The Mystery of the Olmec Jade or Stone Figurine

The Mystery of the Olmec 

Jade or Stone Figurine

These figures often depict human figures and supernatural beings combining human features with those of jaguars eagles and snakes However these figures were also made of terracotta although these figures are often more fragile and only partial remains The Olmec were the first Pan-Mesoamerican artistic group These stones ranged in color from white dark green and dark brown Their art including sculptures greatly influenced later cultures such as the Maya and Aztecs These figures were also made of terracotta although these figures are often more fragile and only partial remains Most figures are simple in design often nude or lightly clothed and made of terracotta 

These ceramic statues are easily recognizable by their chubby child-like faces drooping mouths and swollen slit-like eyes Their heads are slightly pear-shaped and popular due to their rarity and association with life and purity Various hard stones were also used to create unique small sculptures The Olmec's expertise in working with hard stones demonstrates their high skill and dedication to the artistic traditions and symbolism of stone The Olmec are renowned for their compact three-dimensional shapes and intricate surface details

An Epi-Olmec Late Formative Period Greenstone Bench Figure / Greenstone, Late Formative

5th-2nd Century B.C.E.

their mastery of hard stone carving These statues are commonly found in household rubbish fragments of ancient construction materials and outside the Olmec heartland in graveyards However many Olmec-style statues retain the distinctive characteristics and motifs of Olmec culture although it is unclear whether the Olmecs held sway outside their territory Many Olmec-style statues particularly those labeled as Las Bocas or Xochipala-style were reclaimed by looters and thus have no provenance They are more neutrally known as hybrid humans

A Fine Olmec Middle Formative Period Jade Figure Carrying Sack / Jade, Middle Formative
10th-5th Century B.C.E. From the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

The so-called jaguar man motif appears in a wide variety of Olmec art from the smallest jadeite to the largest basalt statues This motif can be found on Celtic offering axes masks and tall human sculptures Another common type of Olmec figure is the squat figure with a slender torso and a large oval head Many other Olmec figures combine human and animal features although these figures are generally referred to as "transformed figures They appear in a wide variety of Olmec art From the smallest jade to the largest basalt statues and human sculptures