Pre-Columbian Art of South America: Free Course

About this course

Study Pre-Columbian Art of South America in this free English video course from Khan Academy. The classroom preserves all 11 published source recordings, totaling approximately 55m, with their original lesson titles and sequence. The selected curriculum focuses on visual observation, materials, context and interpretation. Use the videos to follow an explanation, examine an example and develop a study output you can check independently. The course title describes this recorded subject or learning track; your study can extend beyond watching through the practical activities below.

Course at a glance

What you’ll learn

• Follow the explanation and worked reasoning in “Feline-Head Bottle, Cupisnique”, then describe the main idea in your own words.
• Follow the explanation and worked reasoning in “Pair of Earflares, Winged Messengers (Moche Culture, Peru)”, then describe the main idea in your own words.
• Follow the explanation and worked reasoning in “What the bulldozers left behind: reclaiming Sicán’s past”, then describe the main idea in your own words.
• Follow the explanation and worked reasoning in “Beyond El Dorado: By hammer and fire: goldmaking techniques of the ancient Colombians”, then describe the main idea in your own words.
• Connect examples across Pre-Columbian Art of South America by identifying the terms, assumptions and methods they use.
• Create a small independent practice output and check it against the relevant teaching explanation.

Skills you’ll gain

• Visual analysis
• Materials and techniques
• Cultural context
• Observation

Course Overview

The source curriculum is presented as a complete recorded video edition of Pre-Columbian Art of South America. Representative lessons include “Feline-Head Bottle, Cupisnique”, “What the bulldozers left behind: reclaiming Sicán’s past” and “Mundurukú Headdress: a glimpse of life in the Amazon rainforest”. These recordings give concrete examples to revisit while building visual observation, materials, context and interpretation. Their place in the lesson list is preserved, so you can return to a particular explanation without losing its source position. Introductions, demonstrations, examples, reviews and compilations remain included whenever they appear in the original playlist. Reading a lesson title is useful for locating a topic; working through its reasoning and checking a practice attempt is what makes the recording valuable for learning.

How to study the course

• Videos 1–2: this part of the source list includes “Feline-Head Bottle, Cupisnique” through “Decoding art: the Staff God relief from Chavín de Huántar (part 1)”. Describe visible features before interpreting them. Keep a brief working note, revisit an unclear explanation and test one example before moving to another part of the material.
• Videos 3–5: this part of the source list includes “Pair of Earflares, Winged Messengers (Moche Culture, Peru)” through “What the bulldozers left behind: reclaiming Sicán’s past”. Connect material and technique with use. Keep a brief working note, revisit an unclear explanation and test one example before moving to another part of the material.
• Videos 6–8: this part of the source list includes “Inca ushnus: landscape, site and symbol in the Andes” through “Beyond El Dorado: Depletion gilding: goldmaking techniques of the ancient Colombians”. Place an example in its stated context. Keep a brief working note, revisit an unclear explanation and test one example before moving to another part of the material.
• Videos 9–11: this part of the source list includes “How to craft gold like ancient Colombians” through “Mundurukú Headdress: a glimpse of life in the Amazon rainforest”. Support a comparison with specific observations. Keep a brief working note, revisit an unclear explanation and test one example before moving to another part of the material.

Who is this for?

This course suits students and interested readers studying the art tradition or period in the title. It also provides a recorded reference for revisiting a topic after an earlier lesson or study attempt. Choose examples appropriate to your background and allow time to work through the method instead of judging understanding only by how familiar the terminology sounds.

Before you start

No specialist art-training background is required for introductory study. A notebook is useful for comparing visible features and the context presented by the instructors.

Put the lessons into practice

Choose two works or examples discussed in the recordings. Record their visible features, materials and the context supplied by the lesson. Compare composition, use, technique or meaning without replacing observation with personal preference. Support each interpretation with a detail you can identify in the example or its teaching explanation. Organize the comparison into a small evidence table and write a short paragraph explaining its strongest point. Finish by distinguishing what you observed from what would need further historical evidence.

This optional study activity is provided by WikiFree for independent practice. Keep your working notes and use the relevant classroom recording to check a step, definition or interpretation. It is not an instructor-marked assignment.

Certificate / Assessment

Watching the public videos and using WikiFree completion tracking does not award a certificate, academic credit, an examination voucher or instructor assessment. Use your practice output to review what you can explain and repeat independently. The recorded lessons provide study material; completion tracking records your progress through that material.

Frequently asked questions

Provider: Khan Academy. Videos play from the Khan Academy channel on YouTube.