Is there a way that historians explain the similarities between Incan and Aztec/Mayan art if there was no contact between the two cultures?

by KingLudwigII
CommodoreCoCo

Could you identify some similarities that you see? Inca art generally fits in a regulated, imperial style of simple geometry and few naturalistic images. Images of humans and animals are likewise unadorned. This is of course only appropriate for an expansive empire that sought a neutral style that could be used in the many subjugated cultures. It contains many forms unique to the Andes (like the kero and to the Inca themselves (like the aribalo).

This style is rather unlike the often [intricate](https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/ogHbIC-xnyrrUA?childAssetId=zgFdISerJJoeyQ] and busy painting of the Maya, not mention their sculptural, both of which are filled with images of kings and gods and mythic heroes- elements that we see non of in Inca art.

Did you have any examples of artifacts in mind that you found similar?