Inca Vase Analysis

As you probably noticed in the image I included [Fig 1] there are symmetric geometric shapes throughout the vase. Inca designs were always geometrical and conventional seen in various pieces of art. They had repeated squares and cross-hatching rows of triangles, scrolls, parallel lines, and drawings of people and / or animals (Gutierrez). In my image of the vase, you can see rows on triangles on the very bottom of the vase [Fig 1]. It was a common pattern used by the Inca’s along with the use of various colors. You frequently see a double-cross pattern on the handles of Inca pottery. This was a clear initiative of ancient basketry and comes from the easiest form of making handles (Gutierrez).

Before the Inca came into Peru, Peruvian pottery

A section of the Ancient History Encyclopedia called Chavin Civilization written by Mark Cartwright talks about the the culture and its forms of art. The Chavin civilization began to flourish between 900 and 200 BCA in the Central Andes becoming one of the earliest pre-Inca cultures (Cartwright, 2015). Chavin art was influential with both contemporary and later cultures from the Paracas to the Incas. This helped spread Chavin imagery and ideas to create a new belief system (Cartwright, 2015). One of the most important Chavin gods is the Staff Deity who is the subject for the famous central figure at Tiwanaku in the Gateway of the Sun (Cartwright, 2015). Cartwright writes “A second important Chavin deity was the fanged jaguar god, also a popular subject in Chavin art” (Cartwright, 2015). Chavin religious ceremonies included sacrificial rituals which would be performed in public in an area like place with more than 1,500 people watching. He states, “An added aura of religious mystery was achieved with the burning of incense, priests suddenly appearing atop the temple's via secret internal staircases, and a cacophony of musical sounds from singers and shell trumpets” (Cartwright,