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The Olmecs are generally considered to be the ultimate ancestor of all subsequent Mesoamerican civilisations. Thriving
between about 1200 and 400 BC, their base was the tropical lowlands of south central Mexico, an area characterized
by swamps punctuated by low hill ridges and volcanoes. Here the Olmecs practiced advanced farming techniques and
constructed many permanent settlements. Their influence, both cultural and political, extended far beyond their
boundaries; the exotic nature of Olmec designs became synonymous with elite status in other (predominantly
highland) groups, with evidence for exchange of artefacts in both directions. Other than their art (see below), they are
credited with the foundations of writing systems (the loosely defined Epi-Olmec period, c. 500 BC), the first use of the
zero – so instrumental in the Maya long count vigesimal calendrical system – and they also appear to have been the
originators of the famous Mesoamerican ballgame so prevalent among later cultures in the region. The art form for
which the Olmecs are best known, the monumental stone heads weighing up to forty tons, are generally believed to
depict kingly leaders or possibly ancestors. Other symbols abound in their stylistic repertoire, including several
presumably religious symbols such as the feathered serpent and the rain spirit, which persisted in subsequent and
related cultures until the middle ages.
Comparatively little is known of their magico-religious world, although the clues that we have are tantalising.
Technically, these include all non- secular items, of which there is a fascinating array. The best- known forms are jade
and ceramic figures and celts that depict men, animals and fantastical beasts with both anthropomorphic and
zoomorphic characteristics. Their size and general appearance suggests that they were domestically- or
institutionally-based totems or divinities. The quality of production is astonishing, particularly if one considers the
technology available, the early date of the pieces, and the dearth of earlier works upon which the Olmec sculptors
could draw. Some pieces are highly stylised, while others demonstrate striking naturalism with deliberate expressionist
interpretation of some facial features (notably up-turned mouths and slit eyes) that can be clearly seen in the current
mask.
This sculpture touches and exhilarates centers of
life beyond our present reality. It serves as a
means of transforming the ordinary to the
extraordinary, the natural to the supernatural.
Sculpted faces and masks have always been used
as ritual agents of transformation in Mesoamerica. The ritual wearer of this sculpture, the
shaman, not only represented the God; he was
the God. He manifested the life force. Through
that ritual transformation joining the worlds of
spirit and nature, man and God fused in the zone
of mysterious transition marked by the sculpted
object itself. This sculpture is the seat of the
soul, where the outer and inner worlds meet.
We are left to ponder over the mysteries of the
Universe hidden within this work of art, and the
awakened insights it has brought to our own
inner spirits. Although the human face provides
the basic form for this sculpture, it is clearly not
human. It depicts a fantastic being, a Mesoamerican God, with compelling vitality and
power from the supernatural world. Everything
about it - its combination of facial features, its
nonhuman eyes and nose and its supernatural
proportions - proclaims it a mythological
creature rather than a natural one. It represents
a force so essentially spiritual that it could not
be encompassed and ordered by human thought.
This mythological creature is the "unfolding" of
this spiritual essence. So captivating is the
energy of this mythological creature that we may
find ourselves marvelously enriched with freshly
awakened energy within our own being.
- (PF.3143)
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