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The History of Sculpture
INDIGENOUS AMERICAN
Small groups of people have lived in the Americas for thousands of
years. The Olmecs were one of the first big civilizations, centered in
what is now southern Mexico. The Olmecs created large stone heads
around their empire. One head could weigh as much as 40 tons! The
heads might be images of rulers or warriors.
Other Olmec sculpture included smaller stone sculptures. A few were
made out of jade, a bluish-green stone. Some figures were creatures that
were a mix of jaguar and human. Wood and ceramic were also popular
materials for Olmec sculptors.
The Olmecs passed their art on to the major civilizations in the Ameri-
cas that came after them, like the Aztecs. Sculptures of huge gods sat
in ancient Mexican temples and other public places. Men and women
praying, animals, and plants were other popular subjects. Many Az-
tec sculptures were made of stone like basalt and jade. Some were
ceramics
.
Later examples of
indigenous
American art include the totem poles
of Northwestern native tribes in the United States, which were built over
the past few hundred years. Totem poles were made of tall, straight tree
trunks carved into figures and shapes. A pole told the story of the person
who had the totem pole built, including the family history, how wealthy
the person was, and what he had achieved in life.
AFRICAN
Early Egyptian sculptures are some of the best examples of ancient art.
A lot of the sculptures were focused on life after death. Pharaohs built
giant tomb sculptures—the pyramids—to commemorate their lives and
to prepare for their deaths. The tombs inside had stone statues that
represented the pharaohs and other nobles, along with Egyptian gods.
Tombs also included smaller sculptures of ordinary people and relief
sculptures of everyday scenes. The smaller sculptures were meant to