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Iconoclasm is the action of attacking or rejecting the cherished beliefs, institutions, or established values of practices of religious images or icons. ^[1] Iconoclasm spans over several centuries and various cultures. The diversity of iconoclasm ranges from Ancient to Byzantine to medieval and early modern. ^[2]The following article will focus on specific instances of Iconoclasm within a pre-Columbian context. Pre-Columbian iconoclasm refers to the era of Indigenous tribes in Central America and modern-day Mexico before Christopher Columbus arrived in the 16th century or 1492. For instance, civilizations such as the Mayans, Inca, Aztecs, etc. will be focused on in this article. Each tribe had strong religious and mythical ties that were the foundations of their beliefs which created a multitude of symbolism. Researchers were able to see iconoclasm in this era as the destruction of temples and religious idols that were associated with tribes for political and religious reasons. While pre-Columbian iconoclasm has little documentation, what is left tells researchers that Iconoclastic acts played a hand in the civilization's sociopolitical and religious dynamics.

The Mayan civilization in the Yucatan Peninsula through southern Guatemala expanded to the low and highland regions as they established their society. Their culture can be seen through pyramids, temples, religion, and advancements in mathematics and astrology. This civilization consisted of many cities whose residents spoke around 30 languages and at its peak had 2 million inhabitants. Their social-political structure entailed a hierarchal state head with an emphasis on centralized government given to royal households. The collapse of the Mayan civilization started with the abandonment of many cities, scholars believe that there can be many explanations for the abandonment which consist of overpopulation, environmental depletion, warfare, and other factors. Lastly, the Spanish conquistadores came in the early 1500s to take over the last Mayan city.

The Aztec civilization, that is now present-day Mexico, was established in the 13th century and established their city capital which they called Tenochtitlan. They are known for their cities being built on top of a land of water which was used for agriculture. The Aztec agriculture can be deemed sophisticated due to their irrigation method and cultivation of land. Their culture was established by religious belief and military efforts. The Aztecs believed that the Earth was the last in a series that consisted of 13 heavens and 9 underworlds. Their military was built by training young boys to learn combat and were taught to capture sacrificial victims. The social-political state of this civilization included a bureaucratic system and at the top of this system was the monarch. The fall of this civilization was when Hernan Cortes and his troops of conquistadores came in to colonize.

Pre-Columbian Iconoclasm was geographically spread out among the landscape and a diverse group of indigenous Americans. The iconoclasm itself was influenced by geographical conditions and instances.

Two Mayan sites Tikal (Guatemala) and Copan(Honduras) were areas victims of significant iconoclastic activity. Tikal became the largest Mayan city-state after the downfall of Teotihuacan and Copan became an archaeological treasure for its preserved hieroglyphic texts. ^[3] Tikal was targeted for its prominence and its geography contributed to not only its resources but also isolation from competition but also religious reform. Conflicts resulted in the defacement or destruction of religious icons to assert dominance or assert one's authority. Copan's mountainous domain provided problems with non-Mayan groups and internal power struggles. The city's traditional practices became illegitimatizes and desecrations of striations symbolically dismantled the city. ^[4] Other cities such as Chichen Itza and Uxmal faced iconoclastic acts due to shifts in public power and religion.

The Aztec empire faced an increase in Iconoclasm due to its aggressive tactics of geographical expansion and forced assimilation. Tenochitican was located in Lake Texcoco with natural defensive measures and control over the perimeter region. Their control led to economic dominance to support their Iconoclastic acts. The location made it simply easier to enforce their authority and force others to adopt their way of life. Tenochititwas was also a hub for religious influences and faced destruction by Spanish conquistadors to undermine their political power as an Indigenous population. ^[5] Another example of forced assimilation by the Aztecs was the statue of the Templo Mayor. Templo mayor was a significant religious building within their city that represented their god's supremacy over them. Iconoclasm in this instance was replacing deities with Aztec gods to influence and infiltrate the previous religion with their ideology.

Mayan Iconoclasm included the demolition of their monuments and religious figures that were the center point of the civilization. Mayan Iconoclasm was focused on belittling the power they had within religious contexts to maximize external power and/or forces. An act of Iconoclasm in the Mayan Society was the dissimulation of the statues, Stela M.

Pre-Columbian Aztec art consisted of pottery, architecture, body art, sculptures, metal art, and stamps in the form of humans, animals, deities, religious acts, and plants.^[6] Their art

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Boone, Elizabeth H. “THE ‘COATLICUES’ AT THE TEMPLO MAYOR.” Ancient Mesoamerica 10, no. 2 (1999): 189–206. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536199102098.