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The Olmecs are generally considered to be the
ultimate ancestor of all subsequent
Mesoamerican civilisations. Thriving between
about 1200 and 400 BC, their base was the
tropical lowlands of south central Mexico, an
area characterized by swamps punctuated by low
hill ridges and volcanoes. Here the Olmecs
practiced advanced farming techniques and
constructed many permanent settlements. Their
influence, both cultural and political, extended
far beyond their boundaries; the exotic nature of
Olmec designs became synonymous with elite
status in other (predominantly highland) groups,
with evidence for exchange of artefacts in both
directions. Other than their art (see below), they
are credited with the foundations of writing
systems (the loosely defined Epi-Olmec period,
c. 500 BC), the first use of the zero – so
instrumental in the Maya long count vigesimal
calendrical system – and they also appear to have
been the originators of the famous
Mesoamerican ballgame so prevalent among later
cultures in the region.
The art form for which the Olmecs are best
known, the monumental stone heads weighing
up to forty tons, are generally believed to depict
kingly leaders or possibly ancestors. Other
symbols abound in their stylistic repertoire,
including several presumably religious symbols
such as the feathered serpent and the rain spirit,
which persisted in subsequent and related
cultures until the middle ages. Comparatively
little is known of their magico-religious world,
although the clues that we have are tantalising.
Technically, these include all non- secular items,
of which there is a fascinating array. The best-
known forms are jade and ceramic figures and
celts that depict men, animals and fantastical
beasts with both anthropomorphic and
zoomorphic characteristics. Their size and
general appearance suggests that they were
domestically- or institutionally-based totems or
divinities. The quality of production is
astonishing, particularly if one considers the
technology available, the early date of the pieces,
and the dearth of earlier works upon which the
Olmec sculptors could draw. Some pieces are
highly stylised, while others demonstrate striking
naturalism with deliberate expressionist
interpretation of some facial features (notably
up- turned mouths and slit eyes) that can be
clearly seen in the current mask.
This mask touches and exhilarates centers of life
beyond our present reality. It serves as a means
of transforming the ordinary to the
extraordinary, the natural to the supernatural.
The mask has always been used as a ritual agent
of transformation in Mesoamerica. The ritual
wearer of this mask, the shaman, not only
represented the god; he was the god. He
manifested the life force. Through that ritual
transformation joining the worlds of spirit and
nature, man and god fused in the zone of
mysterious transition marked by the mask itself.
This mask is the seat of the soul, where the
outer and inner worlds meet. We are left to
ponder over the mysteries of the universe hidden
behind this mask, and the awakened insights it
has brought to our own inner spirits.
The accomplished lapidary techniques and
symbolic features that occur in this outstanding
work of art were emulated by all the coexisting
village cultures. The symbolic mask,
transformation, ritual, art styles and belief
structures crystallized first in the Olmec culture.
These elementary ideas diffused to all of the high
cultures of Mesoamerica creating one great
mythological tradition. It is a mythological
tradition rich in the all-encompassing essential
order of the cosmos and expressive of the divine
essence. This is the life force itself which is
clearly manifested in this mask and in reality
determined by one's perception of the world.
- (PF.3142)
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