 "The Wrestler", an Olmec era figurine, 1200 - 800 BCE. Copyright George and Audrey DeLange, used with permission. This article on the Olmec figurine describes a number of archetypical figurines produced by the Formative Period inhabitants of Mesoamerica. While many of these figurines may or may not have been produced directly by the Olmec people, they bear the hallmarks and motifs of Olmec culture. Image File history File linksMetadata The_Wrestler_(Olmec)_by_DeLange. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata The_Wrestler_(Olmec)_by_DeLange. ...
Archetype is defined as the first original model of which all other similar persons, objects, or concepts are merely derivative, copied, patterned, or emulated. ...
Mesoamerican chronology The chronology of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica is usually divided into the following eras: Paleo-Indian Period c. ...
The cultural areas of Mesoamerica The term Mesoamérica is used to refer to a geographical region that extends roughly from the Tropic of Cancer in central Mexico down through Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua to northwestern Costa Rica, and which is characterized by the particular cultural homogeneity...
Monument 1, an Olmec colossal head at La Venta The Olmec were an ancient Pre-Columbian people living in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, roughly in what are the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. ...
These figurines include not only the more numerous figurines made from terracotta, but those carved from jade, serpentine, nephrite, basalt, and other minerals and stones. Terra cotta is a hard semifired waterproof ceramic clay used in pottery and building construction. ...
A selection of antique, hand-crafted Chinese jadeite jade buttons Jade An ornamental stone, jade is a name applied to two different silicate minerals. ...
Serpentine Serpentine is a group of common rock-forming hydrous magnesium iron phyllosilicate ((Mg, Fe)3Si2O5(OH)4) minerals; it is also often rich in other metal ores, including chromium, manganese, cobalt and nickel. ...
There is also a community named Actinolite,_Ontario in Canada. ...
Basalt Basalt is a common gray to black volcanic rock. ...
Baby-face motif A unique Olmec motif is the "baby-face" figurine. These small hollow ceramic figurines are easily recognized by the chubby body, the baby-like face, and the slit-like slanting eyes. "Baby-face" figurines have been consistently found in all sites showing Olmec influence.[1] Given the sheer relative numbers of baby-face figurines unearthed, they undoubtedly fulfilled some special role in the Olmec culture. However, what they represented is not known. In art, a motif is a repeated idea, pattern, image, or theme. ...
Compare baby-face figurines here, and here, and here.
Elongated man
 A relatively crude Olmec figurine from the British Museum. This figure combines the pudgy baby-like body with the adult elongated head. Note the characteristic downturned mouth and slit-like eyes. Another common motif is the "elongated man". These figurines are generally standing and often carved from jade. They can be characterized by their thin limbs and their elongated, bald, flat-topped heads. Another example can be seen here, and here, and here. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1260x1640, 1165 KB) Summary An Olmec Figurine. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1260x1640, 1165 KB) Summary An Olmec Figurine. ...
The centre of the museum was redeveloped in 2000 to become the Great Court, with a tessellated glass roof by Foster and Partners surrounding the original Reading Room. ...
Downturned mouths, a consistent Olmec motif, can be seen on nearly all elongated man (as well as baby-face) figurines. It has been theorized that the elongated, flat-topped heads are reflective of the practice of cranial deformation, as found in the Tlatilco burials of the same period. No direct evidence of this practice has been found in the
Olmec heartland, however. A piece of ceramic art recovered from Tlatilco. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1108x868, 836 KB) Summary Created by me - Madman2001 - using the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. ...
Some figurines combine the seated, pudgy "baby-face" body with the "elongated man" head (see photo to right, as well as here and here).
Offering 4 at La Venta At the La Venta archaeological site, archaeologists found what they subsequently named Offering 4. These figurines had been ritually buried in a deep, narrow hole, and covered over with three layers of clay. There is also evidence that they had previously been dug up and re-covered. The Grandmother, La Venta (reproduction) La Venta is the name of a Pre-Columbian archaeological site of the Olmec civilization. ...
Offering 4 consists of sixteen male figurines positioned in a semi-circle in front of six jade celts. Two of the figurines were made from jade, thirteen from serpentine, and one of reddish granite. This granite figurine one was positioned with its back to the celts, facing the others. All of the figurines had similar classic Olmec features including bald elongated heads. They had small holes for earrings, their legs were slightly bent, and they were undecorated -- unusual if the figurines were gods or deities. Here's another view of Offering 4 Celt (pron. ...
A selection of antique, hand-crafted Chinese jadeite jade buttons Jade An ornamental stone, jade is a name applied to two different silicate minerals. ...
Serpentine Serpentine is a group of common rock-forming hydrous magnesium iron phyllosilicate ((Mg, Fe)3Si2O5(OH)4) minerals; it is also often rich in other metal ores, including chromium, manganese, cobalt and nickel. ...
Interpretations abound. Perhaps this particular formation represents a council of some sort -- the fifteen other figurines seem to be listening to the red granite one, with the celts forming a backdrop. To the right of the red granite figurine, there seems be a line of three, which appear to be filing past him. Another researcher has suggested that the granite figure is an initiate.
As the name implies, Offering 4 is one of many ritual burials uncovered at La Venta, including the four Massive Offerings and four mosiacs representing stylized jaguar masks. Why such works would be buried continues to generate much speculation.
Were-jaguars The were-jaguar is a common motif in the Olmec culture, and was carved into the surfaces of stelae and altars, on celts and votive axes, as well as being the subject of figurines. Some researchers go so far as to label the downturned or frowning mouth so common in Olmec figurines and masks as a "feline" characteristic. The jaguar played an important role in the culture and religion of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. ...
Ancient Egyptian funerary stela A stela (or stele) is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerary or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased inscribed, carved in relief or painted onto the slab. ...
Figurines labelled as were-jaguar show a much wider variety of styles and subjects than the baby-face or elongated man figurines. The subjects can range from human-like figurines to those that are almost completely jaguar. Likewise, there are several were-jaguar figurines where the subject appears to be in a stage of transformation.
Transformation figurines In addition to the were-jaguars, many other Olmec figurines combined human and animal features, including this were-eagle. Although figurines showing such combinations of features are generally termed "transformation figures", some researchers argue that they represent humans in animal masks or animal suits. Compare the transformation figurines here, and here.
Naturalistic figurines Despite the many stylised figurines, Olmec-period artisans and artist also portrayed humans very naturalistically, as in this bust and the figurine above, nicknamed "the wrestler".
Fetal style figurines Several Olmec-period figurines seem to resemble human fetuses (compare this and this). In their 1999 article, Carolyn Tate and Gordon Bendersky analysed head-to-body ratios and concluded that these figurines are naturalistic sculptures of fetuses, and discuss the possibility of infanticide and infant sacrifice.
 Clay Bowl, pigmented, 1200–900 BC, from the Tlapacoya archaeological site in the Valley of Mexico. Despite being found several hundred from the Olmec heartland, this bowl shows Olmec influences, particularly in the downturned mouth and slit-like eye. Image File history File links Tlapacoya_Bowl. ...
Clay Bowl, pigmented, 1200–900 BC, from the Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Indiana University Art Museum. ...
The Valley of Mexico is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with the present-day Distrito Federal and the eastern half of Estado de Mexico. ...
Summary Figurines from Formative Period show a consistency of style and subject throughout nearly all of Mesoamerica. While the extent of Olmec control over the areas beyond
their heartland is not yet known, Olmec motifs, styles, and subjects were widespread in the centuries from 1000 to 500 BCE. Mesoamerican chronology The chronology of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica is usually divided into the following eras: Paleo-Indian Period c. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1108x868, 836 KB) Summary Created by me - Madman2001 - using the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. ...
External links
References - Bailey, Douglass. (2005). Prehistoric Figurines: Representation and Corporeality in the Neolithic. Routledge Publishers. ISBN 0415331528
- Scott, Sue (2000), "Figurines, Terracotta", in Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America, Evans, Susan, ed., Taylor & Francis.
- Tate, Carolyn and Bendersky, Gordon, "Olmec Sculptures of the Human Fetus" in Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, Spring 1999, pp. 1-20 (abridged version online).
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