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Based on archaeological and linguistic
evidence,
the ancient civilization of the Olmecs
appears to
have taken root and blossomed in the
low-lying
Gulf Coast area of modern Mexico around
1200
B.C. Considered to be the first
civilization of the
Americas, many aspects of Olmec culture
would
be absorbed by the civilizations that
came after
them. The Maya, for instance, were
directly
influenced by their city centers based
around
large platform mounds and their
hieroglyphic
language. However today, the Olmecs are
known
primarily for the distinctive works of
art they left
behind. Olmec art was primarily a
reflection and
result of their religion. The Olmecs
believed that
a union of jaguar and woman produced an
earlier
race of were-jaguars. Depictions of
human
infants with the snarling mouths of
jaguars are a
reoccurring motif of Olmect art. These
were-
jaguar babies are thought to function
both as
symbols of fertility and of the shape-
shifting
powers of the shaman. The Colossal
Heads, a
series of massive stone portraits of
their rulers,
are perhaps the most celebrated works of
Olmec
art. Olmec artists also commonly worked
with
jade and greenstone, which they believed
had
beneficial properties linked to
fertility and
procreation.
The facial features of this greenstone
mask are
characteristic of Olmec art. The down
turned
mouth of the were-jaguar is thought by
scholars
to depict a shaman in the midst of
transmogrification. Its harmonious
proportions
are indicative of the sophistication
attained by
Olmec sculptors. The smooth, highly
polished
surface of the stone has been engraved
with
abstract linear motifs along the
forehead and
fleshy cheeks. The eyes and mouths are
open,
the nose slightly upturned. Holes
drilled in the
earlobes may have once been decorated
with
inlays of shell. While it is possible
this mask was
worn by a living individual during a
ceremonial
celebration, it is far more likely that
it served a
funerary function. The preservation of
the
physical remains of the dead through
mummification was a central concern of
Olmec
burial rites. Masks of jade and
greenstone were
traditionally laid over the wrapped
remain of
important individuals who had passed
away. As
great civilizations rise and fall, they
leave behind
traces of their existence. Ritualistic
objects,
venerated in their own time, continue to
exert an
eternal force long after they have left
the hands
that once held them sacred. A mysterious
energy
still radiates from this greenstone
mask, a
testament to the artistry and culture of
the
ancient Olmec civilization.
- (PF.4094)
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