• Have students measure each other to determine heights and the sizes of different body parts in relation to the whole (head to total height, hand to arm, leg to total height, etc.).
• Make charts or graphs to record the measurements.
• Practice figure drawing and studying proportion with your students. It may help to use a ten-point system that focuses on the relation of parts of the body. (See Constructing a Family Tree: 10-point Drawing System, pg. 3)
• Measure the completed drawing of a student, and compare to measurements of the student’s body.
  • How accurate are the proportions of the drawings?
  • In what situations might measuring be the most appropriate way to collect data? When might estimation work best?

• Look at this sculpture closely; note its height, width, depth, and weight (noted alongside the artwork’s title and material). What words would you use to describe it?
• In what ways is this sculpture stylized, and in what ways is it realistic?
• Closely look at the proportions of this figure. Do they reflect the proportions of a real-life human? What changes has the artist made to the proportions?
• Describe the surface and texture of the sculpture. What material might it be made of? How does the material affect the appearance of the sculpture?
• Observe the figure’s stance and the expression on his face. What might this pose communicate?
• How did the artist arrange this sculpture—the figure’s limbs, pedestal, and clothing—to create a sense of solidity and strength?

• Consider the function that this artwork played in Aztec culture: a symbolic guard for an important entry or passageway. How do the design choices the artist made reinforce this object’s function?
• Look closely at the figure’s dress, noting each garment and piece of jewelry that the artist has included. How would you describe them? Might they tell you anything about this figure?
• Why do you think the artists chose a stylized, geometric design rather than a naturalistic design?
• Imagine the potential symbolism of entering a new building, or passing from one building into another. What role might a standard-bearer have played in such an entrance or passage? Why might Aztec builders and artists have considered it important to have standard-bearers?
• This object, weighing over 200 pounds, was hand-carved out of volcanic rock, which was carried by laborers over land and water. What does this information tell you about the role of this object in Aztec society? Why do you think these laborers and artisans went to such lengths to obtain this unwieldy and sometimes dangerous material?
• Imagine this object in its original context, and compare it to the way it would look today, in a museum gallery. How might its impact change? Would it still lend a sense of strength and imposition?

This sculpture is a standard-bearer, a guardian figure the Aztecs borrowed from the Toltecs, their predecessors in the Valley of Mexico.  Standard-bearers are seated or standing male figures carved fully in the round, meaning the figure has been carved from all points of view.  They originally flanked entrances and stairways and carried banners or standards in their hands.  This figure’s clothing and accessories are minimal: a loincloth tied in a stylized knot in front; large plaque-like ear ornaments; and a crescent nose ornament, representing the moon, which also covers the mouth.  This nose ornament, associated with the gods of pulque, a kind of beer, gives the standard-bearer the authority of the gods as well as of men.

 

This figure shows the formal simplicity of Aztec stone sculpture.  He stands rigidly frontal with his legs closely spaced and his arms held next to his torso, a block-like pose that recalls the shape of the stone from which he was carved.  A geometric solidity dominates the sculpture; there is no hint of movement.  This hardened, austere appearance is heightened further by the blank facial expression and the squat proportions of the figure, with his oversized feet and barely visible neck.  The figure was meant to keep his distance while asserting his presence, just as a proper guardian should.

 

This freestanding sculpture was carved from a single block of volcanic stone, a material common in the central highlands of Mexico that was often used for Aztec sculpture.  The stone was quarried, then transported by human labor over land and water.

 

The Aztecs were latecomers to the rich cultural heritage of central Mexico.  Formerly desert nomads, they settled in the Valley of Mexico by the early fourteenth century and assimilated most aspects, including artistic traditions, of the cultures they encountered.  When the Spaniards arrived in 1519, the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan had more than 250,000 residents and was larger, grander, and in many respects more sophisticated than most European capitals of the time.