Musée Fabre, Montpellier, July 17 – September 29, 2002

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen, October 25, 2002 – January 13, 2003

Musée des Beaux Arts de Lyon, February 20 – April 28, 2003

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes, May 28 – August 18, 2003

Minneapolis Institute of Arts, October 26, 2003 – January 26, 2004

Present archeological evidence indicates that people have lived on the continents of North and South America since at least 40,000 BCE. Over these thousands of years, many varied and complex cultures developed, people adapting to extremes of climate and environment from the snows of the Arctic through the vast expanses of the Great Plains and immense woods of North America, and down through the mountains, highlands and valleys, desert and rainforest, all the way to the southern tip of South America. These cultures ranged from small bands of hunters and modest farming villages to civilizations with large urban centers and elaborate ceremonial complexes. The Sacred Symbols exhibition provides a unique opportunity to see the arts created by the people of the ancient Americas in all their beauty, variety and complexity.