Who were the OLMEC?

A rainy day at the end of winter, with hardly a hint of spring in the air, is a great time to visit a museum. In this case, a world class museum with a world class exhibition from Mexico. The exhibition is entitled "Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico". It can be found in the large gallery at theDe Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. The title is enough to warrant intense curiosity from all Californians. The display of more than 150 works of art, includes massive sculptures unearthed in mesoamerica during the early 20th century. Most of the objects were cut from volcanic material located in the hills west of Veracruz. A video in the gallery describes possible methods used by the carvers to carry the raw material about 20 kilometers to their resting sites on the plain.

These massive heads weighed more than 5 tons! Just moving them to San Francisco from Mexico was a major effort- but well worth it. Perhaps one can recall the monoliths of Easter Island, or Stonehenge, or carvings from the Upper Nile River valley. These carvings are of similar vintage, having been dated almost four millenia ago. They were made without the aid of metal tools, meaning they were ground and polished using only paste of crushed rock and mud or other binder- a very laborious process! The sculptures included human heads and figures, zoomorphic figures that often included the head of the jaguar, a constant theme of the Olmec culture, reflecting the reverence held of the jungle cat common to their environment.
Jadeite was another material used as matter for carving and can be found among many of the smaller objects on display. Many of the small objects were displayed in positions as they were discovered in the field. Anthropologists believe that these small sculptures were religious offerings to various deities of the culture.
Most of the objects on display were provided with a pedestal positioned so a 360 degree view was possible to facilitate observation and inspection of incised carving on the rear and sides of the pieces. The focused lighting made close inspections easy for viewers.
Many in the groups of visitors appeared to be from Latin America. I'm sure they felt a tinge of pride at the handiwork of these ancient sculptors and artisans.
The exhibit continues until May 8th. Well worth the effort.