In 1938 the respected Yale archaeologist Michael Coe reports that “there was strongly grounded suspicions that an entirely new civilization, somehow related to the Maya but different from it, and of an unknown age, was to be discovered in the jungle strongholds of the southern Gulf Coast plain." Coe’s theory was in fact true; this mysterious civilization was that of the Olmec people. The Olmec civilization is considered to be the mother of all Mesoamerican cultures. They arose around 1600bce. and disappeared around 400bce.
The Olmec society still holds a large cloud of mystery over modern day archaeology. One reason behind this fact is the discovery that many materials used in the Olmec society were imported from elsewhere. "Everything at La Venta is exotic," reports Coe "in the sense that it was brought from somewhere else. Even the brightly colored clays had been specially selected and brought to the island, for they are not indigenous. Likewise, the jade and serpentine (ton after ton of the latter) came from a distant and as yet unknown source." Obsidian was yet another material that the Olmecs used to perfection but was imported from an unknown source. Perhaps the most fascinating imported material was that of the gigantic basaltic stones. For these massive stones would be carved down to create some of the Olmec’s most prized artworks; the Colossal Olmec Heads.
As I turned the corner in the basement of the De Young Museum I stared down a long dark corridor and at the other end a gigantic head was staring right back. The De Young Museum was fortunate enough to incorporate two of the seventeen known Olmec Heads into their exhibit. As I approached the massive head sculpture I stood in awe at the sheer magnitude and presence it immediately demanded. The head had a large flat, broad nose and thick lips and a seemingly expressionless face. The head was adorned with a large round helmet and it was adorned with various jewelry and materials. If I had not known that the exhibit was of the Olmec people I would have guessed the head was of Mesoamerican descent. To me it was a large sculpture that resembled that of the Mayan’s or Aztec’s artworks. This is probably why the Olmec’s are considered the mother civilization to both ancient cultures. As I strolled through the halls of the exhibit I was witness to many other Olmec artworks. I saw an antique jar that resembled a large lizard or possibly a dragon. The head and tail of the creature were the handles of the jar. I also saw various statues carved from what seemed to be different material than the basaltic heads. Many of these statues were carved with the same flat, broad nose, thick lips, and expressionless face as that of the colossal heads. However, not all the statues shared the same physical appearances. But by far the most dominating display of the Olmec society was that of the giant Olmec heads. In our age of Skyscrapers these heads may not seem that large but compared to ancient times they must have been ten times as colossal. I believe that all the hundreds of other Olmec artworks in the exhibit could have been stuffed to fit inside one of the gigantic heads. I believe that the museum was trying to exhibit the ancient yet sophisticated artwork of these people. Expertly crafted yet each creation was that of the natural world. The entire exhibit screamed “jungle peoples.”
Many theories surround the shroud of mystery that we call the Olmec people. Due to the recurring theme of flat, broad nosed and thick lipped sculptures in this society some believe that these people must have been migrants and not native to the lands. One theory believes that the Olmec’s were originally Africans. Egyptians had built large barges almost 1500 years earlier that could successfully navigate the sometimes rough waters of the Nile. Also if a bottle was dropped into the ocean off the coast of east Africa it could more than likely end up on the western coast of Central America. So if Africans could construct a vessel capable of surviving the Atlantic Ocean they would essentially need no navigational tools for the voyage since the current brings them directly to Mesoamerica. But even with all this speculation most modern day scholars dismiss this theory. A more excepted theory is that the ancestors of the Olmecs migrated from Asian during the last ice age around twenty-five thousand years ago. They crossed the land bride of the Bering Strait and traveled down the western coast of North America into the Mexican “heartland.”
Another more accepted theory is that each of seventeen discovered heads represents an Olmec ruler. Each head is slightly different in facial structure (all still retaining the broad nose, thick lips) than the other. Each head is also adorned with a rounded helmet with sometimes lavish decorations. A common speculator could easily assume it to be a crown of a ruler or helmet used in war. One leading theory in the scholarly world states that these helmets are helmets used in the ancient Mesoamerican ballgame. This theory is not at all farfetched because the ballgame of Central America is so prevalent among other ancient societies such as the Aztecs and Mayans. Also in the Nahuatl language of the ancient Aztecs the word Olmec means “rubber people.”
All in all the colossal basalt heads are a gigantic testament to the Olmec civilization however, as an audience in San Francisco, thousands of miles away from the original resting place of the sculptures, we receive only a fraction of the heads’ true aura. While describing an artworks “aura” Walter Benjamin states “…the desire of contemporary masses to bring things “closer” spatially and humanly, which is just as ardent as their bent toward overcoming the uniqueness of every reality by accepting its reproduction.” We see the colossal heads, but we do not see them in the same fashion that the Olmec people did. It is merely a reproduction of the original. Benjamin also states, “Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be.” We were not witness to the heads unearthing in the various Olmec sites deep within the jungles of Central America. We witness them in a controlled exhibition. The exhibition at De Young is merely displaying the artwork of yet another ancient peoples. One of the world’s many civilizations. The artworks may not be the same as an Egyptian exhibition at De Young by the process of displaying them is quite the same; glass cases, paragraphs underneath each work explaining the art, and of course gallery lighting. Although we see the same artworks we view them on a completely different universal plane. The Olmecs were a society deeply entrenched in the jungle setting. The heads in their time could have been worshipped or even used in ceremonies. Or possibly used for something completely different. Archaeologists have yet another perception of these artworks. In their minds it is yet another piece of the gigantic puzzle of civilization.
Even photography of the Olmec excavations is creating another plane on which to perceive the artwork and of course is merely a reproduction of the original. When viewing the photograph can you fully perceive the size and enormity of the colossal basaltic head? Can one feel the intense humidity of the jungle? Is one able to look around the excavation site and picture the Olmec structures of ancient times? The answer to all of these questions in ‘no.’ At this point in time it is impossible to fully capture the ‘aura’ and originality of the Olmec heads. We may perceive the Olmec heads in person or in photographs but our perception is skewed not only by the environment surrounding us, but also by thousands of years of ever evolving society.
The Olmec society still holds a large cloud of mystery over modern day archaeology. One reason behind this fact is the discovery that many materials used in the Olmec society were imported from elsewhere. "Everything at La Venta is exotic," reports Coe "in the sense that it was brought from somewhere else. Even the brightly colored clays had been specially selected and brought to the island, for they are not indigenous. Likewise, the jade and serpentine (ton after ton of the latter) came from a distant and as yet unknown source." Obsidian was yet another material that the Olmecs used to perfection but was imported from an unknown source. Perhaps the most fascinating imported material was that of the gigantic basaltic stones. For these massive stones would be carved down to create some of the Olmec’s most prized artworks; the Colossal Olmec Heads.
As I turned the corner in the basement of the De Young Museum I stared down a long dark corridor and at the other end a gigantic head was staring right back. The De Young Museum was fortunate enough to incorporate two of the seventeen known Olmec Heads into their exhibit. As I approached the massive head sculpture I stood in awe at the sheer magnitude and presence it immediately demanded. The head had a large flat, broad nose and thick lips and a seemingly expressionless face. The head was adorned with a large round helmet and it was adorned with various jewelry and materials. If I had not known that the exhibit was of the Olmec people I would have guessed the head was of Mesoamerican descent. To me it was a large sculpture that resembled that of the Mayan’s or Aztec’s artworks. This is probably why the Olmec’s are considered the mother civilization to both ancient cultures. As I strolled through the halls of the exhibit I was witness to many other Olmec artworks. I saw an antique jar that resembled a large lizard or possibly a dragon. The head and tail of the creature were the handles of the jar. I also saw various statues carved from what seemed to be different material than the basaltic heads. Many of these statues were carved with the same flat, broad nose, thick lips, and expressionless face as that of the colossal heads. However, not all the statues shared the same physical appearances. But by far the most dominating display of the Olmec society was that of the giant Olmec heads. In our age of Skyscrapers these heads may not seem that large but compared to ancient times they must have been ten times as colossal. I believe that all the hundreds of other Olmec artworks in the exhibit could have been stuffed to fit inside one of the gigantic heads. I believe that the museum was trying to exhibit the ancient yet sophisticated artwork of these people. Expertly crafted yet each creation was that of the natural world. The entire exhibit screamed “jungle peoples.”
Many theories surround the shroud of mystery that we call the Olmec people. Due to the recurring theme of flat, broad nosed and thick lipped sculptures in this society some believe that these people must have been migrants and not native to the lands. One theory believes that the Olmec’s were originally Africans. Egyptians had built large barges almost 1500 years earlier that could successfully navigate the sometimes rough waters of the Nile. Also if a bottle was dropped into the ocean off the coast of east Africa it could more than likely end up on the western coast of Central America. So if Africans could construct a vessel capable of surviving the Atlantic Ocean they would essentially need no navigational tools for the voyage since the current brings them directly to Mesoamerica. But even with all this speculation most modern day scholars dismiss this theory. A more excepted theory is that the ancestors of the Olmecs migrated from Asian during the last ice age around twenty-five thousand years ago. They crossed the land bride of the Bering Strait and traveled down the western coast of North America into the Mexican “heartland.”
Another more accepted theory is that each of seventeen discovered heads represents an Olmec ruler. Each head is slightly different in facial structure (all still retaining the broad nose, thick lips) than the other. Each head is also adorned with a rounded helmet with sometimes lavish decorations. A common speculator could easily assume it to be a crown of a ruler or helmet used in war. One leading theory in the scholarly world states that these helmets are helmets used in the ancient Mesoamerican ballgame. This theory is not at all farfetched because the ballgame of Central America is so prevalent among other ancient societies such as the Aztecs and Mayans. Also in the Nahuatl language of the ancient Aztecs the word Olmec means “rubber people.”
All in all the colossal basalt heads are a gigantic testament to the Olmec civilization however, as an audience in San Francisco, thousands of miles away from the original resting place of the sculptures, we receive only a fraction of the heads’ true aura. While describing an artworks “aura” Walter Benjamin states “…the desire of contemporary masses to bring things “closer” spatially and humanly, which is just as ardent as their bent toward overcoming the uniqueness of every reality by accepting its reproduction.” We see the colossal heads, but we do not see them in the same fashion that the Olmec people did. It is merely a reproduction of the original. Benjamin also states, “Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be.” We were not witness to the heads unearthing in the various Olmec sites deep within the jungles of Central America. We witness them in a controlled exhibition. The exhibition at De Young is merely displaying the artwork of yet another ancient peoples. One of the world’s many civilizations. The artworks may not be the same as an Egyptian exhibition at De Young by the process of displaying them is quite the same; glass cases, paragraphs underneath each work explaining the art, and of course gallery lighting. Although we see the same artworks we view them on a completely different universal plane. The Olmecs were a society deeply entrenched in the jungle setting. The heads in their time could have been worshipped or even used in ceremonies. Or possibly used for something completely different. Archaeologists have yet another perception of these artworks. In their minds it is yet another piece of the gigantic puzzle of civilization.
Even photography of the Olmec excavations is creating another plane on which to perceive the artwork and of course is merely a reproduction of the original. When viewing the photograph can you fully perceive the size and enormity of the colossal basaltic head? Can one feel the intense humidity of the jungle? Is one able to look around the excavation site and picture the Olmec structures of ancient times? The answer to all of these questions in ‘no.’ At this point in time it is impossible to fully capture the ‘aura’ and originality of the Olmec heads. We may perceive the Olmec heads in person or in photographs but our perception is skewed not only by the environment surrounding us, but also by thousands of years of ever evolving society.
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