|
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 figure.
In the Olmec culture the mask was
considered an
icon of transformation. It makes visible
the
charismatic and shamanic power of the
wearer;
who was either a ruler or shaman. Often
the
mask has an expression of an
otherworldly
nature, as if submerged in an ecstatic
trance. A
mask will never change, it is unaffected
by
emotion or time, and will forever
express the
virtues the sculptor endowed upon it.
This
quality of the eternal appealed to Olmec
rulers.
The sheer power of this stone mask is
monumental in scope. There is a sense it
is a
product of nature, elemental and beyond
comprehension. Yet, a very skilled
sculptor was
needed to carve the intricate designs.
This is not
difficult to imagine given its almost
primordial
character, which seems to come from
another
dimension. In many respects the Olmec
themselves seem not to have been of this
world;
and objects such as this extraordinary
mask
appear as living proof. Today, masks are
worn
mostly for the fun of Halloween parties
or the
profit of robbing banks. In either case
their
purpose is simply to conceal the
identity of the
wearer. The peoples of ancient cultures,
however,
believed that masks were magical and
that by
donning one the wearer actually became
the god,
demon or animal it represented and was,
therefore, endowed with all its powers
of good or
evil. Masks of every conceivable non-
perishable
material and varying sizes have been
found all
over Mexico. The earliest we know of
were made
of clay but it is probable that others
made of
gourds or even paper have not survived.
Jade, as
the symbol of life and the most precious
substance known, was often used for the
most
prestigious kings and powerful gods.
Masks were
frequently laid over the faces or on the
chests of
the dead. Though their actual purpose is
obscure, at least one, that found in the
tomb of
a Pakal, ruler of Palenque, seems to
have been a
true portrait of the deceased.
- (CK.0787)
|
