Introduction to the Seeds of Divinity Virtual Exhibit
Sawyer Library “Seeds of Divinity” Virtual Exhibit
Pre-Columbian civilizations in Mexico and Central America used the human body as a prism for understanding and depicting the supernatural. Artworks from five Mesoamerican civilizations—Maya, Teotihuacán, West Mexico, Zapotec, and Aztec—explore the spiritual and the sacred, plumbing the mutable line between humans, gods, and animals. Objects from the era portray the transformation of bodies into divine beings, ancestors and gods materialized through rituals, the passage of human souls into the afterlife, and the animal avatars of kings and gods. The exhibit brings to life powerful religious principles which still animate the worldview of contemporary indigenous people today.
The five videos produced by ANTH 281 students in the spring 2019 are listed below:
- Charlotte Hanson, Class of 2022: Hollow Figurine of a Musician from Ixtlan del Rio, Nayarit, West Mexico
- Benjamin Ward, Class of 2022: Maya Tenon of a Zoomorph with Human Head Emerging from its Jaws from Corozal, Belize
- Connor Middleton, Class of 2022: Zapotec Effigy Urn with Ancestor Embodying the Storm God from Oaxaca, Mexico
- Noah Savage, Class of 2021: Hollow Figurine of a Pregnant Woman from Nayarit, West Mexico
- Ella Smit, Class of 2021: Classic Maya Polychrome Vase with Anthropomorphic Coyote from Campeche, Mexico