América precolombina. Ediz. castigliana

The volume offers a complete and striking picture of the New World before its discovery by Christopher Columbus, and of the magnificent civilizations overrun and destroyed by the Spanish conquerors in the early 16th century: covering the fabulous empire of the Incas in Peru to the Mayan civilization on the high plateaux of Guatemala, the Olmec and Aztec cultures in Mexico to the populations of the Amazon territories.The publication of this monumental work, devoted to the cultures of the ancient peoples of Central and South America, is occasioned by the opening of the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Barcelona. It is not only the complete catalogue of the pre-Columbian art collection of the new museum, but also a point of reference for pre-Columbian studies: the introductory text by Octavio Paz is followed by Jean Paul Barbier’s essays, which provide a minute reconstruction of Christopher Colombus’ expeditions, the discovery of the New World, the conquest of Mexico and Peru by Cortés and Pizarro. The second part of the book is devoted to the art of Central America (Henri Stierlin), of ancient Peru (Danièle Lavallée), of Amazonia (Conceiçao Gentil Corrêa), and Upper Amazonia (Iris Barry), studying the cultures of the various countries, and reconstructing their traditions, religious rites, and political and social organization in the millenia preceding their discovery by Colombus.The last part of the book features a wealth of photographic material and information on the works in the museum, of the greatest archaeological and artistic relevance, including statuettes, vases, textiles, masks, funerary urns, everyday and ritual objects in all kinds of media (earthenware, calcareous stone, jade, basalt, alabaster, wood), dating from 1150-550 B.C. to the 16th century A.D.