Olmec figurines are archetypical figurines produced by the Formative Period inhabitants of Mesoamerica. While not all of these figurines were produced in the Olmec heartland, they bear the hallmarks and motifs of Olmec culture. While the extent of Olmec control over the areas beyond their heartland is not yet known, Formative Period figurines with Olmec motifs were widespread in the centuries from 1000 to 500 BC, showing a consistency of style and subject throughout nearly all of Mesoamerica.
These figurines are usually found in household refuse, ancient construction fill, and, outside the Olmec heartland, graves.[1][2] However, many Olmec-style figurines, particularly those labelled as Las Bocas- or Xochipala-style, were recovered by looters and are therefore without provenance.
The vast majority of figurines are simple in design, often nude or with a minimum of clothing, and made of local terracotta. Most of these recoveries are mere fragments: a head, arm, torso, or a leg.[3] It is thought, based on wooden busts recovered from the water-logged El Manati site, that figurines were also carved from wood, but, if so, none have survived.
More durable and better known by the general public are those figurines carved, usually with a degree of skill, from jade, serpentine, greenstone, basalt, and other minerals and stones.
^Pool, Christopher A. (Apr 2017). Insoll, Timothy (ed.). "Mesoamerica—Olmec Figurines". The Oxford Handbook of Prehistoric Figurines. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199675616.013.012.
^Cheetham, David (2009). "Early Olmec Figurines from Two Regions: Style as Cultural Imperative" (PDF). University Press of Florida.
Olmecfigurines are archetypical figurines produced by the Formative Period inhabitants of Mesoamerica. While not all of these figurines were produced...
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Olmec artworks The Olmecs (/ˈɒlmɛks, ˈoʊl-/) were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization. Following a progressive development in Soconusco...
the Olmec people significantly influenced the social development and mythological world view of Mesoamerica. Scholars have seen echoes of Olmec supernatural...
Mesopotamia of about 1950 BC. In Mesoamerica, the great majority of Olmecfigurines were in terracotta. Many ushabti mortuary statuettes were also made...
the Olmec governing elite. The Olmec are also known for their small carvings made of jade and other greenstones. So many of the Olmecfigurines and sculptures...
dominated by the Popolocas. The central part of the state was dominated by the Olmec-Xicalancas and Nahuas, with strong cultural links to the Toltec-based culture...
"altars", are to be found only within the heartland, many Olmec-style artifacts, designs, figurines, monuments, and motifs can be found in the archaeological...
has become attached, often erroneously, to a wide-ranging type of Olmec-style figurines and pottery. The Las Bocas site, part of the Balsas River basin...
representations of the Olmec werejaguar supernatural appear in a wide variety of stonework, from small greenstone figurines (see this 9 cm figurine) to basalt statues...
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near their edges and were probably worn as chest ornaments since many Olmecfigurines depict such mirrors being worn. The concave lenses of some of these...
human figurines rendered in a somewhat stylized manner. Clay masks and other exotic ritual objects. Elaborate burials with grave offerings. Olmec-style...
6th century; haniwa (terracotta tomb figurine); height: 130.5 cm; Tokyo National Museum (Japan) The ancient Olmec "Bird Vessel" and bowl, both ceramic...
lowlands in the ancient Olmec heartland on the southeastern coast of Mexico. The block was found amidst ceramic shards and clay figurines and from these the...
Germany. The earliest of these, the Venus figurine known as the Venus of Hohle Fels and the Lion-man figurine, date to some 40,000 years ago. Further depictional...
"contrived" Olmec art. Despite what Griffin describes as a "pure Olmec stratum", others have found few similarities between Xochipala figurines and Olmec art...
quality pottery pieces, many featuring Olmec iconography, and its figurines, including Olmec-style baby-face figurines. Much else, however, seems to be in...
Estado de Guerrero. pp. 83–103. OCLC 17475087. Olmec Mesoamerica Mesoamerican chronology Olmecfigurine Cascajal block Zohapilco. Cinco milenios de ocupación...
La Venta is a pre-Columbian archaeological site of the Olmec civilization located in the present-day Mexican state of Tabasco. Some of the artifacts have...
rarity and value among pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Olmec, the Maya, and the various groups in the Valley of Mexico. Although jade...
technologically relevant. Among the earliest complex civilizations was the Olmec culture, which inhabited the Gulf Coast of Mexico and extended inland and...