Marcus' History of Art

       Mesa Verde is arguably one of the most intriguing archeological sites in the world! Located in our own home state of Colorado, it is also the largest archeological site in the country. Mesa Verde, home of the Ancestral Puebloans, consist of more than 4300 sites, and also has a substantial number of their famous cliff dwellings. Mesa Verde area covered a large portion of the four-corner region. This area of immense flat- topped mesa’s and deep ravines attracts about half a million people annually.   While they are known for their settlements established underneath the cliffs, they also had settlements on the cliffs themselves and also on top of the mesas. It is believed that this area was inhabited for centuries though it was ultimately abandoned around the year 1300.               https://ka-perseus-images.s3.amazonaws.com/9dc507bf46c424322a1a37e6b669d7e98586db14.jpg      ...

       Great Zimbabwe is generally described as, “one of the most dramatic architectural landscapes in sub-Saharan Africa.” (Smarthistory.org) The word Zimbabwe translates from the Bantu language of the Shona to two different possible meanings. It either translates to either,” judicial center” or “ruler’s court or house.” Aside from being the monumental architecture of ancient Egypt, it also is the largest stone complex in Africa built before the modern era. The capital of Zimbabwe is only a four-hour drive from the ruins that remain, constructed between the 11th and 15 th century. From what we know, clay structures and excavations have displayed interior furnishings such as pot-stands, elevated sleeping surfaces and seating surfaces. Other findings indicate upwards of royal houses built in clay, estimating an inhabitant population of about 20,000 people.                 https://smarthistor...

  One of the main stereotypes you’re probably familiar with when discussing ancient Africa, is that they always lived in small villages of grass or mud huts. There is substantial evidence to show that Africans attained a high level of cultural complexity and civilization. For example, the great city of Zimbabwe has very large walls of carefully shaped granite blocks placed together without the use of any mortar. For them it was not a wall for defense, but rather for signifying the power of the kings who lived there. In other parts of Africa, yes architecture is often made of mud, which disintegrates if not periodically repaired. Objects of carved stone, fired clay, and cast metals do not disintegrate so easily, and when carefully recovered from archaeological sites, provide some of our best evidence for the sophistication of ancient African kingdoms. https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.khanacademy.org%2Fhumanities%2Fart-africa%2Fwest-africa%2Fnigeria%2Fa%2Fben...