The Pacific, 700–1980 ce

Meetinghouse

Tomb

Temple

Castle

They functioned as sundials to track celestial events.

To represent ancestral figures and protect communities.

To serve as navigation aids for ocean voyaging canoes.

As markers for significant agricultural land boundaries.

They were largely ignored until their rediscovery by contemporary artists.

Their creation was entirely ceased under colonial rule enforcement.

They were collected and displayed as ethnographic curiosities.

Indigenous groups quickly adopted Western artistic standards exclusively.

Feather currency served as a common medium for everyday transactions which democratized wealth distribution among various class levels unlike rare items like stone disks.

As a material easily degraded over time, feather currency represented transient power structures that were less enduring than those signified by durable objects like shells or stones.

Because feathers were associated with spiritual significance tied to ancestry, they held personal value beyond economic status similar yet distinct from culturally significant stone disks or shell money.

It functioned as an exclusive status symbol due to its scarcity and difficulty to acquire, delineating clear class distinctions more sharply than widely available goods.

Storage container

Ceremonial sculpture

Residential hut

Canoe prow ornamentation

Textbooks

Currency

Water vessels

Ceremonial clothing

The robust posture emphasizes warrior virtues prevalent before European contact suggesting continuity of indigenous values regardless of outside presence.

The smooth stone surfaces represent traditional respect for ancestors unaltered by external forces demonstrating resilience against colonial influence on religious art forms.

The exaggerated facial features indicate integration of Western portrait styles reflecting direct adaptation rather than synthesis with existing spiritual practices.

Their emaciated form signifies local ancestor worship heightened perhaps due to stress from resource scarcity linked to colonialism's impact on ecology.

Artists flocked to major cities in search of greater opportunities and exposure.

Resistance movements spawned new forms of protest art with strong political connotations.

There was little change in artistic practice or themes due to military occupation.

The war led to an increased demand for memorial carvings among villagers.

Mythical statues

Geometric patterns

Ancestral figures

Abstract symbols

Terracotta

Wood

Bronze

Marble