Teo Mask,This ceramic mask was created by the people of Teotihuacan, one of the largest cities in the world at AD 500, with an estimated population of 125,000 people. The rulers of Teotihuacan remain nameless to this day, leaving behind anonymous masks and statues. Ceramic mask, Teotihuacan (AD 100-650), Mexico John Weinstein, © The Field Museum

CHICAGO.- The Ancient Americas, The Field Museum’s innovative new exhibition, is an exploration of the challenges that human beings everywhere have faced for millennia. It tells the epic story of human life on the American continents, from the arrival of small groups of hunter-gatherers, whose way of life survived into the 20th century, to the great but fragile empires of the Aztecs and the Incas – empires that stretched thousands of miles, encompassed as many as 10 million people, and came to sudden, brutal ends. Lire la suite http://www.artdaily.com/section/news/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=19679

Zapotec Urn. This ceramic urn portrays Cocijo, a Zapotec supernatural force associated with lighting and rain, essential elements for this agrarian society. Consequently, Cocijo was believed to be the force that distinguished between living and non-living matter. Urns like this were used by the ancient Zapotec people to honor deceased loved ones. Ceramic urn portraying Cocijo, Zapotec (AD 200-800)
Oaxaca State, Mexico. John Weinstein, © The Field Museum.