towards St. Peter Basilica: Originally used in Ancient times as a space for civic practices and duties, basilica’s in the middle ages were converted into devotional spaces, acting as Christian churches - Old St. Peters: the structure matched the Roman imperial foundation, but took on devotional imagery, such as mosaics of Christs and saints, becoming thereby a sacred and religious site more than a civic one Islam/Muslim: the Muslim religion involving a singular God (Allah) and Muhammed, his prophet - The Great Mosque of Damascus, Syria: holy site established for Muslims based on a site that had in the past been used by several other religions, the Muslim belief, however, is that God is not limited to the mosque itself and therefore the entire space was considered sacred Judaism: the monotheistic religion developed amongst ancient Hebrews characterised by a single God who revealed Himself to Hebrew prophets - Dura Europos Synagogue, Syria: sacred site of Judaism, covered with frescoes depicting scenes of the Hebrew bible, as followed in Judaism, conveying entire narratives and stories through commonly recognised visual symbols of the stories Minaret: tall tower like structure located outside mosques used to call Muslims for prayer - Great Mosque of Damascus, Syria: minarets located outside the mosque used for prayer, the minarets were formed by reusing Roman style columns, upon which further development was built to make them taller and fit Islamic art style Mosque: Site of Muslim prayer and rituals, however, Islamic belief is that Allah’s presence is not limited to a mosque, so contains areas of open courtyards with holy text etc. identifying Allah in spaces outside of the prayer space in mosques - The Great Mosque of Damascus, Syria: the mosque provided a space for Muslim prayer, however contained open courtyards that were also sacred, when converting prior religious site to mosque, orientation flipped and apses converted to Mihrabs facing towards Mecca, directing prayer in the mosque Nave: open central space for congregation in a basilica or church, typically surrounded by side aisles separated by the presence of columns - Old St Peter’s: central space separating the apse from the entrance of the church, in converting a Roman structure, the nave function as a civic center changes to a more religious orientation Orientation (of a building): significant as guides direction of prayer, different directions and guidance across different religions, but significant nonetheless in all of them - All of the works explored in this lecture tied to the significance of orientation in religious architecture, eg. Mihrabs directing prayer to Mecca, and apses typically at the Eastern end of a religious building Pendentive: curved triangular shaped structures created to allow for a dome to be placed on top of a square shaped structure with increased stability and structural support - Church of Hagia Sophia: pendentive structure created so that the square structure of the church could be topped with a dome to be converted into a Muslim mosque, in a manner that was structurally stable by placing equal weight along the walls rather than just top down on the square structure Saint Peter: one of the apostles present in the New Testament, fundamental to Christianity - Old St. Peter’s: selected as the sacred site for building this church as site of St. Peter’s burial Synagogue: Jewish sacred space of ritual and prayer, typically contained within a larger space with a synagogue proper, and courtyard, not typically featuring much religious iconography as a commandment states no carved images of heavenly scenes to be privately possessed - Dura Europos Synagogue: this synagogue is actually lined with many colourful frescoes depicting iconography and narratives that feature heavenly scenes rooted in Judaism, varying theories as to why, some believe competitiveness among religions at side of Dura Europos, others believe could be finding loopholes Temple of Solomon: the first Jewish temple constructed in Jerusalem, site of mass worship for the Jews, however, destroyed and became symbolic of the religion and the importance of worship - Dura Europos Synagogue: in the Torah niche and throughout frescoes lining the walls of the synagogue, scenes reference the Temple of Solomon as a well recognizable symbol for Jewish worship and practice Torah; Torah niche: space for the Torah, the religious book of Judaism expressing the Law of God, to lie within a synagogue - Dura Europos Synagogue: featured a Torah Niche heavily decorated and detailed with symbols representing and epitomising the Jewish religion and worship, such as the temple of Solomon, Menorah, and Moses Transept: horizontal arm that crosses through a church, forming a floor plan layout that takes on the form of the cross, tying to the central beliefs of Christianity - Old St Peters: the transept cuts the vertical church before the apse, drawing emphasis and attention to the apse as the most holy space within a church Codex: a series of pages bound together on one end, forming a book structure as we currently know it  - Gospel Book Otto III: the book was bound on one side, so it was flippable to open, as we currently do with a book, making it more convenient to access one single page, doesn’t need you to unravel/unscroll the entire scroll, easier to reference a page too Crucifix; crucifixion: representation of the cross with Christ on it, symbolising the pain Christ endured for people, represented in different ways, such as the ascension crucifix focusing on the rise of Christ, or the torture crucifix focussing on the pain he endured - Gero crucifix: this crucifix was done in the torture style crucifix, depicting the torture that Christ experienced and by depicting it in a lifelike manner, allowing for the audience to relate themselves to the torture that Christ felt Illuminated manuscript: a document that is decorated along the sides, and embellished with miniature decorations and calligraphy - Gospel Book of Otto III: the book was decorated with details and embellished with flowers and miniature decorations lining the borders of the book pages Pilgrimage: a journey to a sacred or holy place through sacred routes and places, typically completed by people seeking deeper connection to religion or personal growth - Reliquary Statue and Church of Sainte-Foy of Conques:the church was an important site along the Pilgrims journey, with its height acting as a lighthouse guiding the pilgrims, the statue itself was contributed to through gemstones added by pilgrims who visited, making it a cumulative work of art Relic; reliquary: relics are part of a deceased person treated with reverence and therefore kept as a symbol of their holy or sacrality, a reliquary functions as a container for this relic - Reliquary Statue of Sainte-Foy of Conques: the reliquary statue was created with a shelf at the back, holding the skull of the young deceased Sainte-Foy Romanesque: a style of architecture prevalent through Europe during the Middle ages, replicating and assimilating stylistic elements of traditional Roman architecture - Church of Sainte-Foy of Conques: the church itself is clearly Romanesque in the presence of a barrel vault formed by rounded arches and the thick walls needed for structural support, the apse of church and apertures also featured Romanesque frescoes Scroll: alternative form for text presentation used prior to and as an alternative to the codex form, requires unrolling of the entire scroll to access specific portions, but can be viewed in whole rather than page by page - Gospel Book of Otto III: the book itself is codex, which contrasts conventions of using a scroll at the time, the codex style makes for more convenient reading and writing, as doesn’t need to be unrolled and re-rolled to access a certain section Strip buttress: also known as a flying buttress, a stip buttress is attached the the side of a wall in especially high or tall b buildings to counteract the lateral push that could cause the walls to fall, instead pushing against them and transferring force to the ground  - Church of Sainte-Foy of Conques: strip buttresses strengthen the weight bearing masonry walls Tympanum: the triangular or semi-circular decorative space above door in between the top of a door and an arch covered with carvings and reliefs - Church of Sainte-Foy of Conques: the church had a tympanum above the door that featured scene of the last judgement with God in the center delegating people to heaven and hell, and Sainte Foy alongside this scene Buttress; flying buttress; strip buttress: attached the the side of a wall in especially high or tall b buildings to counteract the lateral push that could cause the walls to fall, instead pushing against them and transferring force to the ground - Notre Dame of Paris: uses highly visible strip butresses to counteract the weight placed on the sides of the structure through the pointed arches, allowing for thinner walls and a lighter structure Cross-rib; cross-rib vault: method of crossing over arches to form X-shaped structures that line the vaulted aisles in order to increase structural stability and support - Notre Dame of Paris: pointed arches criss-crossed over each other in a visible manner typical to Gothic style in order to create more stable vault Gothic: style originating in the middle ages, seen as barbaric and heavily criticised at the time, defined by significance of local, elaborate decorations, tall structures, and visible architectural elements - Notre Dame of Paris: presence of visible structural elements, such as the pointed arches and strip buttresses, as well as elaborate decorative elements presented in both the inside and outside of cathedral, and the tall structure all typical to the Gothic style Nave: the central space in the middle of a church, cathedral, or basilica, typically lined with side aisles - Notre Dame of Paris: the nave features structural elements along the walls, with stained glass along the walls in apertures, additionally, the high ceiling creates a sense of openness and lightness in the nave Pointed arch: arch that come to a point at the apex, rather than a rounded form, serving as a structural element that reduces the strain on the top of the arch, and directs weight-bearing towards side walls and the ground - Notre Dame of Paris: in order to allow for the thinner walls experiencing less strain, Notre Dame uses pointed arches Rose window: large circular window dissected into segments by stone pieces, usually filled with stained glass to form imagery, replacing some of the wall frescoes as decoration and devotional imagery - Notre Dame of Paris: large central rose window, very characteristic of the gothic style, replacing some of the devotional imagery typical to the Romanesque style, the Notre  Dame rose window features allegorical representations of the 7 virtues and sins, representative of the church’s central dogma Side aisles: spaces adjacent to the central nave, usually separated by columns, provide space for walking through the chapel without blocking the central nave - Notre Dame of Paris: the Notre Dame actually has double side aisles, lined with apses and apertures with stained glass Allegory: an image symbolising an idea, concept or principle, often religious or moral, through easily identifiable features, and often canonical symbols - Palazzo Pubblico Fresco, Lorenzetti: this work by Lorenzetti depicts two versions of the city of Siena, depicting allegorical figures symbolising a good and bad government and the outcomes of this, figures depicted in the good government, such as Truth versus Tyrany are depicted as flip sides of one another, the allegorical figures in a representation otherwise naturalistic and accurate to Siena juxtapose the familiarity of the place, and make the documented potential consequences of a good and bad government clear to the audience The Annunciation: the scene of the bible in which the angel Gabriel tells the virgin Mary she will bear the child of God (Jesus) - Scrovegni Chapel Frescoes, Giotto: one of the frescoes of the Scrovegni Chapel depicts the annunciation of Mary in a manner that evokes varying perspectives to highlight the other-worldly presence of God and the reality of this situation simultaneously: it appears Mary exists in an in between state, where she at first glance seems to emerge from the wall, yet overlapping elements pull her back to the flat realm of God Book of Hours: a Christian devotional book that served as a devotional aid commissioned by the wealthy, that was used to lead an individual through time with prayer, creating a sacred time - Trés Riches Heures, Limbourg Brothers: the book was commissioned for a very wealthy individual, intended to lead them through prayer on a day-to-day scale, as well as through the year, with clearly identified seasons, compiled with graphics featuring heavily sensory imagery, such as farmers warming themselves and their genitalia to welcome in Spring, and shivering out in the cold in Winter, the Limbourg Brothers create an exploration through time Fresco: a method of creating wall murals in which paint and pigment is applied directly to the wet surface of plaster as each section is plastered, and then left to dry - Scrovegni Chapel Frescoes, Giotto: Giotto’s frescoes filled the walls of the Scrovegni chapel, using vibrant pigments to create a sense of drama in the work, such as in the scene of the betrayal of Christ by Judas, the immersion of an audience in these frescoes invites them to come closer and take a look - Palazzo Pubblico Frescoes: these frescoes were very large in scale, covering different walls within the central hall of the Palazzo, surrounding the government officials with  the different “sides” and consequences of their behaviour, making a compelling argument for a good government Naturalism: a focus on depicting something as it is, and as observed in nature - Palazzo Pubblico Frescoes: by depicting the city of Siena in the style of naturalism, there is a focus on making the consequences to Siena more real and tangible, by rooting the two narratives in a familiar setting, the story becomes more real - Trés Riches Heures: the book creates sensory imagery through naturalism, depicting sensory details such as the cold air creating smoke coming out of a person's breath, and the shivering gesture of an individual in the cold Cartoon: the preliminary full scale drawing used to transfer a design onto another surface - Madonna and Child: this drawing is actually a cartoon, used as a mock up in full scale, serving as the basis inspiration and preliminary sketches for a series of other works, used by DaVinci in order to explore different techniques and experiment with stylistic elements Crucifix: the cross basis upon which Christ is crucified, became a pervading symbol of Christs’ pain and torture for our sins - Masaccio Trinity: central focal point, displayed at eye level, showing how the holy trinity is not limited to the boundaries of perspective of our material world, is the holy trinity with Christ on the crucifix Memento mori: a Christian tradition of acknowledging and remembering the dead and one's own mortality before prayer, symbolised by a coffin or a dead body in some devotional imagery - Masaccio Trinity: right at the bottom of the piece, where the audience is led to begin prayer is a coffin with a dead body that is inscribed in Latin with a reminder for the audience of their own and everyone else's mortality, depicted with the perspective of being below eye level Oil painting: a technique of painting involving the use of ground pigments suspended in oil, allowed for layering as one could control the opacity of the pigments used and created a sheen effect across the painting as a whole, giving a sense of vitality to the works, while not a new technique, it gained traction in the renaissance - Man with a Red Turban, Jan van Eyck: the use of oil painting allowed for blending and the creation of depth and shadows not possible before, as artists could layer paint coatings, and play with opacity, especially in using white paint for highlights such as around the eyes, giving a vitality to the work Perspective: for example the single vanishing point perspective, used to create an imaginary grid and method of accurately depicting depth in work, a highly formulated method, that didn’t necessarily require an artist to see a landscape from that perspective, just follow a grid based on a hypothetical single point, attempted to replicate distortion - Masaccio Trinity: the work uses the single point perspective to guide a viewer up through the piece, and create the effect of immersion through each of the layers in the  line of sight, reiterates other-worldly presence of the holy trinity as they do not conform to this single-point perspective Sfumato: a method of drawing or painting when a blurry or hazy effect is created, especially in the outlines and contours of figures creating a blending between the figures/subject matter and the environment - Madonna and Child, DaVinci: seen in the blurry edges of the figures blending into their background, highlighting the relationship to nature and the beauty and purity emulated by Mary that is echoed in nature (her background) Tempera: an older painting media involving pigments added to an egg mixture, creating a more matte and thicker effect, making layering and blending more difficult - Man in the Red Turban: the method of tempera contrasts the qualities of Man in the Red Turban, exemplifying the clear difference between the 2 different media The Trinity: the central Christian dogma of belief, believed to be the three most sacred figures, Jesus Christ, God, and the Holy Spirit, often depicted together, with the presence of the holy spirit represented oftentimes as a dove - Masaccio, Trinity: the trinity is seen as otherworldly by breaking the shifts in perspective previously seen, with the holy spirit seen as a dove above the figures of God and Christ on the crucifix, who are emphasized by Mary and Joseph with open arm gestures guiding the viewer's eye upwards to the holy trinity Tangibility: the property of an object as something that can be physically held or grasped, adding to an audience's experience with the object and ability to engage with the object - Medal for John VIII Paleologus: the medal was engraved, making it an object that could he held and felt tangibly, creating a different audience experience with the work that simply seeing it from a distance Counterfeit Antiquity: works that appear to be from antiquity, but are actually designed based on the logic of antiquity and stylistic elements from antiquity made in a more modern context - Bacchus, Michelangelo: Bacchus is portrayed as a figure from antiquity in that Michelangelo used proportions and scripture from antiquity to base him on, however, the figure itself is made in a modern time, reworking antique stylistic choices such as contrapposto for a new meaning (drunkenness) Romanesque: style of architecture designed to incorporate stylistic elements form the Roman architectural period, and to emulate the grandiose and importance delegated to works of classical antiquity - Church of Sant’ Andrea: derived from units from classical Roman work, such as units from the triumphal arches and pilasters, and applied them in an ordered manner to a modern church facade not necessarily in material significance as they were never fully designed but illusionistically, as they were painted on to surfaces to emulate the same qualities Pilasters: rectangular columns projecting from the wall - essentially engaged columns  - Church of Sant’ Andrea: paired with ordered smaller arches to form a Romanesque structure fitting for the Roman relic the church housed Tempera: fast drying medium made with egg yolks and pigment - Primavera: used by Botticelli in the Primavera, however, prevents much shading, as the medium is fast drying, creating ethereal appearance, as though it is beyond the limitations of our worlds’ perspectives Mythological cycle of time: time as a construct determined by the Gods and their behaviour, traced back to these pagan religions that personified seasons and natural phenomena as Gods - Primavera: shows the coming of Spring, through Gods that inseminate the Earth with flowers, and Mercury, the god of late spring, that blows the winds away bringing order to the piece, in their interaction it creates a chronological order to how Spring comes about, through combining conventions of contemporary clothing with the Gods of antiquity Medici Family: powerful family in the Italian Renaissance controlling much of economic and social trade, politically symbolised through art as a representation of their power and reach - Primavera: the golden apples among the trees that Venus dances within are symbols of the Medici family, which interestingly ties into the Medici families political power, as it was a sign of their power and sway that they were able to be represented in a work by such an important artist, the art outlived the rule and political significance of the family Naturalism: depicting things as they are obiserved and seen in nature, faithfulness to the way they appear in nature - Adam & Eve, by Dürer: accomplishment and feat of Dürer’s skill to depict with such naturalism through engravings, focus on the naturalistic elements, as seen in the curl of hair and soft curved lines creating illusion of flesh, based actually on idealised proportions and style determined by statues and works of art from antiquity rather than actual people Engraving: technique where a print is created by using a sharp tool to carve into a block - Adam & Eve, by Dürer: contrastingly from the flatness of conventional engravings, Dürer used soft lines carved into the work to bring it to life, references the technique of this engraving in the mouse underneath Adam’s foot, with a tale that appears similar to the engraving tool used Anthropomorphic: something non-human, such as s deity, given human attributes and features - Water Goddess: the water goddess deity, who is a non-human form, is presented in an anthropomorphic form as a human, specifically female representation of the embodiment of the water spirits, and of mother mountain Ixiptla: the process by which individuals adorn themselves in masks and garments worn by deities, in order to identify themselves with and transform themselves into a version of the deities identity, often conducted as a ritual practice - Mural of Tlaloc Ixiptla: the mural features a human form adorned in the mask and garments typically worn by the storm god Tlaloc, such as a mask with jaguar fangs, and depicted singing and walking (which were ritual practices) highlighting the importance of this Ixiptla practice in ritual contexts Mesoamerica: a region defined by modern historians and anthropologists to span from southern North America to central America across the ancient civilizations to colonialist times, in which distinct linguistic communities and civilizations lived, however aspects of culture and arts, especially due to cross-cultural trade, were shared - specifically focussed on Teotihuacan and Mayan civilization, Inka not part of this region - All of the works explored in this lecture consider the Mesoamerican societies Tlaloc: a water deity, specifically the storm god, worshiped throughout the civilization by offerings due to the importance of water for the produce of corn and other foods for sustenance, characterised by his feline jaguar mouth, and arches eyebrows, often depicted holding a lightning bolt, significant his extensive power by combining fire and water - Tlaloc Jar: Tlaloc is depicted clearly on the jar through arched eyebrows and fanged mouth, these jars depict Tlaloc were distributed throughout the civilisation as offerings for Tlaloc, often depicted holding a tlaloc jar, symbolising the perpetuation of these ritual practices Zoomorphic: A non-animal form depicted with characteristics (often physical) of an animal - Tlaloc Jar: the storm god Tlaloc is depicted in a zoomorphic representation of a jaguar, as seen in the fanged mouth of Tlaloc, creating the impression of the water deity taking on the form of a jaguar Complementarity: two contrasting and juxtaposing elements that come together in a work - Peanut necklace: brings together gold and silver using a copper base and copper beads, juxtaposing the materials, yet simultaneously emphasizing the experience and value of them presented together Duality: similar idea to complementarity, bringing two things together to present a new narrative  - Peanut necklace: in a similar way, it shows the idea of duality, and bringing together both the gold and silver in value, but also the sizes of the two strands to be presented as they exist together Earspool: a decorative earpiece with a surface that features a scene or pattern, and a thick tube to be inserted into a whole in the ear lobe, larger earspools treated as more important, therefore people trained their ears, and took years to be able to stick the big spools into their ears - Earspool: made out of gold and turquoise to emphasize its value and importance, the work depicts a warrior made out of all separate pieces that would have glistened with movement creating sense of dynamicity and vitality, the work was worn to the tomb, emphasising its importance as an adornment to be carried into the afterlife Huaca: a sacred site or situation where things and ideas came together, specifically spiritually - Huaca de la Luna: brick structure built by the Moche people as a sacred spot for ritual purposes Stirrup-spout vessel: a vessel with an upper lip used for water carrying, having two arching handles - Stirrup-Spout Vessel with Portraits: many of these vessels were formed using real peoples’ faces as molds, this allowed for them to have defining characteristics of individuals, they could then be coated with slip and painted in different styles, such as this one depicting the style of a warrior's face-paint - Stirrup-Spout Vessel with Presentation: this vessel features the scene of presentation of a goblet to the sun god, this scene of presentation is a motif seen throughout Moche work, hinting at its properties as a canonical fundamental tale, additionally, use of podiums as registers serves to depict multiple aspects of the scene including elements from this realm allowing for human immersion into the story Tinkuy: Quechua word for the idea of duality coming together in juxtaposition to form new value, and how the value of something comes from its contrast rather than its importance in isolation - Peanut necklace: the silver v gold and small v large chain highlight the beauty and significance of the piece, as well as the sensory experience coming from the copper beads, being a product of the contrasting complementary elements coming together Jadeite: the more valuable and rare material encompassed in the term jade, more translucent and polished to higher degree, giving it an almost ethereal quality often associated with symbolism of being alive and linked to life and the Maize god - Funerary Mask of Pakal: the funerary mask is made up of hundreds of small pieces of jadeite, coming from ancestors jewelry and heirlooms, that are smoothed and attached to the wooden backing by stucco, using the jadeite material in congruence with the sloped forehead emanates that this is the maize god representation Kill hole: a hole drilled in to the center of a plate, rendering it unusable for functional purposes, and releasing the spirits from the plate, making it an object for offering and ritual purposes - Codex-Style Plate with Maize God: at the very center of the plate, is a hole drilled into the plate precisely, showing the plate is used for only ritual purposes, and the spirits of the plate have been released Sarcophagus: a stone coffin adorned with relief and inscriptions - Sarcophagus lid of Pakal: the lid of the sarcophagus was highly decorated with relief patterns, used to allow the sarcophagus to play an active role in the facilitation of the rebirth of Pakal into the afterlife, images of rebirth and of connections to the celestial realm aid the transition Sky band: a horizontal band made up of celestial imagery and symbols used to communicate the other-worldly or celestial time and space - Sarcophagus Lid of Pakal: the sarcophagus lid contains horizontal band of a sky band reiterating the idea of divine transition and the celestial realm in which this transition would occur Slip: liquid material made by mixing clay and water and pigments to form very thin material that coated the surface of ceramic works - Codex-style plate: used to coat plate and give it sheen, as well as to form the codex style depictions on the plate Tessera (pl. tesserae): small blocks of glass or stone used to form a mosaic on a surface - Mask of Pakal: jadeite tesserae were used in order to cover the surface of the mask with this jadeite material, the tesserae were actually shaved down heirlooms and jewelry from ancestors fitted together and attached to the mask World Tree: a prevalent motif in Mayan art that symbolises connection to the cosmic world, and the underworld - Sarcophagus of Pakal: on the lid, the motif of the world tree is presented, alongside other trees depicting the link between past ancestors and the cosmic realm Camelid: refers to members of the camel family, including camels and alpacas etc. - Unku with Tocapu: the unku was weaved criss crossing cotton fibers with fibers from camelids, which are especially valuable and labour intensive as they must be hand spun and woven Coursed masonry: method of producing walls and stone structures that involves selecting and driving stones exactly so they fit together perfectly and their angles come together, allows for stable structures that do not need cement or another adhesive to hold them together - 12-angled stone: the inca were masters of this style of masonry, and used these walls across the empire, the angles of the stones fit together perfectly, while not all were exactly 12 angled, all of them had angles that fit with their surrounding stones in the wall Khipu: method of notarizing information and record keeping as one traveled across the empire that involved knot-tying, used different coloured fibres and different knot styles to communicate different things alongside a numerical system Paccha: ritual vessel used in the first sewing of corn, involved a plough that dug into the ground, an mini ear corn likely created form a mold of an actual corn ear, and a vessel used to hold corn beer, - Paccha: the Paccha was used for ritual purposes in the Chancay valley, as seen through wear at the bottom, and starchy residue indicating corn beer was poured through, this shows us it was functional for its ritual purposes Tocapu: decorative tiles woven onto clothing - Unku with Tocapu: this unku featured 25 different patterns on the tocapu, that then were reused with a different colour scheme, each of these tocapu featured designs seen on unku corresponding with different social roles across the civilization likely representing the emperor's ability to fulfil and take on all of these social roles Unku: a tunic like item of clothing that was the principle male garment of clothing - Unku with tocapu: while not all of the unku produced were quite as complex as this one, they involved a laborious process, and featured different designs, though all had the same tunic like structure