Exquisite Arts Magazine Vol 6- Summer Issue- July 2017 | Page 25

A Celebration
of Indigenous Art History
The indigenous culture is one rooted in the history of our world carrying un-broken traditions,
impeccable creativity and a profound respect for humanity, nature and the cosmos. There is a
lot that our modern society can learn from the ancient principles of their culture, as love and a
deeper meaning for life are the essence of what they believe, speak, write, practice and create.
Indigenous nations from all over the world have contributed outstanding pieces of art to our
society; priceless work stemming from ancient civilizations to the incredible pieces from the
native artists of today.
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Paleo Lithic People
The Olmec
(Paleo- American/ Paleo- Indian) – 8000 BC & Earlier
The artistic practice of carving art into rock otherwise
known as petroglyphs were the primary medium of art
used by the paleo- lithic people of the Americas.
Archeologists regard the Paleo lithic people otherwise
called Paleo-Indians or Paleo-Americans as the first
inhabitants of the Americas.
There are many sites in the Americas where Paleo-
American petroglyph art can be found. The Coso Rock Art
District contains canyons that boast over 100,000
petroglyphs. A few other sites include: Sego Canyon in
Grand County Utah, McGee Springs Dinosaur National
Monument in Utah & Colorado and the Wild Horse
Canyons in Utah.
Colossal Basalt Head- Olmec
The first civilization to fully develop in
Mesoamerica was the Olmec. They primarily
lived along the gulf coast and were well known
for the creation of 17 giant Colossal basalt
heads of whom are believed to be their rulers
or elites.