Joanne Pillsbury is Curator of Ancient American Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The Mexican manuscript that reveals the wonders of the Aztec world

Created by a Spanish missionary and Indigenous authors and artists in the 16th century, the Florentine Codex is an intellectual feat – and now available to all

1 Dec 2023
Rock art at the Cerro Azul hill in Serranía La Lindosa, in the Guaviare region of Colombia.

‘These ancient rock paintings are unlikely to be about what was for dinner’

The meaning of tens of thousands of recently discovered rock paintings in Colombia will be a hotly debated topic for many years to come

15 Dec 2020
Colossal head 4 (1200–900 BC), Olmec, Mexico. Museo de Antropología de Xalapa.

Stone cold masterpieces – the art of the Olmecs

Olmec artists from the Gulf Coast region of Mexico produced some of the most striking sculptures in the ancient Americas

10 Oct 2020
Archaeological excavations from an underwater ceremonial location near the Island of the Sun in Lake Titicaca, Bolivia.

Discovering an underwater trove of gifts to the gods

An ancient ceremonial site at Lake Titicaca offers a glimpse into the lives and faith of a pre-Inca people

11 Apr 2019
Octopus fontlet, 300–600 AD, Moche, Peru, La Mina.

The luxury of feathers

An exhibition at the Getty will examine artistic exchange in the ancient Americas – and a time when feathers were more valuable than gold

26 Jun 2017