 One of the "twins" at El Azuzul. © George & Audrey DeLange, used with permission. El Azuzul is an Olmec archaeological site in Veracruz, Mexico, a few kilometers southeast of the San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán complex and generally considered contemporary with it (perhaps 1100 to 800 BCE). Named for the ranch on which it is located, El Azuzul is part of the Loma del Zapote complex. The site occupies the higher elevations north of the confluence of two ancient river courses, a part of the Coatzacoalcos River system. It is upstream of the monumental earthworks at Potrero Nuevo, itself part of the San Lorenzo complex. Monument 1, one of the four Olmec colossal heads at La Venta. ...
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been investigated using the discipline of archaeology. ...
The state of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave is one of the 31 states that compose Mexico (does not include the Mexican Federal District). ...
Front and side views of Colossal Head 1 now located at Museo de AntropologÃa de Xalapa in Xalapa, Veracruz. ...
The Common Era (CE), sometimes known as the Current Era or as the Christian Era, is the period of measured time beginning with the year 1 on the Gregorian calendar. ...
El Azuzul is best known for two pairs of monumental sculptures, now on exhibit at Museo de Antropologia, Xalapa, Mexico. These statues were found on the south side of the large pyramid/hill on the site, apparently undisturbed since they were placed there in Pre-Classic times. Xalapa or Jalapa is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz. ...
Mesoamerican chronology The chronology of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica is usually divided into the following eras: Paleo-Indian Period c. ...
The first pair of statues are nearly-identical seated human figures. When discovered the two statues were facing east, one behind the other. Some researchers have suggested that these "twins" are forerunners of the Maya Hero Twins from the Popul Vuh,[1] although their headdresses have led others to describe them as priests. [2] The Hero Twins feature prominently in Maya mythology. ...
The Popol Vuh (Council Book or Book of the Community; Popol Wuj in modern Quiché spelling) is the book of scripture of the Quiché, a Kingdom of the Maya civilization in Guatemala. ...
Facing these two humans was a feline-like statue, identified by some as a jaguar. Slightly larger than the humans it faced, the feline is roughly 1¼ meters high. A 1.6 meter version of this feline was found a few meters away, to the northeast.
In addition to the large pyramid/hill, El Azuzul contains other possible structures, now completely overgrown.
Notes
- ^ "The physical arrangement and characteristics of human figures and felines bear uncanny symbolic resemblances to later period myths from the Maya and Central Mexican cultures about twins and jaguars." Cyphers (1999), p. 174
- ^ ". . . una pareja de sacerdotes."
References - Cyphers, Ann, and Botas, Fernando, "An Olmec Feline Sculpture from El Azuzul, Southern Veracruz", Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, 1994, 138 (2): pp. 273–283.
- Cyphers, Ann, "From Stone to Symbols: Olmec Art in Social Context at San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán", in Social Patterns in Pre-Classic Mesoamerica, Dumbarton Oaks, 1999, pp. 155-181.
- Solis, Felipe, "Las culturas del Golfo", en Español.
External links - The Delanges visit El Azuzul, with lots of photos
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