The predominant metate imagery represents a
cosmology using animals as symbols. On this
very powerful metate the parrots, which are the
daytime sun, hold up the sky. The entire
sculpture is circular, with the effect of never
ending movement, continuing round and round
like the solar system. Animals as real creatures
are below the sky, serving their role in the rain
forest, just as their symbolic counterparts of
spirits or deities in the astral realm do their part
in the maintaining of life. What is most striking
is the highly porous nature of the volcanic stone.
It is most likely the sculptor chose the initial rock
because of its dramatic texture, and had the
confidence to carve into a substance that is hard,
brittle and very difficult to work with. This effort
not only attests to the sculptor's skill, but also to
the important purpose of the metate; used as a
symbol for earth in the grinding of corn and as a
representation of the universe. Only the elite
classes could have afforded such a fine work of
art, and it was they who wished to maintain the
belief that the continuing of life was directly
related to their control and influence. Apart from
this there is the artist himself and the aesthetic
beauty of his creation, which continues to shine
through the ages.
- (PF.4595)
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