Olmec
It is one of the most consistent images in Olmec art; a deity with an angry snarling face.
What is the "howling baby"?
These are the sculptures found at Monte Alban that have a somewhat misleading name; they are nude and ritually mutilated.
What are the "danzantes"? or dancers?
The temple of the Feathered Serpent is dedicated to this deity.
Who is Quetzalcoatl?
Many architectural complexes use this style; one that is laid out on a grid and mirrors each side along a central axis.
What is bilateral symmetry?
This term refers to the modern states of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize.
What is Mesoamerica?
The Olmec were masters of working this material; Mesoamerica's most precious green stone.
What is Jade?
Though they are called "altars" these Olmec sculptures depicting rulers in a small niche probably served this purpose.
What are thrones?
These are the names of the three pyramids at Teotihuacan.
What are the Pyramid of the Moon, Pyramid of the Sun, and Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent?
This is the site at Monte Alban that might have served as a Zapotec war memorial.
What is the Temple of the Danzantes?
These are the three periods of ancient Mexican art.
What is Preclassic/formative, Classic, and Postclassic
The Olmec are known for these huge basalt sculptures - some of the first portraits in art history.
What are the Colossal Heads?
It is an object that is worn around the waist during the ball game; large ceremonial green stone versions were also created.
What is a yoke?
The Great Goddess of Teotihuacan probably represents this earthly element.
What is Water?
The Pyramid of the Niches at El Tajin is appropriately named, as it has this many square niches on the outside of the pyramid.
What is 365?
This is another name for ancient Mexican art before European contact; making the "c" a lower case attempts to minimize the importance of a certain European explorer.
What is Precolumbian?
This is a site that contains burial mounds, sunken courts, and an early pyramid affectionately referred to as the "fluted cupcake."
What is La Venta?
He is the rain God who is typically depicted with a geometric face and appears to be wearing glasses.
Who is Tlaloc?
All of the names associated with Teotihuacan were given by these later people.
Who are the Aztecs?
These are a feature of most Mesoamerican architectural complexes used for a very important ritual; El Tajin has at least 11.
What is the ball court?
This is how most historians believe ancient people traveled to the New World from the Old World about 17,000 years ago.
What is a land bridge? (Between Asia and Alaska).
The Olmec belong to this period of ancient Mesoamerican art.
What is the Formative or Preclassic period?
The ceramic dogs who wear masks of their owners come from this West Mexico culture.
What is Colima?
There is evidence that shows that the Teotihuacanos invaded and conquered this other Mesoamerican culture.
Who are the Mayan?
The Teotihuacanos invented this architectural style that features a sloping base leading to a vertical entablature.
What is Talud-Tablero?
This is the language spoken by the Aztecs.
What is Nahuatl?