Post #4 Lecture Native American - Gothic Architecture

Summary

Early Native American architecture, like adobe homes built into hillsides, showed the close bond between natives and their land. Their religion centered on animism, the belief that humans, animals, plants, rocks, and natural forces such as the sun and rain all have souls. This is similar to Protestant and Catholic religion in sharing a creation story, a single Great Spirit or Creator, and ideas of souls and mortality. Culture was passed down by storytellers through songs and dances, while Europeans for centuries said Native American visual artists as mere “craft” makers. In Ancient Greece, the Amphitheatre showcased drama on stage with the theatron for seating. Thespians, all of them men, performed tragedies wearing masks, joined by a chorus, and used stock characters while competing for different theater awards. The Romans took entertainment further by adding violence. The Circus Maximus held chariot races for 150,000–300,000 spectators and enforced audience segregation, while the Roman Colosseum seated up to 80,000 for gladiator fights, killing of exotic animals, and even Naumachia sea battles. Beneath it, the Hypogeum used trap doors and lifts to bring in new competitors. The Romans built the Pantheon with a massive concrete dome and open oculus, and later the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople which used squinches and pendentives to hold up its big dome and was covered in mosaics. Later in Europe, Gothic Cathedrals were built. They used pointed arches, flying buttresses, ribbed vaults, rose windows, and sacred relics, to combine art, faith, and engineering.

Reflection

Throughout history, art has been used to preserve tradition and entertain, and it continues to do so today. The Native American view of animism, where every part of nature has a soul, makes me think differently about the natural world. While Christian religions rely on scripture, they also teach about a creator and the value of life, showing surprising connections to animism. I admire how storytellers preserved history and lessons through songs and dances, proving that oral tradition can be as powerful as written records. The Ancient Greek Amphitheatre impresses me with its clever design, which amplified voices so the audience could hear. In Ancient Rome, entertainment went beyond storytelling to include deadly fights and races. The scale of the Circus Maximus, the events in the Colosseum, the sea battle reenactments, and the engineering of the Hypogeum underneath reveal remarkable skill and planning. Finally, sacred buildings like the Pantheon and Hagia Sophia with their massive domes and mosaics, along with towering Gothic Cathedrals with their stained glass windows, show how architecture can inspire awe. All of these examples remind me that people across history and cultures create not only for shelter or entertainment, but to tell stories.