Editing Olmecs (section)

===Bloodletting and sacrifice speculation===
[[File:La Venta Altar 5 (Ruben Charles).jpg|thumb|Altar 5 from La Venta. The inert were-jaguar baby held by the central figure is seen by some as an indication of [[Human sacrifice in pre-Columbian cultures|child sacrifice]]. In contrast, [[:Image:Altar 5 from La Venta, left side (Ruben Charles).jpg|its sides show bas-reliefs of humans holding quite lively were-jaguar babies]].]]

Although the archaeological record does not include explicit representation of Olmec [[Bloodletting in Mesoamerica|bloodletting]],<ref>Taube (2004), p. 122.</ref> researchers have found other evidence that the Olmec ritually practiced it. For example, numerous natural and ceramic [[stingray]] spikes and [[Agave americana|maguey thorns]] have been found at Olmec sites,<ref>As one example, see Joyce ''et al.'', "Olmec Bloodletting: An Iconographic Study".</ref> and certain artifacts have been identified as bloodletters.<ref>See Taube (2004), p. 122.</ref>

The argument that the Olmec instituted human sacrifice is significantly more speculative. No Olmec or Olmec-influenced sacrificial artifacts have yet been discovered; no Olmec or Olmec-influenced artwork unambiguously shows sacrificial victims (as do the ''danzante'' figures of [[Monte Albán]]) or scenes of human sacrifice (such as can be seen in [[:File:BeheadingPanelSBCTajin.JPG|the famous ballcourt mural]] from [[El Tajín]]).<ref>Pool, p. 139.</ref>

At El Manatí, disarticulated skulls and femurs, as well as the complete skeletons of newborns or fetuses, have been discovered amidst the other offerings, leading to speculation concerning infant sacrifice. Scholars have not determined how the infants met their deaths.<ref>Ortiz et al., p. 249.</ref> Some authors have associated infant sacrifice with Olmec ritual art showing limp werejaguar babies, most famously in La Venta's [[La Venta#Altars 4 & 5|Altar 5]] (on the right) or [[Las Limas Monument 1|Las Limas figure]].<ref>Pool, p. 116. Joralemon (1996), p. 218.</ref> Any definitive answer requires further findings.