Carved into limestone, the two reliefs depict rulers from the ancient Olmec civilization in what is now Mexico.Image credit: Courtesy INAH Tabasco
Posted on 08/14/2022 2:28:33 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Archaeologists in Mexico have uncovered two Olmec reliefs chiseled into large, circular stones that are thought to depict local rulers performing ritual contortion.
The twin pieces were found in Tenosique, a town located in the state of Tabasco, near Mexico's southern tip, and are believed to feature rulers from the ancient Olmec civilization, whose name comes from the Aztec (Nahuatl) word "Ōlmēcatl," which means "rubber people." The Olmec reigned between 1200 B.C. to 400 B.C. and are considered the first elaborate pre-Hispanic civilization in Mesoamerica. Today, they're best known for their sculptures of colossal heads.
Constructed of limestone, the massive 3D sculptures measure approximately 4.5 feet (1.4 meters) in diameter and weigh 1,543 pounds (700 kilograms) each. The two carved monuments portray the faces of local rulers with their "grumpy mouth[s]" agape and their arms crossed, according to a translated statement. Each piece is punctuated by footprints, a diadem, corncobs, an Olmec cross and glyphs of jaguars, with the leaders' open mouths alluding to the "roar of the jaguar."
Researchers from the Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico, part of the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) Tabasco Center, the organization that recovered the pieces, noted that what's most striking about the reliefs is the positioning of the figures' mouths, since they're carved as though they're "ajaw." This signals to archaeologists that the portraits, which date to between 900 B.C and 400 B.C., were that of important figureheads within the Olmec community.
It's possible that this style of Olmec carving evolved into the later Maya ajaw altars...
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Carved into limestone, the two reliefs depict rulers from the ancient Olmec civilization in what is now Mexico.Image credit: Courtesy INAH Tabasco
Hillary and Pelosi. Just goes to show how old they really are!!!.
I was thinking Liz Cheney. (I don’t think I’ve ever seen that creature genuinely smile.)
I’m just glad that reply had no images... and didn’t mention the dreaded Helen...
Mom was right!
Yup, it froze that way. Even in the tropics!
Heh, well played!
Cartoonists?
It’s actually hard to make your face do that!
Some Afrocentrists claim that the Olmec heads show Black African features meaning that Africans reached prehistoric Mexico. They don’t explain the lack of any other evidence for African presence in Mexico or anywhere else in the New World. The Cape Verde Islands were uninhabited when the Portuguese discovered them. Madagascar was first colonized by people from what is now Indonesia. Ancient Africans don’t appear to have been big on ocean voyages.
African coastline is relatively smooth with few geological formations generally understood to be natural harbors.
I can see stuff like this just by walking into ROSS.
The place has become South America North.
I can’t figure out how archaeologists figure this stuff out.
After Mayan writing was cracked it was probably only a matter of time before Olmec followed.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+mayan+was+deciphered
Unlike today.....................
https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/crime/brawl-on-carnival-cruise-ship-based-in-jacksonville/77-2757e605-c4f0-40b7-9dad-8709578a2f90
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