An exhibition that opened recently at The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC:

Divine and Human: Women in Ancient Mexico and Peru, runs March 3, 2006 - May 28, 2006

"In ancient Mesoamerica and Andean civilizations, women had daily roles in both the spiritual and actual worlds. They were not only daughters, wives, mothers, and grandmothers, but also healers, midwives, scribes, artists, priestesses, warriors, governors, and even goddesses. Divine and Human brings together 400 archaeological treasures from the unparalleled museum collections of Mexico and Peru. Magnificent sculptures, textiles, pottery, and jewelry explore the feminine “sphere” in cultures as varied as the Aztec, Mayan, Zapotec, Moche, Mixtec, and Incan.

Organized into seven sections—Society, Politics and Religion; Sacred Origins of Food; Textiles and Clothing; Physical Ornamentation; Magic and the Occult; Daily Life and its Origins; and Goddesses—this groundbreaking exhibition explores the “feminine sphere” in detail."

National Museum of Women in the Arts: http://www.nmwa.org/