Editing Olmecs (section)

==Artifacts==
[[File:Seated Figure MET DP295629.jpg|upright|thumb|Seated figurine; 12th–9th century BC; painted ceramic; height: 34&nbsp;cm, width: 31.8&nbsp;cm, depth: 14.6&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)]]
[[File:Bird Vessel MET DP23080.jpg|upright|thumb|Bird-shaped vessel; 12th–9th century BC; ceramic with red [[ochre]]; height: 16.5&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art]]
The Olmec culture was first defined as an art style, and this continues to be the hallmark of the culture.<ref name="Coe 2002, p. 62">Coe (2002), p. 62.</ref> Wrought in a large number of media – jade, clay, basalt, and greenstone among others – much Olmec art, such as [[The Wrestler (sculpture)|''The Wrestler'']], is naturalistic. Other art expresses fantastic [[anthropomorphic]] creatures, often highly stylized, using an iconography reflective of a religious meaning.<ref>Coe (2002), p. 88 and others.</ref> Common [[motif (art)|motifs]] include downturned mouths and a cleft head, both of which are seen in representations of [[werejaguar]]s.<ref name="Coe 2002, p. 62"/> In addition to making human and human-like subjects, Olmec artisans were adept at animal portrayals.

While [[Olmec figurine]]s are found abundantly in sites throughout the [[Mesoamerican chronology#Preclassic Era|Formative Period]], the stone monuments such as the colossal heads are the most recognizable feature of Olmec culture.<ref>Pool, p. 105.</ref> These monuments can be divided into four classes:<ref>Pool, p. 106. Diehl, pp. 109–115.</ref>
*Colossal heads (which can be up to {{cvt|3|m|0}} tall);
*Rectangular "altars" (more likely thrones)<ref>Grove, 1973.</ref> such as Altar 5 shown below;
*Free-standing in-the-round sculpture, such as the twins from [[El Azuzul]] or [[San Martín Pajapan Monument 1]]; and
*[[Stele]], such as [[La Venta]] Monument 19 above. The stelae form was generally introduced later than the colossal heads, altars, or free-standing sculptures. Over time, the stele changed from simple representation of figures, such as Monument 19 or [[:Image:Olmec woman.jpg|La Venta Stela 1]], toward representations of historical events, particularly acts legitimizing rulers. This trend would culminate in post-Olmec monuments such as [[La Mojarra Stela 1]], which combines images of rulers with [[Mesoamerican writing systems|script]] and [[Mesoamerican Long Count calendar|calendar dates]].<ref>Pool, pp. 106–108, 176.</ref>

===Colossal heads===
{{Main|Olmec colossal heads}}
The most recognized aspect of the Olmec civilization are the enormous helmeted heads.<ref>Diehl, p. 111.</ref> As no known pre-Columbian text explains them, these impressive monuments have been the subject of much speculation. Once theorized to be ballplayers, it is now generally accepted that these heads are portraits of rulers, perhaps dressed as ballplayers.<ref>Pool, p. 118; Diehl, p. 112. Coe (2002), p. 69: "They wear headgear rather like American football helmets which probably served as protection in both war and in the ceremonial game played...throughout Mesoamerica."</ref> Infused with individuality, no two heads are alike and the helmet-like headdresses are adorned with distinctive elements, suggesting personal or group symbols. Some have also speculated that Mesoamerican people believed that the soul, along with all of one's experiences and emotions, was contained inside the head.<ref name=Miller/><ref>Grove, p. 55.</ref>

Seventeen colossal heads have been unearthed to date.<ref>Pool, p. 107.</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto;"
|-
! Site
! Count
! Designations
|-
| style="width:110px" | [[San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán|San Lorenzo]]
| style="width:40px" align="center" |10
| style="width:200px" |Colossal Heads 1 through 10
|-
| [[La Venta]]
| align="center" |4
| Monuments 1 through 4
|-
|[[Tres Zapotes]]
|align="center" |2
|Monuments A & Q
|-
|Rancho la Cobata
|align="center" |1
|Monument 1
|}

[[File:Estatuilla de Tuxtla.jpg|thumb|upright|Tuxtla statuette]]
The heads range in size from the Rancho La Cobata head, at {{cvt|3.4|m|ft}} high, to the pair at Tres Zapotes, at {{cvt|1.47|m|ftin}}. Scholars calculate that the largest heads weigh between {{convert|25|and|55|t|ST|abbr=off}}.<ref>In particular, Williams and Heizer (p. 29) calculated the weight of San Lorenzo Colossal Head 1 at 25.3 [[short ton]]s, or 23 [[tonne]]s. See Scarre. pp. 271–274 for the "55 tonnes" weight.</ref>

[[File:La_Venta_Mosaic_(Ruben_Charles).jpg|thumb|left|One of the mosaics from the La Venta Olmec site]]
The heads were carved from single blocks or boulders of volcanic [[basalt]], found in the Sierra de los Tuxtlas. The Tres Zapotes heads, for example, were sculpted from basalt found at the summit of Cerro el Vigía, at the western end of the Tuxtlas. The San Lorenzo and La Venta heads, on the other hand, were probably carved from the basalt of Cerro Cintepec, on the southeastern side,<ref>See Williams and Heizer for more detail.</ref> perhaps at the nearby [[Llano del Jicaro]] workshop, and dragged or floated to their final destination dozens of miles away.<ref>Scarre. Pool, p. 129.</ref> It has been estimated that moving a colossal head required the efforts of 1,500 people for three to four months.<ref name="Pool, p. 103" />

Some of the heads, and many other monuments, have been variously mutilated, buried and disinterred, reset in new locations and/or reburied. Some monuments, and at least two heads, were recycled or recarved, but it is not known whether this was simply due to the scarcity of stone or whether these actions had ritual or other connotations. Scholars believe that some mutilation had significance beyond mere destruction, but some scholars still do not rule out internal conflicts or, less likely, invasion as a factor.<ref>Diehl, p. 119.</ref>

The flat-faced, thick-lipped heads have caused some debate due to their resemblance to some African facial characteristics. Based on this comparison, some writers have said that the Olmecs were Africans who had emigrated to the New World.<ref>Wiercinski, A. (1972). "Inter-and Intrapopulational Racial Differentiation of Tlatilco, Cerro de Las Mesas, Teothuacan, Monte Alban and Yucatan Maya," ''XXXIX Congreso Intern. de Americanistas,'' Lima 1970, '''1''', 231–252.</ref> But the vast majority of archaeologists and other Mesoamerican scholars reject claims of pre-Columbian contacts with Africa.<ref>[[Karl Taube]], for one, says "There simply is no material evidence of any Pre-Hispanic contact between the Old World and Mesoamerica before the arrival of the Spanish in the sixteenth century.", p. 17.
*Davis, N. ''Voyagers to the New World,'' University of New Mexico Press, 1979 {{ISBN|0-8263-0880-5}}
*Williams, S. ''Fantastic Archaeology,'' University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991 {{ISBN|0-8122-1312-2}}
*Feder, K.L. ''Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries. Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology'' 3rd ed., Trade Mayfield {{ISBN|0-7674-0459-9}}
</ref> Explanations for the facial features of the colossal heads include the possibility that the heads were carved in this manner due to the shallow space allowed on the basalt boulders. Others note that in addition to the broad noses and thick lips, the eyes of the heads often show the [[epicanthic fold]], and that all these characteristics can still be found in modern Mesoamerican Indians. For instance, in the 1940s, the artist/art historian [[Miguel Covarrubias]] published a series of photos of Olmec artwork and of the faces of modern [[Indigenous peoples of Mexico|Mexican Indians]] with very similar facial characteristics.<ref>''Mexico South'', Covarrubias, 1946</ref> The African origin hypothesis assumes that Olmec carving was intended to be a representation of the inhabitants, an assumption that is hard to justify given the full corpus of representation in Olmec carving.<ref>Ortiz de Montellano, et al. 1997, p. 217</ref>

[[Ivan Van Sertima]] claimed that the seven braids on the Tres Zapotes head was an Ethiopian hair style, but he offered no evidence it was a contemporary style. The [[Egyptology|Egyptologist]] [[Frank J. Yurco]] has said that the Olmec braids do not resemble contemporary Egyptian or Nubian braids.<ref>Haslip-Viera, Gabriel: Bernard Ortiz de Montellano; Warren Barbour Source "Robbing Native American Cultures: Van Sertima's Afrocentricity and the Olmecs," ''Current Anthropology'', '''38''' (3), (Tun., 1997), pp. 419–441</ref>

[[Richard Diehl]] wrote "There can be no doubt that the heads depict the American Indian physical type still seen on the streets of Soteapan, Acayucan, and other towns in the region."<ref>{{cite book|title=The Olmecs: America's First Civilization|author-link=Richard Diehl|last=Diehl|first=Richard A.|publisher=Thames and Hudson|year=2004|location=London|isbn=0-500-28503-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/olmecsamericasfi0000dieh/page/112 112]|url=https://archive.org/details/olmecsamericasfi0000dieh/page/112}}</ref>

===Jade face masks===
Another type of artifact is much smaller; [[hardstone carving]]s in [[jade]] of a face in a mask form. Jade is a particularly precious material, and it was used as a mark of rank by the ruling classes.<ref>Milliken, William M. "Pre-Columbian Jade and Hard Stone." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 36, no. 4 (April 1949): 53–55. Accessed 17 March 2018.</ref> By 1500 BCE early Olmec sculptors mastered the human form.<ref name=Miller>Miller, Mary Ellen. "The Art of Mesoamerica From Olmec to Aztec." Thames & Hudson; 4th edition (20 October 2006).</ref> This can be determined by wooden Olmec sculptures discovered in the swampy bogs of El Manati.<ref name=Miller/> Before radiocarbon dating could tell the exact age of Olmec pieces, archaeologists and art historians noticed the unique "Olmec-style" in a variety of artifacts.<ref name=Miller/>

Curators and scholars refer to "Olmec-style" face masks but, to date, no example has been recovered in an archaeologically controlled Olmec context. They have been recovered from sites of other cultures, including one deliberately deposited in the ceremonial [[altepetl]] (precinct) of [[Tenochtitlan]] in what is now [[Mexico City]]. The mask would presumably have been about 2000 years old when the [[Aztecs]] buried it, suggesting such masks were valued and collected as were Roman [[antiquities]] in Europe.<ref>[http://artworld.uea.ac.uk/cms/index.php?q=node/873 "University of East Anglia collections"]{{dead link|date=November 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, ''Artworld''</ref> The 'Olmec-style' refers to the combination of deep-set eyes, nostrils, and strong, slightly asymmetrical mouth.<ref name=Miller/> The "Olmec-style" also very distinctly combines facial features of both humans and jaguars.<ref name=Museum>The British Museum. "Olmec Stone Mask." [https://smarthistory.org/olmec-stone-mask/ Smarthistory.com].</ref> Olmec arts are strongly tied to the Olmec religion, which prominently featured jaguars.<ref name=Museum/> The Olmec people believed that in the distant past a race of werejaguars was made between the union of a jaguar and a woman.<ref name=Museum/> One werejaguar quality that can be found is the sharp cleft in the forehead of many supernatural beings in Olmec art. This sharp cleft is associated with the natural indented head of jaguars.<ref name=Museum/>

<gallery class="center" widths="170px" heights="170px">
Ornamental Mask MET 1978.412.30.jpg|Ornamental mask; 10th century BCE; [[Serpentine subgroup|serpentine]]; height: 9.2&nbsp;cm, width: 7.9&nbsp;cm, depth: 3.2&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)
Mask MET AO1977.187.33.jpg|Mask; 10th–6th century BCE; [[jadeite]]; height: 17.1&nbsp;cm, width: 16.5&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Mask, Gulf Coast Olmec culture, Rio Pesquero, Veracruz state, Middle Formative period, c. 900-500 BC, jadeite - Dallas Museum of Art - DSC04570.jpg|Mask; c. 900–500 BCE; jadeite; [[Dallas Museum of Art]] ([[Dallas]], Texas, US)
Olmec mask MIA.jpg|Mask with [[cinnabar]] "tattoos"; c. 900–300 BCE; jadeite with cinnabar; [[Minneapolis Institute of Art]] ([[Minneapolis]], US) 
</gallery>

=== Kunz axes ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2018}}
The Kunz axes (also known as "votive axes") are figures that represent [[werejaguar]]s and were apparently used for rituals. In most cases, the head is half the total volume of the figure. All Kunz axes have flat noses and an open mouth. The name "Kunz" comes from [[George Frederick Kunz]], an American [[Mineralogy|mineralogist]], who described a figure in 1890.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ceremonial Ax ("Kunz Ax") {{!}} Olmec |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/722141 |access-date=2024-02-01 |website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |language=en}}</ref>

<gallery class="center" widths="170px" heights="170px">
British Museum Mesoamerica 052.jpg|1200–400 BCE; polished green quartz ([[aventurine]]); height: 29&nbsp;cm, width: 13.5&nbsp;cm; [[British Museum]] (London)
Spirit axe, Gulf Coast Olmec culture, Tabasco state, Middle Formative period, c. 900-500 BC, stone - Dallas Museum of Art - DSC04581.jpg|900–500 BCE; stone; [[Dallas Museum of Art]] (Texas, US)
Mexico, Olmec, 1200-300 BC - Celt with Deity - 1954.856 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif|12th–3rd century BCE; stone; height: 32.2&nbsp;cm, width: 14&nbsp;cm, depth: 11.5&nbsp;cm; [[Cleveland Museum of Art]] (Ohio, US)
Anthropomorphic plaque, possibly the Fire Sepent, possibly a forgery, Olmec, Formative period, 800-400 BC, serpentine, cinnabar - Dallas Museum of Art - DSC04579.jpg|800–400 BCE; [[Serpentinite|serpentine]], [[cinnabar]]; Dallas Museum of Art
</gallery>