Art Before Columbus

The Americas produced artistic traditions of staggering sophistication before European contact. Olmec colossal heads, carved from single basalt boulders weighing up to fifty tons, are among the most ambitious sculptures of the ancient world. The Maya developed a full writing system and an astronomical calendar that rivaled anything in the Old World.

The diversity is vast. From the monumental stone cities of the Inca Empire to the intricate beadwork of North American Plains nations, pre-Columbian art reflects thousands of distinct cultures with independent aesthetic traditions.