The capital is a city called a monument of modern architecture. Architecture of the ancient civilizations of America

The Fuerte de Samaipata Complex (Samaipata Fortress), also known as El Fuerte, is an archaeological site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Bolivia in the Department of Santa Cruz, Florida Province. It is located in the eastern foothills of the Bolivian Andes and is a popular tourist place for Bolivians and foreigners. The complex was not a military fortification and, according to historians, was a pre-Columbian religious site built by the Chane people, a pre-Inca large ethnic group composed of the Arawaks. Here are the ruins of the Inca city, built next to the complex during the expansion of the Incas to the southeast. The Incas and Chans were periodically raided by Guarani warriors who occasionally invaded the region. As a result, the Guarani conquered the plains and valleys of Santa Cruz and destroyed Samaipata. The Guarani also dominated the region and during the Spanish colonization. Next to the temple complex, the Spaniards built a small settlement, in which the remains of buildings of typical Arab Andalusian architecture are now found. Over time, the Spaniards left the settlement and moved to the neighboring valley, where the city of Samaipata is currently located.

Tiwanaku or Taipikala (sometimes Tiwanaku, Tiwanaku, Tiwanaku, from the aim. Tiwanaku) is an ancient city, the spiritual and political center of the Andean civilization of the same name. It is located 15 km from the southern shore of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. Since 2000 it has been an object world heritage UNESCO. Most of the local population speaks Aymara (one of the three languages ​​of the Indians, vaguely reminiscent of the Quechua language), a minority of Uru (Uru) or similar Chipaya (Chipaya). Previously, the Pukin language, which has now disappeared, was widespread. Alan Kolata believed that all of these languages ​​were important in Tiwanaku. The name of the area in the Aymara language was consonant with Taypikala (Taypikala, Taipikala), which means "stone in the center", since the area was, in their opinion, near the center of the world. There is an opinion that before that there was a name in the Pukin language. It is believed that in pre-colonial Bolivia already in the II-IX centuries. Tiwanaku was the largest city in the Central Andes region and the center of the state of Pukin. At that time, the city occupied about 6 km² and had 40 thousand inhabitants. Around 1180, the city was abandoned by the inhabitants after the defeat of Pukin by the Kolya (Aymara) tribes.

Chan Chan is the former center of Chimu culture and the capital of Chimor State Education. Located on the Pacific coast in northern Peru, west of the city of Trujillo in the La Libertad region. The city arose around 1300 and to this day covers an area of ​​​​about 28 km². It was probably the largest city of its time on the South American continent and one of the largest cities world built from adobe. During the period of its greatest prosperity, about 60 thousand people lived in it, and gold, silver and ceramics were stored in large quantities in the city. The Chimu capital originally consisted of nine autonomous regions, each of which was ruled by a separate ruler who showed valor in battle. These rulers were revered as kings. Each district had its own burial sites with rich investments in precious stones, pottery and dozens of skeletons of young women.

The ghost town of Humberstone in the Atacama Desert originated in the Atacama Desert in 1872 as an industrial city. locals worked in the mines of James Thomas Humberstone for the extraction of saltpeter. The demand for nitrogen fertilizers was great, the city grew rich. There were schools, a theater, restaurants, churches, and its own customs. But over time, the reserves of sodium nitrate were depleted. In 1958, the Humberstone plant was closed and 3,000 people were left unemployed. In a short time the city was empty. Residents left in a hurry, leaving their property here. Now Humberstone is an open-air museum. It is visited by tourists, every November a festival is held in the city, which attracts people who once lived here. Since 2005, the city has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
For more than half a century, no one has lived in the city of Humberstone. But many tourists come here. There are guided tours, and once a year - a festival.

Ciudad Perdida, or Buritaca-200, is an archaeological site representing the ruins of the city of the Tayrona culture in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. The city is supposed to have been founded around 800 AD. e., that is, 650 years earlier than Machu Picchu. The area is also known as Buritaka, and the local Indians call it Teyuna. The city was accidentally discovered in 1972 by local grave robbers. They found a group of stone steps going up the mountain, and following these stairs, they came to an abandoned city, which they called the "green hell". After gold figurines and ceramic urns from the city began to appear in the local market, the authorities investigated and discovered the city in 1975. According to representatives of the local tribes - Aruako, Kogi and Arsario - they visited the city long before it was discovered by the authorities, but kept its location secret. They called the city Teyuna and believed that their ancestors lived here - the bearers of the Tayrona culture. Ciudad Perdida was, apparently, a regional political and industrial center on the Buritaka River, from 2 to 8 thousand people could live here. The city was abandoned, apparently during the Spanish conquest.

The Fuerte de Samaipata Complex (Samaipata Fortress), also known as El Fuerte, is an archaeological site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Bolivia in the Department of Santa Cruz, Florida Province. It lies in the eastern foothills of the Bolivian Andes and is a popular tourist destination for Bolivians and foreigners alike. The complex was not a military fortification and, according to historians, was a pre-Columbian religious site built by the Chane people, a pre-Inca large ethnic group composed of the Arawaks. Here are the ruins of the Inca city, built next to the complex during the expansion of the Incas to the southeast. The Incas and Chans were periodically raided by Guarani warriors who occasionally invaded the region. As a result, the Guarani conquered the plains and valleys of Santa Cruz and destroyed Samaipata. The Guarani also dominated the region during the Spanish colonization. Next to the temple complex, the Spaniards built a small settlement, in which the remains of buildings of typical Arab Andalusian architecture are now found. Over time, the Spaniards left the settlement and moved to the neighboring valley, where the city of Samaipata is currently located.

Tiwanaku or Taipikala (sometimes Tiwanaku, Tiwanaku, Tiwanaku, from the aim. Tiwanaku) is an ancient city, the spiritual and political center of the Andean civilization of the same name. It is located 15 km from the southern shore of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. Since 2000 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Most of the local population speaks Aymara (one of the three languages ​​of the Indians, vaguely reminiscent of the Quechua language), a minority of Uru (Uru) or similar Chipaya (Chipaya). Previously, the Pukin language, which has now disappeared, was widespread. Alan Kolata believed that all of these languages ​​were important in Tiwanaku. The name of the area in the Aymara language was consonant with Taypikala (Taypikala, Taipikala), which means "stone in the center", since the area was, in their opinion, near the center of the world. There is an opinion that before that there was a name in the Pukin language. It is believed that in pre-colonial Bolivia already in the II-IX centuries. Tiwanaku was the largest city in the Central Andes region and the center of the state of Pukin. At that time, the city occupied about 6 km² and had 40 thousand inhabitants. Around 1180, the city was abandoned by the inhabitants after the defeat of Pukin by the Kolya (Aymara) tribes.

Chan Chan is the former center of Chimu culture and the capital of Chimor State Education. Located on the Pacific coast in northern Peru, west of the city of Trujillo in the La Libertad region. The city arose around 1300 and to this day covers an area of ​​​​about 28 km². It was probably the largest city of its time on the South American continent and one of the largest adobe cities in the world. During the period of its greatest prosperity, about 60 thousand people lived in it, and gold, silver and ceramics were stored in large quantities in the city. The Chimu capital originally consisted of nine autonomous regions, each of which was ruled by a separate ruler who showed valor in battle. These rulers were revered as kings. Each district had its own burial sites with rich investments in precious stones, pottery and dozens of skeletons of young women.

The ghost town of Humberstone in the Atacama Desert originated in the Atacama Desert in 1872 as an industrial city. Local residents worked in the mines of James Thomas Humberstone for the extraction of saltpeter. The demand for nitrogen fertilizers was great, the city grew rich. There were schools, a theater, restaurants, churches, and its own customs. But over time, the reserves of sodium nitrate were depleted. In 1958, the Humberstone plant was closed and 3,000 people were left unemployed. In a short time the city was empty. Residents left in a hurry, leaving their property here. Now Humberstone is an open-air museum. It is visited by tourists, every November a festival is held in the city, which attracts people who once lived here. Since 2005, the city has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
For more than half a century, no one has lived in the city of Humberstone. But many tourists come here. There are guided tours, and once a year - a festival.

Ciudad Perdida, or Buritaca-200, is an archaeological site representing the ruins of the city of the Tayrona culture in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. The city is supposed to have been founded around 800 AD. e., that is, 650 years earlier than Machu Picchu. The area is also known as Buritaka, and the local Indians call it Teyuna. The city was accidentally discovered in 1972 by local grave robbers. They found a group of stone steps going up the mountain, and following these stairs, they came to an abandoned city, which they called the "green hell". After gold figurines and ceramic urns from the city began to appear in the local market, the authorities investigated and discovered the city in 1975. According to representatives of the local tribes - Aruako, Kogi and Arsario - they visited the city long before it was discovered by the authorities, but kept its location secret. They called the city Teyuna and believed that their ancestors lived here - the bearers of the Tayrona culture. Ciudad Perdida was, apparently, a regional political and industrial center on the Buritaka River, from 2 to 8 thousand people could live here. The city was abandoned, apparently during the Spanish conquest.

Name the capital city, called a monument of modern architecture in South America

The height of the colossus is 64, 5 m, the length of the sides of the base is 211, 207, 217 and 209 m, the total volume is 993 thousand. city ​​highway Nuevo de Julio, famous for the symbol of the city - an obelisk in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Republic, in everyday life nicknamed "Member de Baires". One - the first quarter of the twentieth century - elongated, neoclassical, with a slight touch of Art Deco in details, the second - prickly, composed of heavy concrete polygons and glass, erected by Yo Ming Pei (author of the famous Louvre Pyramid). At the same time, New Orleans is the only place on this list that also has neo-Egyptian and Moorish styles as part of its architectural DNA (the buildings of the American customs house and the church Immaculate Conception). By the end of the 19th century, Washington had become a significant city.

Other historical buildings, including landmarks such as the Moskva Hotel (1930) and the Voentorg department store (1913), were demolished and then completely restored, with the inevitable loss of historical value. In the case when the concept of "architectural monument" extends to a compositionally complete architectural ensemble (for example, the Kremlin, fortress-monasteries, etc.), a closed zone of protected space is also formed inside the complex, which, together with individual architectural monuments, forms a kind of ensemble interior.

The city of Manaus was founded in the Amazonian jungle in 1669 by the Portuguese on the site of an Indian tribe. The gates were made according to the samples presented by Count F. Tolstoy. But this public education was short-lived. On a permanent basis, the first museum “Believe it or not. ”was opened after the death of Ripley, in 1950 in Florida, in the city of St. But in the IX-X centuries. BC e. to the middle - the last centuries of the 1st millennium BC.

The capital city is called a monument of modern architecture

No word yet on when the building will be open to the public. They can perform completely different functions. Cities in the south of the country were abandoned, the population declined sharply, and soon tropical vegetation covered the monuments of its former grandeur with its green carpet.

New terms have also been coined. Ilya Ilf called this building in his Notebooks "the inspired creation of the architect Fridman." You can touch a marble statue of a Roman of the 2nd century BC. BC e.

Architecture modern city surprises and amazes. A detached house is a phenomenon rare among the Maya. n. e. Comparing the plots presented on these clay vases with descriptions of the exploits of the twin heroes in the underworld from the Mayakic epic Popol-Vuh (XVI century), the scientist drew attention to their partial coincidence. A city on whose face the face of all of Russia depends.

According to psychologists, people living in such gray "boxes" feel negative emotional stress. There are no forests on the archipelago, heather meadows and peat bogs predominate. But most of all struck with its splendor temple complex Cuzco Coricancha (Golden Court).

The architecture of the modern city as a science and art

Inspired by the so-called “Bilbao effect”, museum architecture is becoming increasingly attractive to art lovers and tourists alike. It is also worth visiting the museums of Santiago - the Museum of Fine Arts, the house of Pablo Neruda (famous. Ensembles of magnificent palaces of the Aztec rulers - "tlatoani" were located nearby. For all these architectural innovations, the building was given a protective status.

Pioneer in this area was Pierre Schaeffer (1910-1995) - one of the pioneers of collage technique, the author of the term "concrete music" (musique concrete). Creole architecture (a mixture of French-Spanish colonial styles and the revival of classicism), as well as the characteristic wrought-iron balconies of the French Quarter, is considered to be the embodiment of the architectural face of the city of New Orleans. Somehow, they absolutely do not give rise to the image of a friendly and “turned face to the citizen” official. In the I millennium

Modern architecture of Moscow: 10 most interesting monuments

Also, in 1484 the Church of the Deposition of the Robe was founded. The first building license was issued in 1978. The age of modernity was short-lived - approximately from 1890 to 1910. Human.

The Canadian Museum of the same name was founded in 1963 in the city of Niagara Falls ( Niagara Falls, Ontario) and still has a reputation best museum cities.

But in fact, in San Francisco, the best thing is Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge. She has come a long way to become. The Historical Museum, Igumnov's house became a monument of those times. It is also interesting to visit the Museum of Painting, the State Art Gallery, the Impiranha Museum, founded by Emperor Pedro 1, the Butant Institute - the kingdom of reptiles.

15 Unusual Architectural Landmarks in Moscow

BC e. (800-400 years. These are probably temples. However, many citizens of Guangzhou saw a Chinese coin in this building, symbolizing the desire for material wealth, and among the people this building was already called the “disc of the prodigal rich.” The capital of the “empire” - Tenochtitlan - over time turned into a huge city, the area of ​​​​which was about 1200 hectares, and the number of inhabitants, according to various estimates, reached 120-300 thousand people.The complex was erected in 1775 by order of Empress Catherine II.Many believed that the place was inhabited by ghosts.Between 1438 and 1460s

In the 20th century, Art Nouveau appeared, its examples are the National, Metropol, Yaroslavl Station hotels. A notable event in the architectural life of Moscow was the construction of seven famous skyscrapers in the imperial style. At the Presidential "Pink" Palace there are guards of honor, the changing of the guard every two hours. The islands were discovered by Europeans in the 16th century. administrative center and the only city- Port Stanley (Puerto Argentino).

Rio de Janeiro has many other attractions. The central park of Ibirapuera is also worth a visit. This takes place in 1826. The facade of the building is geometrically divided into caissons. After 6 years, the autocrat approves the project proposed by the architect K. A. Ton. The main square in the city was Wakapata (sacred terrace), from which roads branched off to the four main provinces of the country.

15 Most Impressive Monuments of Architecture

Puerto Montt is called the gateway to the Lake District. The “house-sail” is finished with porcelain stoneware, which has the property of maintaining a neat appearance and internal fortress for a long time. Thanks to the work of American (T.) For four years, the Bat Theater was located here, where Konstantin Stanislavsky, Vasily Kachalov, Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Olga Knipper-Chekhova performed.

Architectural competition for the project of the Military Academy of the Red Army. Today, attempts are being made to restore many of the largest examples of urban pre-Soviet architecture. Also, the description of the "House on Chicken Legs" is found on the pages of the popular science fiction novel by Sergei Lukyanenko "Night Watch".

19 of the greatest monuments of architecture around the world

Their backs are topped with a strip of aluminum, similar to the leading edge of a wing of a fighter plane. Surya Temple in Konark is on the UNESCO list. The 15th century imprinted itself for a long time with the stone architecture of the Assumption Cathedral and the Kremlin. The amazing and eye-catching facing of the building conceals a certain secret: colored plaster is combined with a micro-relief and glass fiber reinforced concrete (the hall is also decorated with such patterns).

Many historical buildings and complexes, being “inviolable” and in many cases even restored, suffered significant damage as a result of ignoring or underestimating their city-forming significance in modern buildings, corresponding to the maximum disclosure of the emotionally expressive properties of monuments in the surrounding space. One example of buildings of this period is the Kremlin brick wall with two-horned battlements resembling a swallow's tail, an element inherent in the castle walls of Milan and Verona.

Art in the city: the best examples of public art

Alan Kolata believed that all of these languages ​​were important in Tiwanaku. True, the center of Washington was by no means formed immediately, like the city itself. Architecturally, it is perhaps the most interesting. Each of them reaches a height of seven meters, and a width of about two.

On the bank of the Prechistenskaya embankment stands a fabulous Art Nouveau house. Then, for some reason not yet understood, there was a decline. m. It is assumed that the construction of the pyramid required labor of at least 20 thousand. All this is magnificent Rio.

10 US cities with the most unusual architecture

The language of architecture is always modern, as it takes into account human physiology and psychology. In 2005, Mikhail Belov completed the construction of the "Pompeian House" on the Arbat - a bright, bluish-red building with elegant decor, a huge number of porticos, magnificent balconies. It was who came from Western Europe, opulent and whimsical palatial baroque style. As a result, the cathedral began to bear the features of eclecticism inherent in all Moscow architecture.

Near the temple was the courtyard of the Intipampa (golden field), on which there were trees made of gold, plants and herbs, deer, butterflies, shepherds, etc., all of which were made in life size and everything moved (.) with the help of the most skillful mechanisms. The city of carnival, joy and general well-being. The city was accidentally discovered in 1972 by local grave robbers.

We will not list all of them, only mention a few. Expensive natural stone was used to finish the facade, and granite was used for the atrium. Many small churches, however, were lost forever.

Already a simple comparison of the path traversed by the indigenous population of America in the pre-Columbian era, with milestones in the history of the Old World, gives an extraordinary amount to identify general historical patterns. The first traveling collection, Ripley's Auditorium, was presented in Chicago in 1933 during the World's Fair. Both of these buildings were restored in the 1990s.

Thus, the production of hydrogen requires a temperature of 1400C. These rulers were revered as kings. A crooked house is really crooked and does not contain a single even place and corner. Most of them were hunters, fishermen, gatherers or primitive farmers, only in two relatively small areas of the Western Hemisphere - in Mesoamerica and the Andes - did the Spaniards meet highly developed Indian civilizations. The highest cultural achievements of pre-Columbian America were born on their territory. By the time of its "discovery", in 1492 d, up to 2/3 of the entire population of the continent lived there, although in size these areas accounted for only 6.2 of its total area. Golden windows, doors, walls, roofs, floors, ceilings, religious objects amazed people.

The "Bilbao effect" in action: the architecture of contemporary art museums

The Falkland (Malvinas) Islands are located in the southwest Atlantic Ocean. Particularly prominent are a round stone with a diameter of more than three meters with a low-relief image of the goddess Koyolshaukhka, the sister of Huitzilopochtli, 53 deep pits filled with ritual offerings (stone figurines of gods, shells, corals, incense, ceramic vessels, necklaces, skulls of sacrificed people, etc. ). However, this often happens, and probably not only with the petals of Washington cherries. At that time, the city occupied about 6 km and had 40 thousand inhabitants.

Even its place and status were subjects of long discussion by the "Founding Fathers" of the United States. Now the sanctuaries of the gods Huitzilopochtli (the god of the sun and war, the head of the Aztec pantheon) and Tlaloc (the god of water and rain, the patron of agriculture) have already been opened, the remains of fresco paintings and stone sculpture have been discovered.

Modern city architecture

The lakes are also very beautiful with glaciers sliding into them and floating icebergs. The ritual-administrative center of Teotihu-akana described above was surrounded on all sides by residential quarters in the form of clusters of block houses (up to 60 m long), planned along the cardinal points along a regular network of narrow straight streets. Excavations at another "Olmec" village - San Lorenzo - also revealed giant heads and rows of ritually buried monumental sculptures in a purely "Olmec" style. There are shoes and bars on the windows and doors. To save historical heritage Charleston is taken very seriously.

Unlike other buildings, it expands upwards. soon the method of panel assembly of houses was invented. Full-fledged construction resumed in Moscow only with the accession to the throne of Catherine II. Charleston is called the "holy city" because of the many tent temples. Products of Teotihuacan masters are found in the 1st millennium. Full conversion reliably protects against dust and other contaminants. What is it - shock therapy or a joyful game, is not yet clear.

“I made the layout of the city regular, drew the streets at right angles from north to south and from west to east, and then cut several avenues in other directions, connecting all the most important places, wanting them not only to contrast with the general regularity, not only to provide variety of pleasant views, but, most importantly, would directly link the various parts of the city,” Pierre-Charles Lanfant wrote to George Washington. He, according to historians, is one big mystery. It is interesting that all the "apartments" are rented, they are not for sale.

Wonders of architecture from around the world - 30 masterpieces

Inside, this is quite a comfortable dwelling, quite cozy and spacious. One of the most striking examples is the city of Zagorsk, where the Trinity-Sergius Lavra exists in the “frame” of a natural landscape that is unique in its beauty and individuality, the character of which is compositionally perceived in the very architecture of this unique ensemble.

To develop the layout of the capital was entrusted to a French engineer who fought, not without the approval of his government, in the ranks of the American army against the British, Pierre Charles LEnfant, who thanks to this entered the history of world urban planning. They found a group of stone steps going up the mountain, and following these stairs, they found themselves in an abandoned city, which they called the "green hell".

In the twenty-five-story "House on Chicken Legs" at 184 Prospekt Mira, it is not Baba Yaga and the brownie Kuzey who live, but ordinary people. The color of the house resembles marble, but in fact it is moire - concrete mixed with paint. The columns on the upper floors of the building complete the colorful picture of Italian architecture. But the Maya did not know metals, a plow, wheeled carts, domestic animals, a potter's wheel.

Architecture of Washington - metropolitan scope and prosperity

In 1992, a monument to the Indian People was unveiled. Stalinist architecture combines several architectural styles that can be characterized by the words "monumentality", "pomp", "luxury", "majesty".

Should the architecture of the museum be noticeable or is it just a decoration for the exhibits. The National Congress attracts attention, it houses the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. In a short time the city was empty. In 1541, the settlement was given the name "City". In addition, the first floor is occupied by a theater-like auditorium with 142 seats.

In the "Openwork House", built in the form of the letter P, there is only one entrance, three stairs and two elevators. All efforts to resume work came to nothing. This original building in the form of a horseshoe, spiraling upwards, is called "an unusual house among the usual monotony." The operas Boris Godunov and the Demon (both in 1909), Eugene Onegin (1911), The Queen of Spades (1924, with the participation of Russian singers), Khovanshchina (1929), Sadko (1930) and others were staged here.

The main idea of ​​the composition is the power and greatness of the Red Army. For many centuries, populous states and cities existed here.

History of urban development, order system

In addition to them, the city has preserved many places associated with the history of the civil war, as well as pastel-colored Georgian houses of an even earlier period - the 18th century.

Recently, Bahrain has been implementing global environmental projects, one of the most notable being the World Trade Center in Bahrain (WTC). The elite complex "Roman House" was built in the style of Italian classicism with airy cascades of colonnades and an oval courtyard. In practice, such a transformation begins at temperatures below 0C. The volutes decorating the ground floor resemble a Faberge egg stand.

Theoretically, the transition of white tin to gray occurs at 13, 2C. And churches. And it seems right. The symbol of the golden days of the city is Opera theatre. Its main task is to serve the new production.

Art Deco, organic architecture

The design was developed by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen. On the side of the house, there is an external staircase (most likely a fire escape) that allows access to all five tiers of the unusual building. Subsequently, the name of the city began to be used in an abbreviated form. n. e. - stelae, lintels, reliefs and panels (as well as hieroglyphic inscriptions on them) are memorial monuments in honor of the deeds of the Mayan rulers. n. e. represented by pyramidal hills and platforms of various sizes and heights. According to eyewitnesses, the palace of Montezuma (more precisely, Moctezuma) II had up to 300 rooms, a large garden, a zoo, and baths.

During the construction, reinforced concrete was mainly used. It was built in a "biomorphic" style, although, in fact, it is a real residential 12-storey complex, or rather, a kind of fabulous green village. It grew along with the territory and importance of the United States. sq. Punta Arenas is an amazing city on the shores of the Strait of Magellan. n. e. the zone of high cultures of Mesoamerica did not include Western and Northwestern Mexico.

The House on Chicken Legs became one of the first high-rise buildings in Moscow. Chan Chan is the former center of Chimu culture and the capital of Chimor State Education. Alexander I dies. Nicholas I, who replaced him, stops construction.

Masterpieces of modern architecture

The Kremlin acquired stone walls in 1369, which were built of white stone. At the end of the 1920s, there was a joke in the professional environment: “In the controversy between the rationalists and the constructivists, the neoclassics won.” The core of the city was formed by its ritual and administrative center: the "sacred site" - a walled square 400 m long, inside which were the main city temples ("Templo Mayor" - a temple with sanctuaries of the gods Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc, the temple of Quetzal-coatl, etc.), dwellings of priests, schools, a platform for a ritual ball game. The rectangular volume of the monumental building rises above a high deaf stylobate. Soon the services began here. meters.

On its shores there are small picturesque towns. Many city churches, which in most cases were among the oldest and historical buildings in Moscow, were destroyed, famous examples are the Kazan Cathedral and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. It was then that architecture came up with the idea to create a building in the shape of an egg, acting as a symbol of the birth of life.

Cities with modern architecture

BC e., fully corresponds to the level of "chiefdoms", "unions of tribes", i.e., the final stage of the primitive communal era. Its capital, Chan Chan, occupied an area of ​​about 25 sq. In principle, public art objects are not created “for centuries”. Santiago is one of the most amazing cities in the world. Perhaps this is the only institution of its kind in the world in the jungle. BC e. It was on the basis of the above data that the hypothesis was formulated that the Olmecs were the creators of the earliest civilization of Mesoamerica (1200-900 BC).

Very often, the most important ritual-administrative buildings were located on natural or artificially created elevations - "acropolises" (Piedras Negras, Copan, Tikal, etc.). The house has 39 apartments, the average area of ​​which is about 200 square meters. Russian classics have always occupied a significant place in the theatre's repertoire. The complex was created in a pseudo-Gothic style, combined with notes of classicism.

Architecture of the city: some general information

In the postclassic time, the western (the Tarascan state) and part of the northern (Zacatecas, Casas Grandes) regions of Mexico are also included in Mesoamerica, thereby significantly expanding its total territory. There is an opinion that before that there was a name in the Pukin language. They argued from 1783 to 1790. This made it possible to significantly increase the working space of the offices: the building is designed for a staff of 500 employees.

The credo of the minimalists is “Nothing superfluous. ". And in the dark, the body of the object is hidden in the dark, leaving visible only the neon contours of the silhouettes of giant "tools". The emergence of original forms, structures and materials led to the emergence in architecture of such trends as constructivism, rationalism, functionalism, etc. The names themselves indicate that the architects sought to create an expedient, comfortable atmosphere with simple and clear forms of buildings. Despite its popularity, the building is often criticized as a kind of postmodern kitsch and a typical student project, in which there is much more shocking than art and functionality. meters have a free layout, ready to respond to any aspirations of the residents. There is no clarity about the main stages in the development of the Olmec culture, the exact chronology and material signs of these stages.

The name of the area in the Aymara language was consonant with Taypikala (Taypikala, Taipikala), which means "stone in the center", since the area was, in their opinion, near the center of the world. The beginning of the development of this style was laid in the 1920s by the French architect Le Corbusier (1887-1965). In the vicinity of Manaus, you can observe the unique phenomenon of the wedding of rivers. The causes of this catastrophe are still unclear. Today it is the pride of the people of the city of Kansas. The opening ceremony of the "Belarusian diamond" took place on June 16, 2006.

Directions of modern architecture

meters, the ceilings are more than 3 meters high. Proskuryakova, D. Kelly, G. Berlin, J. The theater under the direction of Alexander Kalyagin lives an active life, attracting attention not only with its unusual appearance, but also with excellent performances. It was assumed that in a house with small four-meter kitchens there would be: a restaurant (from where it would be possible to bring food), a nursery, Kindergarten, hairdresser, deli.

In modern microdistricts, typical, very similar residential buildings are being built. The city was abandoned, apparently during the Spanish conquest.

Hi-tech - the architecture of a modern city

Tiwanaku was the largest city in the Central Andes region and the center of the state of Pukin. n. e. northern outpost of the zone of Mesoamerican civilizations.

So basically, this is New York. Dazzling azure ocean, golden beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema, snow-white waves. Teotihuacan was the largest craft and trade center in Mesoamerica. Also widespread is the so-called facadism (preservation of the facade with complete reconstruction the rest of the building).

There are a lot of sea birds, seals, fish. Its borders stretched from northern Mexico to Guatemala and from the Pacific coast to the Gulf of Mexico. The Indian civilizations of the New World managed to reach their apogee without the most important technical achievements of antiquity, which included the smelting of iron and steel, the breeding of domestic animals (especially draft and pack animals), wheeled transport, the potter's wheel, plow agriculture, the arch in architecture, etc. In the Andean region, processing of non-ferrous metals, gold and silver was carried out as early as the 2nd millennium. In August 1996, Patriarch Alexy II consecrated the main throne. Frunze passed in 1931. This is the residence of a large patrilocal family.

Above the mansion was a hanging garden. In 1427, the Aztecs organized a "tripartite league" - an alliance of the city-states of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan (Takuba) - and began to consistently conquer the adjacent regions. This city is truly a monument of modern architecture. Among them we find both settled farmers and wandering tribes of hunters and gatherers.

The Guarani also dominated the region during the Spanish colonization. And the face of each city is determined by its architecture and its inhabitants.

Historical architecture of Moscow

The building is a giant tent 150 m high (spire), constructed from a network of steel cables, on which a transparent ETFE polymer coating is fixed. Architects erected buildings reminiscent of Byzantine temples and boyar mansions, using both traditional (brick, wood, stone) and more modern materials (steel, concrete, glass). Perhaps the most recognizable objects of the Stalin period are the so-called Seven Sisters (or Stalin skyscrapers) - these are seven massive skyscrapers located throughout the city at approximately the same distance from the Kremlin.

President of Belarus Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (who, by the way, received a library card 1) noted at the opening ceremony that “this unique building combines the austere beauty of modern architecture and the latest scientific and technical solutions.” The Pashkov House is one of the most famous and beautiful examples of historical architecture in Moscow. However, in the architecture of modern cities, the fascination with prefabricated blocks has led to the depersonalization of buildings. The origin of the Mayan culture is shrouded in mystery.

There are many parks in Santiago: Forest Park, Park of the Kings, Cerro San Cristobal, etc. km and had a population of up to 25 thousand. These are two buildings of different times, connected by a multi-tiered passage.

It is located 15 km from the southern shore of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. In the six-story "Openwork House", built next to the hippodrome, many famous people once lived, for example, writer Konstantin Simonov and actress Valentina Serova, figure skater Irina Moiseeva.

However, the general appearance of the city changed dramatically during the Soviet era, especially due to the large-scale work of Joseph Stalin to "modernize" the capital. Near the house there is a dog kennel, which was also made in the form of a boot. In 1339, the Kremlin acquired wooden oak towers and walls and again became one of the most protected places in Russia. At that time, Heinz was already 73 years old, but he loved his business so much that he commissioned an architect to create an unusual structure in the shape of a boot. The niches of the entablature were decorated with already lost glass lamps, and under the cornice there was an illuminated inscription "Mosmetro". But many tourists come here. Most of the local population speaks Aymara (one of the three languages ​​of the Indians, vaguely reminiscent of the Quechua language), a minority of Uru (Uru) or similar Chipaya (Chipaya).

Tiwanaku) is an ancient city, the spiritual and political center of the Andean civilization of the same name. We do not know about the ethnicity of the carriers of this culture (the term "Olmec" is borrowed from the name of those ethnic groups that settled on south coast Gulf of Mexico on the eve of the conquest). On this street is also the national opera house of Argentina - Teatro Colon.

The ancient city of Kolomna - the keeper of Russian history

The highlight of "Khan Shatyr" - beach resort with a tropical climate, plants and a temperature of 35C all year round. The library's arsenal - 2.5 million books, attendance - more than 2.4 million customers a year. The buildings of this time are laconic, they do not have decor and other excesses. We call it “modern”, in Germany “art nouveau”, in France “art nouveau”. This is how the discoveries of the late 70s and 80s became a real sensation.

The academy building is characteristic of Rudnev's romantic work. n. e., are often repeated, i.e., have a standard character. But in fact, the shoe house has such an orientation only from the outside. The ceiling of the attic crowning the building from the inside is painted with golden-blue colors in the spirit of the Renaissance. years. The theater Et Cetera refutes its own name with its appearance: there is simply no “like it” in Moscow.

"Trulli" - traditional dwellings in the city of Alberobello

Honduras), western regions of El Salvador and Honduras. The construction of the grandiose building lasted twelve years and ended in 1896. By this time, the highest rise of Manaus, as the capital of the new Brazilians, is exactly. Moscow is the "center of the world", attracting thousands of tourists every year. The picture, as it were, is placed in an envelope with a certain microclimate.

His successor was to build a new palace for himself. But first, a few words about the “first civilization” of Mesoamerica, the culture of the “Olmecs” on the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico (Tabasco, Veracruz). All the ups and downs of this dangerous journey completely repeated the myth of the adventures of the twin heroes in the underworld from the epic Popol Vuh. With the change of rulers, architectural trends also changed. These are a kind of small towns in a large metropolis.

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Modern cities and modern districts of historic cities are carefully planned by architects. Like Venice, Tenochtitlan was cut through by a regular network of canals and streets. The appearance of the house aroused the creative interest of the director of the film "Mustached Nanny", who filmed one of the episodes in this building. n. BC) and were used mainly for the manufacture of jewelry and religious objects. In the spirit of the imperial Roman buildings, his memorial is sustained. After the death of Teotihuacan, Central Mexico becomes the scene of dramatic and turbulent events for many decades: more and more waves of militant barbarian tribes of the “Chichimecs” invade here from the north and northwest, sweeping away the still surviving islands of the Teotihuacan civilization in Azcapozalco, Porte Suelo, Cholula and etc. Finally, at the end of the IX-beginning of the X century. as a result of the confluence of these two streams - the alien (“Chichimec”) and the local (Teotihuacan) - in the northeast of the region, a powerful Toltec state arises with its center in the city of Tule Tollan (Hidalgo, Mexico).

They are usually concentrated in larger units - "quarters" (Spanish. After the death of Pacal, his son Chan-Balum (the name is translated as "Snake-Jaguar") ascended the throne and ruled for 18 years. Shoe House in Pennsylvania (York County ) was conceived by a very successful businessman, Colonel Mahlon N. Heinz.Since 2006, after a thorough restoration, the mansion has been official home reception of the Government of the Russian Federation. Another notable feature of the "Olmec" culture was the following ritual: hiding places with offerings to the gods in the form of hewn blocks of jade and serpentine, Celtic axes and figurines made of the same materials, etc., with a total weight of tens of centners, were arranged in deep pits in the central squares of the settlements. .

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The sculptural schools of Palenque, Copan, Yaxchilan, Piedras Negras achieved at this time a special subtlety of modeling, harmony of composition and naturalness in the transfer of the depicted characters (rulers, priests, dignitaries, warriors, servants and prisoners). The idea belongs to Robert Ripley (1890–1949), an American cartoonist, entrepreneur and anthropologist.

Rural communities carried a heavy burden of all kinds of taxes and labor duties (work on the construction of roads, temples and palaces, in mines, military service, etc.). A special cultural and geographical area - Mesoamerica (or Mesoamerica) - is northern region zones of a highly developed civilization of the New World and includes Central and Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize (former BC) and all the other highly developed cultures of Mesoamerica - Zapotec, Teotihuacan, Maya, etc., have already risen from it. Palaces towered there, one of which had an area of ​​30 by 160 meters. Skyscrapers are adjacent to beaches surrounded by palm trees.

Moreover, these structures can be civil, religious, military, industrial. In addition, several serious accidents occurred during construction due to the supposedly disturbed spirit of the mythical Chinese dragon (as superstitious people claimed). Within the city there are two famous mountains: Sugar Loaf (400 meters) and Corcovado (700 meters).

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Closing the reverse side of the picture (converting) protects the canvas, and therefore the whole picture, from the effects of sharp fluctuations in temperature and relative humidity. Augustine. The winner was the representative of the Leningrad school Lev Rudnev. The first fortifications on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin were built in 1147 and consisted of a large ditch and an earthen rampart, which was typical for those times. As a result, the village was abandoned and soon became known as a ghost town.

the heyday ended with a sudden cruel catastrophe. In 1534 This is the strength of the artistic image and the main success of the architect's idea. where the buildings of various government departments are located. Currently, a state reserve is open here.

The city arose around 1300 and to this day covers an area of ​​about 28 km2. Of particular interest is the façade of the building, characteristic of Friedman's work in the 1930s. n. e. The subsequent period (from the 10th century AD and later) was marked by an increase in the expansion of the population of the mountainous regions (especially Tiahuanaco) to the Pacific coast zone. The next after modernity, in the 20s of the 20th century, constructivism was formed, which absorbed the "soul" of the victorious proletariat. The theater opened in 1908 with a performance of Aida.

And only after 43 and a half years was the celebration of its opening. This style is distinguished not only by external aesthetics and thoughtful functionality. Cinema "Rodina" on Semyonovskaya Square was built one of the first. Another outstanding building of the 18th century is the Petrovsky Palace. 20th century during the excavations of the main temple of the Aztecs - "Templo Mayor" - in the very center of Mexico City, on Zocalo Square, between cathedral and the presidential palace. others

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But over time, the reserves of sodium nitrate were depleted. Their fabrics of cotton and wool were fine and perfect. The beginning of the classical period in the lowland forest areas of the Maya is marked by the emergence of such new cultural features as hieroglyphic writing (inscriptions on reliefs, steles, lintels, ceramic paintings and frescoes, small plastic items), calendar dates for the Mayan era (the so-called Long Count-number of years passed from the mythical date of 3113 BC), monumental stone architecture with a stepped “false” vault, the cult of early stelae and altars, a specific style of ceramics and terracotta figurines, original wall paintings. You can take comfort in the fact that the city center - the so-called Mall - is spectacular even without them. The palace was erected in 1780, in the then popular pseudo-Gothic style.

It is the capital of the state of Ceara (CEARA), located in a huge bay on the Atlantic Ocean. Although the monument has survived to this day. Iguazu Falls (the largest waterfalls in the world in terms of the number of flows - about 300) are located on the border of three states - Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. According to a series of radiocarbon dates, this refers to 1200-900 years.

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A city that symbolizes the power and impregnability of the state. The area is also known as Buritaka, and the local Indians call it Teyuna. Such houses are usually kept in poor condition. On the upper floors there are duplex penthouses with winter gardens and large balconies.

They decided to name the city in honor of George Washington, who not only was still alive, but also acted as president. Ceremonies were held in it for two centuries. Doors and windows are equally asymmetrical and bizarrely curved, giving the house the appearance of some kind of fabulous hut. Charles Ave. But everything that is presented there archaeologically in 800-400 years. And they, in turn, are used for a variety of processes.

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The library building looks like a bookshelf, on which giant books are laid out. Not far from these memorials, almost opposite the Jeffersonian, stands the White House. Brit. One of the architectural reforms carried out by Peter the Great was the transfer of houses to the line of the road in order to make Moscow look like European cities. The identification of the spatial structure and compositional relationships becomes, under these conditions, a necessary prerequisite for determining measures to preserve the most essential elements of the city, as well as creative proposals for the modern reconstruction of the entire historical core as a whole.

More than a third of Uruguay's population lives here. Moscow, how much meaning in this name for a Russian person.

In a small square next to the cathedral stands the recently restored Weilbone Arch, erected in 1933 to commemorate the centenary of British rule in the Falkland Islands. km with a population of 5-6 million people. A vivid example of Golosov's creative experiments on a large architectural form is the residential building of the Academy of the Red Army on Yauzsky Boulevard, built in 1936.

There are many museums here and they are all huge: National Museum USA, dedicated to history and ethnography, the National Museum of Aeronautics and Space, traditionally the most crowded, the Woodrow Wilson Center (the president of the First World War era), built in the castle Gothic spirit and the National Gallery of the USA. Among the most interesting architectural sights are the rows of Victorian houses on Haight Ashbury, the seven-color Victorian "Painted Ladies" on Alamo Square (they can be recognized by the opening credits of the Full House series), the oldest and largest Chinatown in America (plus 3 smaller and younger ones) , the Palace of Fine Arts, as well as the rotunda and gazebo by the artificial lagoon, built for the 1915 World's Fair. Built in 2008 from raw concrete, the eleven-story house won the House of the Year 2009 award. Thus, the museum, as a cultural institution and as an architectural monument, becomes a key component of urban, regional or even national transformations and an important factor in economic development. It was erected in three years - from 829 to 832.

With the rapid development of cities and the expansion of their territories, built up mainly with typical buildings, the importance of the historical parts of the city, in which the historical and educational value is combined with the unique emotional strength and individuality of their architectural and artistic appearance, also increases. The Auditorium building was built in the form of a falling Empire State Building (New York) with King Kong standing on the roof. The residential building on Bolshaya Sukharevskaya Square has an interesting history.

But still it required reconstruction. The architect came up with unusual glazing and some details on the facades. At the same time, today we have to say that the "Olmec" problem is still very far from being solved.

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Tiwanaku or Taipikala (sometimes Tiwanaku, Tiwanaku, Tiwanaku, from Aim. people for 20-30 years. In fact, if we proceed only from the set of their tools, they were still people of the Stone Age. Huge reserves of sea crustacean krill.

This is truly the greatest monument of architecture and history. Typically, residential and utility rooms form groups of 2-5 buildings located around an open courtyard (patio) of a rectangular shape. n. e. from northern Mexico to Costa Rica. In addition, together with its reflection in the Pearl River, on which the building stands, it forms the number 8.

Previously, the Pukin language, which has now disappeared, was widespread. Modern Washington is clearly divided into three parts. There were schools, a theater, restaurants, churches, and its own customs.

n. e.). Its main motive was the figure of a weeping chubby child with features of a jaguar attached to it.

But even later, for centuries, its arrangement did not stop. The main architectural structure of the complex is the Grand Tsaritsyno Palace. Now Humberstone is an open-air museum.

The architecture is mostly modern. Under his son Topa Inca (1471-1493), a significant part of Ecuador and the territory of the state of Chimu were captured, and a little later - the south of the coastal Peruvian zone, the mountains of Bolivia, and northern Chile. Understanding architectural monuments as "closed in itself" historical and artistic values ​​was also reflected in their classification in the 40s in connection with the publication of a government decree on the state protection of cultural monuments.

They are grouped around the Three Powers Square. On their flat tops there are stone buildings: small buildings of one to three rooms on high tower-shaped base pyramids (the height of some of these pyramid-towers, such as, for example, in Tikal, reaches 60 m). One of the famous Russian architects, F. O. Shekhtel (1859-1926), built the mansions of Ryabushinsky and Derozhinsky, the Yaroslavsky railway station in Moscow, and others in the style of Russian Art Nouveau.

The main task of the authors in front of the customer, which was the Resident shopping center, was to create such an appearance of the building that would attract as many visitors as possible. AT different countries the architecture of the modern city is called differently. Winner of the 2008 House of the Year competition, this twenty-four-story stone sailboat pleases Muscovites with its non-trivial architecture. But some progressive changes also affected the ancient Russian capital. The beaches give Montevideo its color resort town. Indeed, this building cannot be called standard in any way. There are hundreds, hundreds.

In 1849, the construction of the impressive building of the Grand Kremlin Palace was completed. With a lack of pillars, a variety of internal arrangements was impossible. palace) of the ruler of Teotihuacan. Around 1180, the city was abandoned by the inhabitants after the defeat of Pukin by the Kolya (Aymara) tribes. Surprisingly, even the mailbox of this house is made in the shape of a shoe.

However, while preserving the city as a single architectural monument, ordinary buildings are considered as one of the most important elements in the organization of the spatial urban structure and as the historical environment of the city, necessary for the perception unique buildings as an "architectural backdrop". BC e. and by the time the Europeans arrived, the Incas widely used in their practice not only bronze weapons, but also bronze tools. However, it should be recalled that Teotihuacan was in the 1st millennium. Archaeologists found in the city up to 500 craft workshops (of which 300 were workshops for processing obsidian), quarters of foreign traders and "diplomats" from Oaxaca (Zapotec culture) and from the territory of the Maya.

Most of them belong to the post-Stalin era, and their styles were often named after the leader of the country who was then in power (Brezhnev, Khrushchev, etc.). In the scientific literature, this territory was called Middle America or the Zone of High Civilizations. It is divided into two regions - northern - Mesoamerica and southern - Andean region (Bolivia - Peru), with an Intermediate zone between them (southern part Central America, Colombia, Ecuador), where cultural achievements, although they reached a significant degree, did not rise to the heights of statehood and civilization. The vast majority believe that they were the Incas.

No European ruler could afford such a luxury. The rate of conversion of lead, cadmium, antimony, and silver additives to tin is greatly reduced. Among the most significant Mesoamerican cultures of the classical period are Teotihuacan (Central Mexico) and Mayan (southern Mexican regions, Belize, Guatemala, western El Salvador and Honduras). It happened in the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior.

It soon burned down. Residential "patio-groups" tend to be combined into larger units - like an urban "block" or part of it. they are equipped with chimneys.

Subsequently, solely for the purpose of preserving the relics of St. Mark, a cathedral was built. During the reigns of Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov and Elizaveta Petrovna (17th-18th centuries), one dominant style first appeared in Moscow, which dictated the rules of construction. Their beauty was only enhanced by the brightness of the dyes prepared from various plants (for example, indigo) and minerals. – beautiful buildings, bridges and public spaces.

It was truly a miracle without equal in the world. The newly discovered materials (their total number exceeds several thousand) expanded the existing ideas about the material culture, religion, trade, economic and political relations of the Aztecs during the heyday of their state in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. What tribes and nationalities inhabited in ancient Peru. BC e. Thus, the question of the “ancestor culture” that gave rise to all the rest is no longer relevant for Mesoamerica: apparently, there was a parallel development in several key areas at once - the Mexico City Valley, the Oaxaca Valley, mountainous Guatemala, the Mayan plains, etc. It is interesting that at the northern end of the Road of the Dead is a gigantic array of the Pyramid of the Moon (42 m high), built of mud brick and lined with uncut volcanic stone. On the upper floors it is possible to install fireplaces, because

Local residents worked in the mines of James Thomas Humberstone for the extraction of saltpeter. I haven't done this yet. ". In 976 the building was restored. So, Moscow became "white-stone". It is the Kremlin that is the symbol not only of Moscow, but of the whole of Russia.

Kubler and others) and Soviet (Yu. The walls of the chapel are decorated with paintings that are divided into three groups: brotherhood, flight (in honor of the Air Force) and justice. The exquisite “Openwork House” on Leningradsky Prospekt makes a deceptive impression: the appearance speaks of sophistication taste and undoubted focus on art "for the elite", but the internal structure and the idea itself was polar different.At the intersection with the transverse avenue, the Road of the Dead runs into a vast complex of buildings erected on one giant low platform and united under the common name "Ciutadella", which in Spanish it means “citadel.” The facade along Ananyevsky lane was decorated with a decorative arcade.

From neoclassical marvels such as the White House, the Capitol, the Herbert Hoover House, the Treasury Building and the National Gallery of Art to mind-blowing memorials - the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, the Pentagon Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and the Martin Luther King Memorial - Washington DC is both a vibrant and active city (with terrible traffic) and a sprawling mausoleum. The center of the temple was a multi-meter disc of pure gold, symbolizing the Sun God. Sao Paulo was founded by the Jesuits in 1554.

These materials were delivered to the "Olmec" centers from afar: for example, to La Venta - from a distance of 160 and even 500 km. It is believed that in pre-colonial Bolivia already in the II-IX centuries. There is no doubt that the cultural, economic (and probably political) influence of the city during its heyday extended to most of Mesoamerica. This place is famous for the settlements of fishermen.

These "jaguar babies" were decorated with elegant jade amulets and massive Celtic gopors (the Olmecs had a cult of a stone ax as a symbol of fertility) and giant basalt steles. One of the main researchers of the city, R. Millon (USA), believes that this is “tekpan” (Aztec. This was especially evident in the USA in the skyscrapers of Chicago and New York. Mount Santa Lucia in the city center is an important historical place, since at the foot of this particular mountain the conquistador Pedro de Valdivia founded the city of Santiago on February 14, 1541. A slender structure of trees adorns the walls of the building and symbolically alludes to the eternity of life.

They symbolized the high moral qualities of a person. Towers "Absolute" rotate in different projections at different levels, combined with the surrounding landscapes. The house is part of the Grand Park complex designed by Andrey Bokov. In the style of Russian modernity, national features are fully reflected. This structure was built in haste and was considered temporary.

Place del Majo - the square in front of the Presidential Palace. But he did not enter the series, because.

The Museum organizes the history of art chronologically. UK, India. This is especially true for multi-storey residential buildings in the so-called "sleeping" areas. Many masters of painting, sculptors, showed their skills. Inca Pachacuti conquered most of mountainous areas Peru. On April 21, 1960, Brasilia was officially proclaimed the new capital of Brazil.

Among the latter, giant anthropomorphic stone heads in helmets stand out, sometimes weighing up to 20 tons. The Olmec style of art is characterized by low-relief carvings in basalt and jade. These three important components of local culture - metal products, ceramics and fabrics (well preserved in the dry and warm climate of the coast) - give a unique originality to all the named ancient Peruvian civilizations of the 1st millennium. This was in 1948.

cube But in 1980, construction was halted when Yu-Chow declared himself bankrupt. However, in Mesoamerica, metals (except iron) appeared already at the end of the civilizations of the classical period (I millennium BC).

The animal ornament is intertwined with the vegetable one, awakening the imagination and instantly moving it to the pages of Russian epics. In general, the era of civilization within this cultural and geographical area can be divided into two periods: early or classical (the turn of AD - IX century AD) and late or postclassical (X - XVI centuries. Among the militant newcomers there were tenochki -Aztecs (Aztecs), a semi-barbarian tribe, guided to search for a better life by the instructions of their tribal god Huitzilopochtli BC It can be assumed that "ritual centers" with monumental sculpture appear in Veracruz and Tabasco around the first half of the 1st millennium. The area of ​​the apartments is about 200 sq.

However, constructivism soon fell into disgrace, which affected the tastes of the ruling elite. The name of the city of Fortaleza comes from the word fortress (the city was founded on the site of a fortress). The Russian Academy of Arts in an incredibly short time revived the design of the Temple. And don't forget about the "Cities of the Dead" - ostentatious historical European-style cemeteries teeming with tombstones no less famous than Mardi Gras. Architecture in the central part of any big city Maya I millennium. The development of modern architecture did not stop there.

BC e.) reached a high level of culture: at this time, the first “ritual centers” appeared in La Venta, San Lorenzo and Tres Zapotes, pyramids were built from adobes (adobe) and clay, carved stone monuments were erected with plots of predominantly mythological and religious content. The famous frescoes of Bonampak (Chiapas, Mexico), dating back to the 8th century. n. e., represent a whole historical narrative: complex rituals and ceremonies, scenes of a raid on foreign villages, the sacrifice of prisoners, a festival, dances and processions of dignitaries and nobles. Mission San Miguel also dates back to the 17th century and is considered the oldest church in the United States, while the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Santuario de Guadalupe), built in 1777, is considered the oldest of the US churches dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe. All details and divisions are executed on the basis of the simplest laws. The closest lake to Puerto Montt is Llanquihue. In the VI-IX centuries.

Chilean poet) and many others. According to the Chinese, it brings good luck. As a result, the Guarani conquered the plains and valleys of Santa Cruz and destroyed Samaipata. Executors of the city government were appointed 2 alcalde, 4 rehidors and 1 notary. They can often be identified by age, structural soundness, or "style" depending on the area and the materials used.

The combination of beauty and convenience became the starting points for the construction of the building. Since 2000 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Additional majesty of the house is given by the fact that the building is located on a hill, which presents the Pashkov house against the background of other buildings. In 1958, the Humberstone plant was closed and 3,000 people were left unemployed. And even on the sign, located on the road, there are shoes.

For example, Anish Kapoor's famous mirror bean - the Cloud Gate project installed in Chicago - can be compared with the Statue of Liberty in terms of the number of tourist photos, and Robert Indiana's Love sculpture gave the name to the park in Philadelphia and caused a wave of imitations around the world. For example, in specific music, the composition of which was composed of pre-recorded material (natural noises, various sounds), and then it was transformed and its parts were arranged in a different sequence. Huge long corridors and 18 apartments on each floor, starting from the second. A characteristic feature of Art Nouveau was the creation of works that are beautiful both from the outside and from the inside.

The demand for nitrogen fertilizers was great, the city grew rich. When an object becomes ill with "tin plague", islands of loose coarse-grained gray powder form on the surface, which, when it hits a healthy one, causes metal disease. The roads were regularly plied by foot runners and riders on llamas. Here you can admire the waterfall and swim in thermal springs. Many buildings located outside the main streets of the central part of the city (for example, behind the Stalinist facades of Tverskaya Street) are also examples of bourgeois architecture typical of tsarist times.

On the other hand, the same "ritual centers" - with pyramids, monuments and calendar hieroglyphic inscriptions - are presented in Oaxaca from the 7th - 6th centuries. On the Plaza de Armas - the central square of Santiago (Arms Square) or not far from it are the main historically important buildings. It is believed that this work has no analogues.

It is characterized by a protest against the established, archaic appearance of buildings. The reading of these "standard inscriptions" (the so-called revival formula) was successfully carried out in recent years by the Soviet scientist Yu. V. Knorozov. The size of the Inca empire grew at an unprecedented rate.

Ronchamp, France). The length of this house is 12 m, the height is 8. The main work on the reconstruction of the building was completed by the end of 1935. First, the relics were placed in the chapel of the Doge's Palace. Architect Andrei Burov, having traveled to the United States, brought the idea of ​​social housing for ordinary citizens. On the drawings and layouts, not only the location and dimensions of future residential buildings are verified, but also the entire infrastructure of the microdistrict, which includes shops, schools, kindergartens, clinics, recreation areas (squares, parks, etc.) - everything that is needed for normal human life.

The population of the newly conquered lands was forcibly moved from their native places to remote provinces. BC e. (perhaps even in 800 BC), as in La Venta.

barrio), and those, in turn, into four large "districts". residents. "Khan Shatyr" entered the top ten world eco-buildings according to Forbes Style magazine, becoming the only building from all over the CIS that the publication decided to include in its hit parade. The master was ordered to simply copy the cathedral, but he nevertheless added something from himself. There are guided tours, and once a year - a festival.

Twenty-three apartments, with an average area of ​​about 200 sq. It is significant that the first examples of writing and calendar known to us appear on the "Olmec" monuments only from the 1st century BC. BC e. (stele C in Tres Sapotes and others). The population of these regions at the beginning of the 1st millennium. The inhabitants left in a hurry, leaving their property here. In the classical period, as well as later, all residential buildings stood on low (1-1.5 m) platforms lined with stone.

The forest thickets served as a good protection for this mystical place. In order to find out what concepts have appeared in the architecture of modern cities, we will consider the main styles of architecture characteristic of the past century: constructivism, functionalism, modernism, art deco, etc.

The architecture of a modern city develops in tune with the constant development of urban culture, industry, and the growth of society. Social and technological progress accelerate and stimulate the further development of old cities and the emergence of new ones.

Architecture of the city: some general information

Urban construction is designed to expand the infrastructure and living space of a person, to create new architectural complexes. Its other, no less important role is to preserve the historical appearance of the city, maintaining its original atmosphere.

The architecture of the modern city includes landscaping. Its goal is to create and improve living conditions for citizens, to preserve natural resources within a certain territory.

Many post-Soviet cities were built according to standard designs and therefore are still largely similar to each other. Monotonous Soviet buildings can be found in every CIS country, be it Kazakhstan, Armenia or Russia. But there is one city, with whose most unique appearance thousands and thousands of people all over the world dream to get acquainted - this is Moscow.

Architecture of the city of Moscow

Moscow is the "center of the world", attracting many thousands of tourists every year. Moscow architecture can be called a kind of historical chronicle, capturing the victories and defeats, sorrows and joys of the entire long life of the capital.

Metropolitan architecture is characterized by trends and images that have been going on for centuries. All the events taking place on the historical stage of the country, one way or another reflected in the appearance of our city. The 15th century imprinted itself for a long time with the stone architecture of the Assumption Cathedral and the Kremlin. The reign of Catherine the Great was remembered for the birth of classicism - the Senate, the Bolshoi Theater, the Pashkov House and the Tsaritsyno Travel Palace.

After the Patriotic War of 1812, the capital was rebuilt. Historical Museum, have become a monument of those times. In the 20th century, Art Nouveau appeared, its examples are the National, Metropol, Yaroslavl Station hotels. The 21st century has given birth to cutting-edge architecture with its skyscrapers, shopping malls and multi-storey offices, which in their own way decorate and complement the multifaceted

Modern architecture as art

The architecture of the modern city is engaged in the formation of the external living space of people through the construction of new and the maintenance of old buildings. This art includes three main aspects:

  • Urban planning - the creation and reconstruction of buildings.
  • Volumetric architecture - design of residential and industrial enterprises.
  • Landscape architecture - arrangement of squares, park areas, public gardens.

In addition, the architectural environment has a strong emotional impact on the inhabitants. Along with other factors, it contributes to the development of patriotic feelings.

Directions of modern architecture

In different countries, the architecture of a modern city is called differently. We call it “modern”, in Germany “art nouveau”, in France “art nouveau”. Art Nouveau, as an architectural trend, was formed in the late 19th - early 20th century. It is characterized by a protest against the established, archaic appearance of buildings. During the construction in this style, steel, concrete, glass, and later plastic and other technological materials began to be used for the first time. This style is distinguished not only by external aesthetics and thoughtful functionality. The next after modernity, in the 20s of the 20th century, constructivism was formed, which absorbed the "soul" of the victorious proletariat. Its main task is to serve the new production. During the construction, reinforced concrete was mainly used. According to the designs of the constructivists, not only plants and factories were created, but also residential buildings, schools, hospitals, and clubs.

The end of the 1940s was marked by the emergence of a minimalist trend in architecture, which reached its peak by the 1960s. The creed of the minimalists is "Nothing more!". The buildings of this time are laconic, they do not have decor and other excesses. The main idea of ​​minimalist designers is the search for the ideal proportion, a combination of comfort and functionality, in the understanding of that time. The development of modern architecture did not stop there. Minimalism soon became obsolete, and it was replaced by the modern hi-tech style, which for many years was entrenched in urban architecture.

Hi-tech - modern city architecture

The formation of this idea was influenced by new technologies that accompany Metal, glass, cutting-edge materials and structures, monolithic forms, power and strength embodied in buildings - this is the high-tech style. It includes three sub-directions: industrial, bionic and geometric high-tech.

The industrial direction is characterized by a peculiar frankness of design. It flaunts all communications, connections, overlaps, creating decorative and functional structures on their basis.

Geometric hi-tech is a variety of geometric shapes, a combination and interweaving of the most unexpected and unusual configurations.

Bionic hi-tech is characterized by imitation of the appearance of wildlife, harmonization of the appearance of buildings and dwellings with the help of smooth transitions and lines characteristic of those common in nature.

The most interesting and important monuments of ancient American culture are located on the plateaus of Central America, in Old Mexico and Yucatan, they testify to the high culture of the peoples who inhabited this territory: the Toltecs, Aztecs, Mayans and Incas.

These are works of building art and sculpture, standing here partly alone, near residential areas, partly found in whole masses in the form of ruins. big cities(commonly called casas piedras).

Although in general they have the same character and represent a picture of one and the same art based on the simplest principles, yet between them it is impossible not to distinguish at least two different degrees of development. To one of them, more perfect and, in any case, earlier, belong the monuments in Oaxaca, Guatemala and Yucatan, to the other, later, or Aztec, the monuments preserved in Mexico, generally within the limits of the former kingdom of the Aztecs, but to make a more precise distinction between them according to nationalities and centuries is impossible.

The ruins found in Mexico are for the most part the remains of either temples or fortifications. Their construction is distinguished by its massiveness, but at the same time it is of noble taste and bears the stamp of an art that has already reached a certain development. Some of the temples were erected on the upper platforms of huge stepped pyramids, lined on the outside. stone blocks, but inside filled with stones and earth.

The walls, columns and pylons are very massive, usually the so-called false vaults. The surface of the walls is decorated with horizontal belts with embossed geometric patterns. The overall composition is complemented by sculptural elements, specific ornaments not found anywhere else, and hieroglyphs.

The main building material, especially in the construction of significant structures, was stone; tools - stone hammers. With their help, mighty fortresses, roads, water conduits were created; obsidian knives were used to cut the stems, from the fibers of which ropes for suspension bridges were woven.


Aztec Architecture - Teotihuacan

On the territory of the Mexican Plateau (an average height of 2300 m above sea level), various cultures replaced each other until it became the center of the Aztec kingdom.

Significant monuments of that time include buildings in Teotihuacan, an important religious center, where many palaces, stepped temples were concentrated and the grandiose pyramids of the Sun and Moon were located. The art of that period is characterized by rigor and simplicity, although the buildings and their sculptural decoration are of a superhuman scale.

In the X century. Teotihuacan was occupied by the Toltecs. Tula was their capital. Numerous monuments of that time have been preserved here. Toltec art is characterized by outstanding ornamental stone compositions. The ruins of entire cities are found at Tula (Tollan), the ancient city of the Toltecs, at Papantla and Mapilca in Veracruz, at Palenque in the province of Chiapas, and at Ocozingo in the province of the same name.

In the XIV century. Aztecs appear in Mexico and establish the capital of their state Tenochtitlan here. Aztec architecture, with the exception of ornamental motifs, develops the tradition of the Toltecs - and they built pyramids with decorative friezes.

The Mayan state occupied the territory of present-day Honduras, the Guatemalan Plateau and the Yucatan Peninsula (now Mexico).

At an altitude of about 3000 m, on a plateau located at the eastern border of the Rio Usumacinta river basin, in the foothills of the Sierra Oriental de Chiapas, are the mysterious ancient ruins of Palenque. Currently, a state reserve is open here. Often shrouded in mist and surrounded by dense forests, mysterious ruins resounded only by the cries of howler monkeys. The ancient city makes one of the strongest impressions on travelers among the monuments of the South American continent. The forest thickets served as a good protection for this mystical place. At one time, the Spanish conquistador Cortes passed near Palenque and did not notice him behind the lush vegetation that completely hid the city.

The first settlers appeared here in 100 BC. e., but the peak of the heyday of the city fell on the period from 600 to 800 AD. e. The complex consists of two main parts: the official part and the settlements surrounded by fields where various agricultural crops were grown.

In the official part of the city there are many buildings that were of great importance in the social and religious life of the Maya Indians: the Pyramid (or temple) of the Inscriptions, the palace, the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Count, the Temple of the Skulls, the Temple of the Cross, the Temple of the Flourished Cross, the ball game field. All these buildings were erected under the personal patronage of the rulers of Palenque, the most prominent of which was Pacal, who ascended the throne in 615 AD. e. at the age of 12 and died in 683.

Pacal is buried in a stone sarcophagus under a pyramid often referred to as the Temple of the Inscriptions. The body of the ruler was richly decorated with jade ornaments, and a jade mask was also placed on his face. The sarcophagus is covered with a skillfully carved slab. The Temple of the Inscriptions, perhaps the most famous of all the buildings of Palenque, was first thoroughly studied in 1952. Its height reaches 23 m - this is the tallest building in the entire complex; it has a complex eight-level structure. 69 steep steps lead upstairs.

Throughout its history, Palenque has been ruled by 12 monarchs, each of whom simultaneously served as a secular ruler, high priest and commander in chief. Pacal and his children left the most striking mark in history: it was during their reign that the bulk of the world-famous mysterious buildings were created. After the death of Pakal, his son Chan-Balum (the name translates as "Snake-Jaguar") ascended the throne and ruled for 18 years. In addition to the creation of the Pyramid of Inscriptions, the period of his reign was marked by the construction of the Temple of the Cross, the Temple of the Prosperous Cross and the Temple of the Sun.

The culture before the Mayan period reaches its peak (classical period) in the 7th and 8th centuries, when outstanding architectural and sculptural monuments were created, memorial steles, colonnades, altars, temples and palaces. Several cities, significant in their planning and architecture, were founded, for example, Chichen Itza with several dozen pyramids and temples - the Warriors, the Feathered Serpent or the Jaguar.


Mayan architecture - pyramids at Chichen Itza

The Mayan builders were extremely quickly convinced that the wooden beams of the floors were destroyed by termites in a matter of years and completely switched to the construction of "complex" vaults from large stone blocks - because of this, the internal spaces of the buildings are even narrower than in Mesopotamia.

Palenque

Culture in what is now Peru has gone through several stages of development. From the first period (from 1200 to 200 BC), only a few temples have survived.

A significant monument from the third period (AD 900 to 1000) is a large truncated pyramid called the "solar pyramid" at Moche, on the north coast. About 130 million raw bricks were required for its construction.

In the period from 1000 to 1300 in the south of Peru, the city of Tiahuanaco flourished near Lake Titicaca, located at an altitude of 4000 m above sea level. Here, structures were erected from huge blocks of basalt and sandstone with interesting monolithic gates, decorated with rich relief decor. The "decor" on the monolithic gates of Tiwanaku, according to most scientists, is a giant calendar.

The large temple in Mexico, which stood in the middle of the city, was so large that, according to Cortes, 500 horses could be placed in it. It was a pyramid with five floors, 38 m high, had a base of 95 m and was decorated with two towers.

MAYAN CITIES IN LATIN AMERICA
Belize Altun Ha | Caracol | Cahal Pech | Queyo | Lamanai | Lubaantun | Nim-Lee-Punit | Shunantunich
Guatemala Aguateca | Gumarkah | Dos Pilas | Ishimche | Ishkun | Yashha | Kaminalhuyu | Cancuen | Quirigua | La Corona | Machaquila | Misco Viejo | Naachtun | Nakbe | Naranjo | Piedras Negras | Saculeu | San Bartolo | Seibal | Sival | Thayasal | Takalik Abah | Tikal | Toposhte | Washactun | El Baul | El Mirador | El Peru
Honduras Copan | El Puente
Mexico Akanmul | Akanseh | Balamka | Bekan | Bonampak | Ichpich | Yaxchilan | Kabah | Cacaxtla | Calakmul | Koba| Comalcalco | Kohunlich | Labna | Mayapan | Mani | Nokuchich | Oshkintok | Palenque | Rio Bec | Sayil | Sakpeten | Santa Rosa Stamppack | tanks | Tonina | Tulum | Uxmal | Haina | Cybilchaltun | Chacmultoon | Chakchoben | Chikanna | Chinkultik | Chichen Itza | Chunchukmil | Shkipche | Shpuhil | Ek Balam | Etsna
Salvador San Andres | Tasumal | Hoya de Seren

In the first half of the XIII century. The Inca Empire emerges with Cusco as its capital. In the period from 1300 to 1400, carefully planned large cities were founded with wide streets, terraces, fortress walls, decorated with relief pyramids. Cities had sewers and water supplies.

The symbol of the power of the Inca Empire was the city of Cusco, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, on the territory of which hundreds of palaces and temples were located. The main square in the city was Wakapata (sacred terrace), from which roads branched off to the four main provinces of the country. Palaces towered there, one of which had an area of ​​30 by 160 meters. The wealth of the Inca rulers can be judged at least by the fact that when the old Inca emperor died, his body was embalmed and placed in the palace, which from now on became a sanctuary. His successor was to build a new palace for himself. No European ruler could afford such a luxury. But most of all, the temple complex of Cusco Coricancha (golden courtyard) amazed with its splendor. Its main building was the temple of the sun god Inti, in which there were a huge number of tons of gold alone. Golden windows, doors, walls, roofs, floors, ceilings, religious objects amazed people. The center of the temple was a multi-meter disc of pure gold, symbolizing the Sun God. Near the temple was the Intipampa courtyard (golden field), on which there were trees made of gold, plants and herbs, deer, butterflies, shepherds, etc., and all this was made in full size and everything moved (!) With the help of the most skillful mechanisms. It was truly a miracle without equal in the world.

The most important and oldest monuments of the country are two pyramids at San Juan de Teotihuacan, in the Valley of Mexico, standing in a circle of less massive, but tall pyramids. Other pyramids of remarkable construction are found at San Cristobal Teopantepec, at Santa Cruz del Quix, at Xochicalco in Guatusco, at Cuernavaca, and elsewhere.

All the architecture of Middle America and Mexico has basically the beginning of a pyramid. This is noticeable mainly in religious monuments and to a lesser extent in temple and palace buildings. But the facades of other buildings also somewhat resemble a pyramidal form, since the size of individual floors gradually decreases.

The architecture of the Mexicans strictly adheres to the style they have adopted, although it does not indicate a high degree of development. All details and divisions are executed on the basis of the simplest laws. To decorate the walls, horizontal rows of meanders, caissons, etc. were used. In their general form, buildings built on a flat terrain, or on terraces, or on top of hills, seemed to be simple quadrangular masses with rectilinearly covered portals and with a simple setting of four pillars, on which lay a roof with rich decorations. With a lack of pillars, a variety of internal arrangements was impossible.

In Central America, the cities of Honduras and Yucatan are especially rich in antiquities and ruins. In the first of these states, Comayagua, Harumela and Lahamin are remarkable, near which hewn stones and very beautifully painted vases are found; further Temampua with 250-300 different buildings, between which one has a length of 95 m and contains various pyramids, especially Copan, whose monuments and ornaments can compete with those of Egypt. Colossal statues of idols are often found on the crests of mountains up to 700 m high.

In the Yucatan, up to twenty ruins of cities have already been discovered, striking in their splendor and vastness. Palaces often consist of various buildings lying one above the other, as, for example, in Tsai, Labna, Kabakh, Uksmal, and so on; colossal staircases lead from one terrace to another and are decorated on both sides with sculptures of snakes, whose heads touch the ground, and a huge body soars upwards.

While the latest monuments are extremely rich in ornamentation, the older ones are distinguished by their simplicity, serious style and strength, as, for example, the famous pyramidal temple at Palenque in Guatemala, the front side of which is decorated with various figures and inscriptions, while the inside walls are covered with sculptural works. and bas-reliefs of mythological content.

Civilizations of ancient America

By the time the Spanish ships arrived at east coast New World, this vast continent, including the West Indies, was inhabited by many Indian tribes and peoples at different levels of development.

Most of them were hunters, fishermen, gatherers or primitive farmers, only in two relatively small areas of the Western Hemisphere - in Mesoamerica and the Andes - did the Spaniards meet highly developed Indian civilizations. The highest cultural achievements of pre-Columbian America were born on their territory. By the time of its "discovery", in 1492 d, up to 2/3 of the entire population of the continent lived there, although in size these areas accounted for only 6.2% of its total area. It was here that the centers of origin of American agriculture were located, and at the turn of our era, the original civilizations of the ancestors of the Nahua, Maya, Zapotec, Quechua, Aymara, etc.

In the scientific literature, this territory was called Middle America or the Zone of High Civilizations. It is divided into two regions, northern - Mesoamerica and southern - the Andean region (Bolivia - Peru), with an Intermediate zone between them (southern Central America, Colombia, Ecuador), where cultural although achievements reached a significant degree, they never rose to the heights of statehood and civilization. The arrival of European conquerors interrupted any independent development of the aboriginal population of these areas. Only now, thanks to the work of several generations of archaeologists, are we finally beginning to understand how rich and vibrant the history of pre-Columbian America was.

The Novyi Svet is also a unique historical laboratory, since the process of development of local culture took place on the whole independently, starting from the Late Paleolithic era (30-20 thousand years ago) - the time of the settlement of the continent from Northeast Asia through the Bering Strait and Alaska - and up to until it was put to an end by the invasion of European conquerors. Thus, almost all the main stages can be traced in the New World. ancient history humanity: from primitive hunters of mammoths to the builders of the first cities - the centers of early class states and civilizations. Already a simple comparison of the path traversed by the indigenous population of America in the pre-Columbian era, with milestones in the history of the Old World, gives an extraordinary amount to identify general historical patterns.

The very term “discovery of America” by Columbus, which is often found in historical works of both Soviet and foreign authors, requires some clarification.

It has been rightly pointed out more than once that this term is actually incorrect, since before Columbus the shores of the New World were reached from the east by the Romans, Vikings, etc., and from the west by the Polynesians, Chinese, Japanese, etc. It should also be taken into account that this process of interaction and interchange of two cultures was not one-sided. For Europe, the discovery of America had colossal political, economic and intellectual consequences.

The Indian civilizations of the New World managed to reach their apogee without the most important technical achievements of antiquity, which included the smelting of iron and steel, the breeding of domestic animals (especially draft and pack animals), wheeled transport, the potter's wheel, plow agriculture, the arch in architecture, etc. In the Andean region, the processing of non-ferrous metals, gold and silver was carried out as early as the 2nd millennium BC. e., and by the time the Europeans arrived, the Incas widely used in their practice not only bronze weapons, but also bronze tools. However, in Mesoamerica, metals (except iron) appeared already at the end of the civilizations of the classical period (I millennium AD) and were used mainly for the manufacture of jewelry and religious objects.

The rapid progress of archaeological research in the most important centers of Middle America, combined with the efforts of linguists, ethnographers, historians, anthropologists, and others, now makes it possible, albeit in the most general form, to trace the main stages in the development of ancient civilization in the New World, to identify its characteristic features and features.

It will be, of course, only about the most prominent Indian civilizations of Mesoamerica and the Andean region.

A special cultural and geographical region - Mesoamerica (or Mesoamerica) - is the northern region of the zone of a highly developed civilization of the New World and includes Central and Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize (formerly Brit. Honduras), the western regions of El Salvador and Honduras. In this area, characterized by a variety of natural conditions and a motley ethnic composition, by the end of the 1st millennium BC. e. there was a transition from the primitive communal system to the early class state, which immediately put forward the local Indians among the most developed peoples of Ancient America. In the over 1,500 years that separate the emergence of civilization from the Spanish conquest, the boundaries of Mesoamerica have undergone significant changes. In general, the era of civilization within this cultural-geographical region can be divided into two periods: early, or classical (border AD - IX century AD), and late, or postclassical (X - XVI centuries AD). e.).

In the 1st millennium AD e. the zone of high cultures of Mesoamerica did not include Western and Northwestern Mexico. The northern border of civilization then passed along the river. Lerma and coincided with the northern limits of the Teotihuacan culture. The southern borders of Mesoamerica were at the same time the southern border of the Maya civilization, passing along the river. Ulua in Western Honduras and the river. Lempa in Western El Salvador. In the postclassic time, the western (the Tarascan state) and part of the northern (Zacatecas, Casas Grandes) regions of Mexico are also included in Mesoamerica, thereby significantly expanding its total territory.

"OLMEC PROBLEM"

Among the most significant Mesoamerican cultures of the classical period are Teotihuacan (Central Mexico) and Mayan (southern Mexican regions, Belize, Guatemala, western El Salvador and Honduras). But first, a few words about the “first civilization” of Mesoamerica, the culture of the “Olmecs” on the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico (Tabasco, Veracruz). The population of these areas at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. (800-400 BC) reached a high level of culture: at this time, the first “ritual centers” appeared in La Venta, San Lorenzo and Tres Zapotes, pyramids were built from adobes (adobe) and clay, carved stone monuments with plots of predominantly mythological and religious content.

Among the latter, giant anthropomorphic stone heads in helmets stand out, sometimes weighing up to 20 tons. The Olmec style of art is characterized by low-relief carvings in basalt and jade. Its main motive was the figure of a weeping chubby child with features of a jaguar attached to it. These “jaguar babies” were adorned with graceful jade amulets, and massive Celtic gopors (the “Olmecs” had a cult of a stone ax as a symbol of fertility), and giant basalt steles. Another notable feature of the "Olmec" culture was the following ritual: hiding places with offerings to the gods in the form of hewn blocks of jade and serpentine, Celtic axes and figurines made of the same materials, etc., with a total weight of tens of centners, were arranged in deep pits in the central squares of the settlements. . These materials were delivered to the "Olmec" centers from afar: for example, to La Venta - from a distance of 160 and even 500 km. Excavations at another "Olmec" village - San Lorenzo - also revealed giant heads and rows of ritually buried monumental sculptures in a purely "Olmec" style.

According to a series of radiocarbon dates, this refers to 1200-900 years. BC e. It was on the basis of the above data that the hypothesis was formulated that the "Olmecs" are the creators of the earliest civilization of Mesoamerica (1200-900 BC) and all other highly developed cultures of Mesoamerica - Zapotec, Teotihuacan, Maya and others. At the same time, today we have to say that the "Olmec" problem is still very far from being solved. We do not know about the ethnicity of the bearers of this culture (the term "Olmec" is borrowed from the name of those ethnic groups that settled on the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico on the eve of the conquest). There is no clarity about the main stages in the development of the Olmec culture, the exact chronology and material signs of these stages. The general territory of distribution of this culture, its socio-political organization is also unknown.

In our opinion, the culture of the "Olmecs" with all its manifestations reflects a long path of development: from the end of the 2nd millennium BC. e. to the middle - the last centuries of the 1st millennium BC. e. It can be assumed that "ritual centers" with monumental sculpture appear in Veracruz and Tabasco around the first half of the 1st millennium BC. e. (perhaps even in 800 BC), as in La Venta. But everything that is presented there archaeologically in 800-400 years. BC e., fully corresponds to the level of "chiefdoms", "unions of tribes", i.e., the final stage of the primitive communal era. It is significant that the first examples of writing and calendar known to us appear on the "Olmec" monuments only from the 1st century BC. BC e. (stele C in Tres Sapotes and others). On the other hand, the same "ritual centers" - with pyramids, monuments and calendar hieroglyphic inscriptions - are presented in Oaxaca from the 7th - 6th centuries. BC e., and without inscriptions, in mountainous Guatemala, among the ancestors of the Maya, at least from the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. Thus, the question of the “ancestral culture” that gave rise to all the rest is no longer relevant for Mesoamerica: apparently, there was a parallel development in several key areas at once - the Mexico City Valley, the Oaxaca Valley, mountainous Guatemala, the Mayan plains, etc.

TEOTICHUACAN

50 km northeast of Mexico City, where high mountain ranges part, forming a large and fertile valley (this is an offshoot of the Mexico Valley), are the ruins of Teotihuacan, the former capital ancient civilization Central Mexico, an important cultural, political, administrative, economic and religious center not only in this region, but throughout Mesoamerica in the 1st millennium AD. e.

According to scientists, by 600 AD. e. - the moment of the highest prosperity - the total territory of the city was over 18 square meters. km, and the population is from 60 to 120 thousand people. The main ritual-administrative core of Teotihuacan, which had already developed by the 1st century BC. n. e., was carefully planned around two wide streets intersecting at right angles and oriented to the cardinal points: from north to south, Road of the Dead Avenue, more than 5 km long, and from west to east, an unnamed avenue up to 4 km long.

It is interesting that at the northern end of the Road of the Dead there is a gigantic array of the Pyramid of the Moon (42 m high), built of mud brick and lined with uncut volcanic stone. By its design and appearance she is an exact copy of her older sister Pyramid of the Sun, located on the left side of the avenue and is a grandiose five-tiered structure with a flat top, on which the temple once stood. The height of the colossus is 64.5 m, the length of the sides of the base is 211, 207, 217 and 209 m, the total volume is 993 thousand cubic meters. m. It is assumed that the construction of the pyramid required the work of at least 20 thousand people for 20-30 years.

At the intersection with the transverse avenue, the Road of the Dead ends in a vast complex of buildings erected on one giant low platform and united under the common name "Cutadella", which in Spanish means "citadel". One of the main researchers of the city, R. Millon (USA), believes that this is the "tekpan" (Aztec palace) of the ruler of Teotihuacan. In this ensemble of graceful buildings, a temple stands out in honor of the god Quetzalcoatl - the Feathered Serpent, the patron of culture and knowledge, the god of air and wind, one of the main deities of the local pantheon. The temple building itself is completely destroyed, but its pyramidal base, consisting of six gradually decreasing stone platforms, placed on top of each other, has been perfectly preserved.

Facade of the pyramid and balustrade front staircase adorn the sculptural heads of Quetzalcoatl himself and the god of water and rain Tlaloc in the form of a butterfly. At the same time, the teeth of the heads of the Feathered Serpent were painted with white paint, and the eyes of butterflies had false pupils made of obsidian discs.

To the west of Ciutadella is an extensive complex of buildings (approximately 400 x 600 m in area), which archaeologists consider to be the city's main market. Along Teotihuacan's main avenue, the Road of the Dead, are the ruins of dozens of opulent temple and palace structures. To date, some of them have been excavated and reconstructed so that anyone can get a general idea of ​​their architecture and painting. Such, for example, is the Palace of Quetzalpapalotl or the Palace of the Feathered Snail (part of the premises of the palace has stone square columns with low-relief images of the Feathered Snail). The palace is an extensive complex of residential, public and storage facilities grouped around courtyards. The walls of the buildings are made of adobe or stone, plastered and often either painted in some bright color, or (especially inside) have colorful fresco paintings. and Tepan-titla

They depict people (representatives of the elite and priests), gods and animals (eagles, jaguars, etc.) A peculiar feature of the local culture is also anthropomorphic (probably portrait) masks made of stone and clay (in the latter case - with multi-color coloring) In III - VII centuries AD in Teotihuacan, the original style of ceramics (cylindrical vessels-vases with and without legs with fresco painting or carved ornaments and burnishing) and terracotta figurines are becoming widespread

The architecture of the city is dominated by buildings on pyramidal bases of various heights, while the design of the latter is characterized by a combination of vertical and inclined surfaces (vertical “panel and slope” style).

The ritual-administrative center of Teotihu-akana described above was surrounded on all sides by residential quarters in the form of clusters of block houses (up to 60 m long), planned along the cardinal points along a regular network of narrow straight streets. Each block consisted of residential, utility and utility rooms, divided around rectangular courtyards and apparently served as a habitat for a group of related families. These are one-story, flat-roofed buildings made of mud brick, stone and wood. They are usually concentrated in larger units - "quarters" (Spanish: barrio), and those, in turn, in four large "districts". Teotihuacan was the largest craft and trade center in Mesoamerica. Archaeologists have found up to 500 craft workshops in the city (of which 300 are workshops for processing obsidian), quarters of foreign traders and "diplomats" from Oaxaca (Zapotec culture) and from Maya territory. Products of the Teotihuacan masters are found in the 1st millennium AD. e. from northern Mexico to Costa Rica. There is no doubt that the cultural, economic (and probably political) influence of the city during its heyday extended to most of Mesoamerica.

And suddenly at the end of the 7th century. n. e. a huge city suddenly perishes, destroyed by the flames of a gigantic fire. The causes of this catastrophe are still unclear. However, it should be recalled that Teotihuacan was in the 1st millennium AD. e. northern outpost of the zone of Mesoamerican civilizations. It directly bordered on the colorful and restless world of the barbarian tribes of northern Mexico. Among them we find both settled farmers and wandering tribes of hunters and gatherers. Teotihuacan, like the ancient agricultural civilizations of Central Asia, India and the Near East, constantly felt the pressure of these warlike tribes on their northern border. Under a certain set of circumstances, one of the enemy campaigns inland, apparently, ended with the capture and destruction of Teotihuacan itself. After this terrible defeat, the city never recovered, and new, more powerful forces advanced to the forefront of Mesoamerican history - the city-states of Azcapotsalco, Cholu-la, Xochicalco and later, from the 9th century. n. e., the state of the Toltecs.

MAYAN CIVILIZATION OF THE CLASSIC PERIOD (I-IX centuries AD)

The Maya, as if challenging fate, settled for a long time in the inhospitable Central American jungle, building their white-stone cities there. Fifteen centuries before Columbus, they invented an accurate solar calendar and created the only developed hieroglyphic writing in America, used the concept of zero in mathematics, confidently predicted solar and lunar eclipses. Already in the first centuries of our era, they achieved amazing perfection in architecture, sculpture and painting.

But the Maya did not know metals, a plow, wheeled carts, domestic animals, a potter's wheel. In fact, if we proceed only from the range of their tools, they were still people of the Stone Age. The origin of the Mayan culture is shrouded in mystery. We only know that the appearance of the first "classical" Mayan civilization dates back to the turn of our era and is associated with the forested plains in southern Mexico and northern Guatemala. For many centuries, populous states and cities existed here. But in the IX-X centuries. the heyday ended with a sudden cruel catastrophe.

Cities in the south of the country were abandoned, the population was sharply reduced, and soon tropical vegetation covered the monuments of its former grandeur with its green carpet. After the 10th century The development of the Mayan culture, though already somewhat altered by the influence of the foreign Toltec conquerors who came from Central Mexico and the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, continued in the north - on the Yucatan Peninsula - and in the south - in the mountains of Guatemala. The Spaniards found there more than two dozen small Indian states, constantly at war with each other, each of which had its own dynasty of rulers. By the beginning of the Spanish conquest in the XVI century. Maya Indians occupied a vast and diverse territory in terms of natural conditions, which included the modern Mexican states of Tabasco, Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo, as well as all of Guatemala, Belize, the western regions of El Salvador and Honduras.

The boundaries of the Maya region in the 1st millennium AD. e., apparently, more or less coincided with those mentioned above. Currently, most scientists distinguish three large cultural and geographical regions or zones within this territory: Northern (Yucatan Peninsula), Central (Northern Guatemala, Belize, Tabasco and Chiapas in Mexico) and Southern (mountainous Guatemala).

The beginning of the classical period in the lowland forest areas of the Maya is marked by the emergence of such new cultural features as hieroglyphic writing (inscriptions on reliefs, steles, lintels, ceramic paintings and frescoes, small plastic items), calendar dates for the Mayan era (the so-called Long Count-number of years passed from the mythical date of 3113 BC), monumental stone architecture with a stepped “false” vault, the cult of early stelae and altars, a specific style of ceramics and terracotta figurines, original wall paintings.

Architecture in the central part of any major Mayan city of the 1st millennium AD. e. represented by pyramidal hills and platforms of various sizes and heights. Inside, they are usually built from a mixture of earth and rubble and lined on the outside with hewn stone slabs, fastened with lime mortar. On their flat tops there are stone buildings: small buildings of one to three rooms on high tower-shaped base pyramids (the height of some of these pyramid-towers, such as, for example, in Tikal, reaches 60 m). These are probably temples. And the long multi-room ensembles on low platforms framing the inner open courtyards are most likely the residences of the nobility or palaces, since the ceilings of these buildings are usually made in the form of a stepped vault, their walls are very massive, and the interiors are relatively narrow and small in size. Narrow doorways served as the only source of light in the rooms, so coolness and twilight reign inside the surviving temples and palaces. At the end of the classical period, the Maya appeared sites for ritual ball games - the third type of the main monumental buildings of local cities. The basic unit of planning in Mayan cities was rectangular paved squares surrounded by monumental buildings. Very often, the most important ritual-administrative buildings were located on natural or artificially created elevations - "acropolises" (Piedras Negras, Copan, Tikal, etc.).

Ordinary dwellings were built of wood and clay under roofs of dry palm leaves and were probably similar to the huts of the Mayan Indians of the 16th-20th centuries, described by historians and ethnographers. In the classical period, as well as later, all residential buildings stood on low (1-1.5 m) platforms lined with stone. A detached house is a phenomenon rare among the Maya. Typically, residential and utility rooms form groups of 2-5 buildings located around an open courtyard (patio) of a rectangular shape. This is the residence of a large patrilocal family. Residential "patio-groups" tend to be combined into larger units - like an urban "block" or part of it.

In the VI-IX centuries. The Maya achieved the highest success in the development of various types of applied art, and above all in monumental sculpture and painting. The sculptural schools of Palenque, Copan, Yaxchilan, Piedras Negras achieved at this time a special subtlety of modeling, harmony of composition and naturalness in the transfer of the depicted characters (rulers, priests, dignitaries, warriors, servants and prisoners). The famous frescoes of Bonampak (Chiapas, Mexico), dating back to the 8th century. n. e., represent a whole historical narrative: complex rituals and ceremonies, scenes of a raid on foreign villages, the sacrifice of prisoners, a festival, dances and processions of dignitaries and nobles.

Thanks to the work of American (T. Proskuryakova, D. Kelly, G. Berlin, J. Kubler, etc.) and Soviet (Yu. V. Knorozov, R. V. Kinzhalov) researchers, it was possible to convincingly prove that Mayan monumental sculpture of the 1st millennium BC n. e. - stelae, lintels, reliefs and panels (as well as hieroglyphic inscriptions on them) are memorial monuments in honor of the deeds of the Mayan rulers. They tell about birth, accession to the throne, wars and conquests, dynastic marriages, ritual rites and other important events from the life of secular rulers of almost two dozen city-states that existed, according to archeology, in the Central Maya region in the 1st millennium AD. e.

The purpose of some pyramidal temples in the Mayan cities is now determined in a completely different way. If before they were considered the sanctuaries of the most important gods of the pantheon, and the pyramid itself was only a high and monolithic stone pedestal for the temple, then recently under the bases and in the thickness of a number of such pyramids, it was possible to find magnificent tombs of kings and members of the ruling dynasties (discovery of A. Rus in the Temple Inscriptions, Palenque, etc.).

Notable changes have also undergone in recent times and ideas about the nature, structure and functions of the major Mayan "centers" of the 1st millennium AD. e. Extensive research by US archaeologists in Tikal, Tsibil-chaltun, Etsn, Seibal, Bekan, and others revealed the presence there of a significant and permanent population, handicraft production, imported products, and many other features and characteristics characteristic of ancient city both in the Old and New Worlds.

A real sensation in Mayanism was the discovery by the American researcher Michael Coe of polychrome painted ceramics from the most magnificent burials of the Mayan aristocrats and rulers of the 1st millennium AD. e. Comparing the plots presented on these clay vases with descriptions of the exploits of the twin heroes in the underworld from the Mayakic epic Popol-Vuh (XVI century), the scientist drew attention to their partial coincidence. This allowed Ko to suggest that the images and inscriptions on each vessel describe the death of the Mayan ruler, the long journey of his soul through the terrible labyrinths of the kingdom of the dead, overcoming various obstacles and the subsequent resurrection of the lord, who ultimately turned into one of the heavenly gods. All the ups and downs of this dangerous journey completely repeated the myth of the adventures of the twin heroes in the underworld from the epic Popol Vuh. In addition, the American researcher found that the inscriptions or their individual parts, presented on almost all painted polychrome vases of the 6th-9th centuries. n. e., are often repeated, i.e., have a standard character. The reading of these "standard inscriptions" (the so-called revival formula) was successfully carried out in recent years by the Soviet scientist Yu. V. Knorozov. Thanks to this, a completely new, previously unknown world has opened before us - the mythological representations of the ancient Mayans, their concept of life and death, religious beliefs and much more.

AZTEC CIVILIZATION

After the death of Teotihuacan, Central Mexico becomes the scene of dramatic and turbulent events for many decades: more and more waves of militant barbarian tribes of the “Chichimecs” invade here from the north and northwest, sweeping away the still surviving islands of the Teotihuacan civilization in Azcapozalco, Porte Suelo, Cholula and etc. Finally, at the end of the IX-beginning of the X century. as a result of the confluence of these two streams - the alien (“Chichimec”) and the local (Teotihuacan) - in the northeast of the region, a powerful Toltec state arises with its center in the city of Tule Tollan (Hidalgo, Mexico).

But this public education was short-lived. In 1160, the invasion of new groups of barbarians from the north crushed Tollan and ushered in another period of instability in the political history of Mesoamerica. Among the militant newcomers were the tenochki-Aztecs (Aztecs), a semi-barbarian tribe, directed to search for a better life by the instructions of their tribal god Huitzilopochtli. According to legend, it was divine providence that predetermined the choice of a place for the construction of the future Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, in 1325: on the deserted islands in the western part of the vast Lake Texcoco. At this time, several city-states fought for leadership in the Mexico Valley, among which the more powerful Azcapotzalco and Culhuacan stood out. The Aztecs intervened in these intricacies of local politics, acting as mercenaries for the most powerful and successful masters.

In 1427, the Aztecs organized a "tripartite league" - an alliance of the city-states of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan (Takuba) - and began to consistently conquer the adjacent regions. By the time the Spaniards arrived at the beginning of the 16th century. the so-called Aztec empire covered a vast territory - about 200 thousand square meters. km with a population of 5-6 million people. Its borders stretched from northern Mexico to Guatemala and from the Pacific coast to the Gulf of Mexico. The capital of the "empire" - Tenochtitlan - eventually turned into a huge city, the area of ​​\u200b\u200bwhich was about 1200 hectares, and the number of inhabitants, according to various estimates, reached 120-300 thousand people.

This island city was connected to the mainland by three large stone dam roads, and there was a whole flotilla of canoes. Like Venice, Tenochtitlan was cut through by a regular network of canals and streets. The core of the city was formed by its ritual and administrative center: the "sacred site" - a walled square 400 m long, inside which were the main city temples ("Templo Mayor" - a temple with sanctuaries of the gods Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc, the temple of Quetzal-coatl, etc.), dwellings of priests, schools, a platform for a ritual ball game. Ensembles of magnificent palaces of the Aztec rulers - "tlatoani" were located nearby. According to eyewitnesses, the palace of Montezuma (more precisely, Moctezuma) II consisted of up to 300 rooms, had a large garden, a zoo, and baths.

Around the center crowded residential quarters inhabited by merchants, artisans, farmers, officials, warriors. In the huge Main Market and smaller quarterly bazaars, local and imported products and products were traded. General impression The words of an eyewitness and participant in the dramatic events of the conquista, soldier Bernal Diaz del Castillo from the detachment of Cortes, are well conveyed about the magnificent Aztec capital. Standing on top of a high stepped pyramid, the conquistador looked with amazement at the strange and dynamic picture of the life of a huge pagan city: “And we saw huge amount boats, some came with various cargoes, others ... with various goods ... All the houses of this great city ... were in the water, and from house to house it was possible to get only by suspension bridges or by boats. And we saw ... pagan temples and chapels, reminiscent of towers and fortresses, and they all sparkled with whiteness and aroused admiration.

Tenochtitlan was captured by Cortes after a three-month siege and fierce struggle in 1521. And right on the ruins of the Aztec capital, from the stones of its palaces and temples, the Spaniards built new town- Mexico City, the rapidly growing center of its colonial possessions in the New World. Over time, the remains of the Aztec buildings were covered with multi-meter layers of modern life. Under these conditions, systematic and extensive archaeological research of Aztec antiquities is almost impossible. Only occasionally, during earthworks in the center of Mexico City, stone sculptures, creations of ancient masters, are born. Therefore, the discoveries of the late 70-80s became a real sensation. 20th century during the excavations of the main temple of the Aztecs - "Templo Mayor" - in the very center of Mexico City, on Zocalo Square, between the cathedral and the presidential palace. Now the sanctuaries of the gods Huitzilopochtli (the god of the sun and war, the head of the Aztec pantheon) and Tlaloc (the god of water and rain, the patron of agriculture) have already been opened, the remains of fresco paintings and stone sculpture have been discovered. Particularly prominent are a round stone with a diameter of more than three meters with a low-relief image of the goddess Koyolshaukhka, the sister of Huitzilopochtli, 53 deep pits filled with ritual offerings (stone figurines of gods, shells, corals, incense, ceramic vessels, necklaces, skulls of sacrificed people, etc. ). The newly discovered materials (their total number exceeds several thousand) expanded the existing ideas about the material culture, religion, trade, economic and political relations of the Aztecs during the heyday of their state in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.

CIVILIZATION OF SOUTH AMERICA

What tribes and peoples inhabited Peru in ancient times? The vast majority believe that they were the Incas. And it seems right. When in 1532 the Spanish conquistadors set foot on Peruvian soil, the whole country, as well as Ecuador, Bolivia and Northern Chile, were part of the gigantic Inca empire, or, as the Incas themselves called their state, Tahuantinsuyu. The total length of Tahuantinsuyu along the Pacific coast was over 4,300 km, and the population was at least 6 million people. However, the Incas were only the outer facade of ancient Peru, behind which, as in Egypt or Mesopotamia, a long and glorious past was hidden.

At the end of II millennium BC. e. in the mountains of the northeastern regions of the country, the mysterious Chavin culture suddenly appeared, synchronous with the “Olmec” monuments of Mesoamerica and close to them in character (the cult of the feline predator, the jaguar or puma, stone pyramidal temples, elegant ceramics, etc.). From the turn of our era, in the coastal zone of Peru, the Mochica civilization appeared in the north, and the Nazca civilization in the south. Simultaneously with them or a little later in the mountains of Bolivia and South Peru, a dynamic and original culture of Tiahuanaco (named after its central settlement, Tiahuanaco, near the southern shore of Lake Titicaca) was formed. What is characteristic of all these early Peruvian-Bolivian civilizations?

First of all, they were born independently, simultaneously or almost simultaneously with the classical civilizations of Mesoamerica, but without any noticeable connections with them. Further, although the ancient Peruvians developed neither hieroglyphic writing nor a complex calendar, their technology was generally superior to that of the Mesoamerican population. At a time when the Mesoamericans still lived entirely in the Stone Age, the Indians of Peru and Bolivia from the 2nd millennium BC. e. they knew metallurgy, processed gold, silver, copper and their alloys and made from them not only jewelry and weapons, but (as in the case of copper) even the tips of agricultural implements - "digging sticks" and hoes. They, especially the creators of the Mochica culture, made magnificent ceramics with polychrome painting and figured modeling. Their fabrics of cotton and wool were fine and perfect. But especially elegant types of these products - tapestries, decorative fabrics, brocade and muslin - have, perhaps, no equal in the ancient world. Their beauty was only enhanced by the brightness of the dyes prepared from various plants (for example, indigo) and minerals. These three important components of the local culture - metal products, ceramics and fabrics (well preserved in the dry and warm climate of the coast) - give a unique originality to all the named ancient Peruvian civilizations of the 1st millennium AD. e.

The subsequent period (from the 10th century AD and later) was marked by an increase in the expansion of the population of the mountainous regions (especially Tiahuanaco) to the Pacific coast zone. Then several new states arise here, the largest of which was Chimu, located in the north of this area, approximately from Timbeg to Lima. Its capital, Chan Chan, occupied an area of ​​about 25 sq. km and had a population of up to 25 thousand people. In the center of the city there were ten huge rectangles 400 × 200 m, enclosed by walls 12 m high - palace ensembles of local kings. Surrounded by smaller residences where officials, artisans and other groups of townspeople lived. After the death of the king, they buried him in his palace with all the riches, and the successor built himself a new building, more like a castle or fortress than an ordinary house. It was in Chimu that a unified network of irrigation canals was first created and roads were built connecting the mountains and the coast. And this, in turn, explains both the impressive achievements of the local culture and the significant concentration of the population in cities and villages.

At the same time, in the mountainous zone with its rugged relief, a large number of valleys and rivers almost isolated from each other, a number of small warring states simultaneously arose. But only one of them - the state of the Incas in the Cuzco Valley - having a more perfect organization of the army and the apparatus of power and distinguished by the militancy of its inhabitants, managed to break the resistance of its neighbors and become the dominant force in the region. This happened only a century before the arrival of the Spaniards, in the 15th century. n. e.

The size of the Inca empire grew at an unprecedented rate. Between 1438 and 1460 Inca Pachacuti conquered most of the mountainous regions of Peru. Under his son Topa Inca (1471-1493), a significant part of Ecuador and the territory of the state of Chimu were captured, and a little later - the south of the coastal Peruvian zone, the mountains of Bolivia, and northern Chile. At the head of a huge power was the divine ruler Sapainka, who was assisted by a hereditary aristocracy connected with the ruler by blood relationship, as well as a priestly caste and a whole army of officials who controlled all aspects of life.

Rural communities carried a heavy burden of all kinds of taxes and labor duties (work on the construction of roads, temples and palaces, in mines, military service, etc.). The population of the newly conquered lands was forcibly moved from their native places to remote provinces. The empire was connected by an extensive network of stone-paved roads, along which, at certain distances, there were post stations with recreation facilities and warehouses with food and necessary materials. Both foot runners and riders on llamas regularly traveled along the roads.

Spiritual life and questions of the cult were entirely in the hands of the priestly hierarchy. The worship of the creator god Viracocha and the heavenly planets was carried out in stone temples, decorated with gold inside. Depending on the circumstances, sacrifices to the gods varied from the usual llama meat and maize beer in such cases to the killing of women and children (during the illness or death of the supreme Inca).

However, this largest and best organized empire of pre-Columbian America became easy prey for a handful of Spanish adventurers led by Francisco Pizarro in the 16th century. n. e. The murder of the Inca Atahualpa in 1532 paralyzed the will to resist the local Indians, and the powerful Inca state collapsed in a matter of days under the blows of the European conquerors.