Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the Art of Ancient Americas
- Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank
- Mar 26
- 6 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
Few opening sequences in film history are as iconic as the one in Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark. In what’s probably my favorite movie intro (besides Up, sob), we watch as Indy outsmarts booby traps and navigates a perilous cave-tomb-treasure chamber in search of a golden idol.
Supposedly set in South America in 1936, this scene is filled with high-paced adventure and peril—and surprisingly, a lot of references to ancient art from across the Americas, not just South America. I guess it was supposed to take place in Peru, but let's just say that it was VERY loosely based on Peru.
The Golden Idol—An Aztec Connection
The golden idol that Indy seeks is loosely based on a famous birthing figure once attributed to the Aztec (Mexica) though now believed to be a 19th-century creation made in an Aztec style. You can see it today if you visit the Dumbarton Oaks museum in Washington, D.C.
The figurine shows a woman crouching down to the ground, her knees bent as she pushed an infant from her body. Her oversized head looks upward, as if she's suddenly thrown her head backwards, with her mouth open in a grimace that I read as similar to the pain experienced in childbirth. The infant zooms out of her body, arms outstretched like they are flying or diving. In Aztec culture, women in childbirth were highly revered. If a woman died during childbirth, she was believed to have fought a battle and earned a place in the afterlife alongside fallen warriors. This connection between childbirth and warfare underscores the importance of such figures in Aztec society.
The sculpture is usually identified as Tlazolteotl, who was a deity associated with childbirth and fertility, as well as purification. She was a filth eater, meaning that she could transform waste, including human waste, into something purified. As one of my graduate school advisors liked to say, she gave "holy shit" new meaning. [1] For a long time, this figurine was believed to be an authentic Aztec sculpture, and it was lauded as such in many publications, exhibitions, and popular culture as an icon of motherhood and the pain of childbirth.
The filmmakers of Indiana Jones clearly looked to this famous figure, though they made some creative changes, transforming a small figurine into a large, glittering treasure. Instead of stone, they made the sculpture gold. They made her already oversized head even bigger, minimizing her body. They also angled her head downward to make it appear as though she stares at you with a grimace, transforming the howl of pushing a child from your body to a threatening stare that makes her aggressive. The infant pushing its way into the world is also smaller and harder to see.
Wait . . . Why Is an Aztec Idol in Peru?
Good question! The Aztec civilization was centered in what is now Mexico, and their influence didn’t extend as far south as Peru. In reality, you wouldn’t find Aztec figurines in ancient Peruvian tombs or booby trapped locations. The art and artifacts of ancient Peru were distinct, belonging to cultures like the Inca, Moche, and Nazca.
This mix-up is a common problem in popular media, where the art of the ancient Americas often gets jumbled together. It can range from a little odd to wildly inappropriate and problematic. While it might make for an exciting story, it’s important to recognize that these cultures were incredibly diverse, each with unique traditions, art styles, and beliefs. When we lump them all together, even for the sake of entertainment, it creates the larger message that these culture aren't worthy of singular attention, that it doesn't matter to get it right, or that they were all the same so who cares, right? Blending elements from different cultures creates a homogenized version of history, and again, while it can be entertaining, it also reinforces misconceptions about the incredible diversity of ancient American civilizations.
To be clear, this is not unique to Disney in any way. This jumbled gobbledygook has been happening for a long time. One of my favorite examples is early 20th-century Art Deco architecture that generated a Maya Revival movement that adapted art from across Mesoamerican history and placed it all together. Cool looking, but OY.
The Trope of the "Indio" and the Art of the Ancient Americas in Popular Media
If we want to go further back in history, it also reinforces a super problematic trope of the American "indio" born in the 16th century after waves of European invasions and colonization occurred throughout the Americas. Back in Europe, publications and images, such as those by Theodore de Bry and Theodoor Galle, tried to make sense of all the information coming back (or not coming back) about the Indigenous peoples that Europeans encountered.
The term indio became a catch-all to talk about people, and in art, this is when "indios" started to be shown with a feathered headdress and partially nude or entirely nude. That collapsing of the many peoples and diverse cultures continued and extends to today—this is partly why so often the Indigenous cultures of the Americas get treated as the same in pop culture, movies, video games, and so forth. I've written about this elsewhere, and it's worth its own series of posts, but this is an important point for us to keep in mind.
Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the Art of Ancient Americas
I say we try to do better about appreciating the impressive and incredibly diverse cultures of the Americas while also recognizing we can enjoy movies like Indiana Jones! Despite the inaccuracies, it’s fascinating to see how Indigenous art of the Americas continues to capture the imagination of creators and audiences alike.
And Disney loves the art and cultures of the Ancient Americas! From the Maya pyramids and Olmec heads at Epcot to the Mesoamerican and Andean objects in attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland, elements of pre-Columbian art are everywhere. And this extends to popular culture more broadly too!
If you enjoyed this post about Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the Art of Ancient Americas, stay tuned for more connections between the art of the Americas and pop culture! Indy has a ton of art historical references so I have a lot to work with!
Notes:
[1] Cecelia F. Klein, "Teocuitlatl, "Divine Excrement": The Significance of "Holy Shit" in Ancient Mexico," Art Journal 52 (3) (September 1993).
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