San Martín Pajapan Monument 1 is a large

Olmec The Olmecs () or Olmec were an early known major Mesoamerican civilization, flourishing in the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco from roughly 1200 to 400 Before the Common Era, BCE during Mesoamerica's Mesoamerican chronolog ...

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

sculpture found on top of the San Martin Pajapan volcano, in the Tuxtla Mountains of the

Mexican state A Mexican State (), officially the Free and Sovereign State (), is a constituent federative entity of Mexico according to the Constitution of Mexico. Currently there are 31 states, each with its own constitution, government, state governor, a ...

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

. It is notable for its original location and its Olmec iconography.

Description

Likely carved during the Early Formative period, before 1000 BCE, the 1.4 m (5.5 ft) tall statue shows a crouching young lord. Caught in the act of raising a large ceremonial bar, his right hand is under one end and his left over the other end. This pose, nearly identical to that of the "twins" at

El Azuzul El Azuzul is an Olmec archaeological site in Veracruz, Mexico, a few kilometers south of the San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán complex and generally considered contemporary with it (perhaps 1100 to 800 BCE). Named for the ranch on which it is located, ...

, is thought to represent a ruler or shaman (or both) shown in the ritual act of raising the

Mesoamerican world tree World trees are a prevalent motif occurring in the mythical cosmologies, creation accounts, and iconographies of the pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica. In the Mesoamerican context, world trees embodied the four cardinal directions, which a ...

axis mundi In astronomy, is the Latin term for the axis of Earth between the celestial poles. In a geocentric coordinate system, this is the axis of rotation of the celestial sphere. Consequently, in ancient Greco-Roman astronomy, the is the axis of ...

, an act that establishes the center of the world and connects the earthly plane with the worlds above and below. The plump face is proto-typically Olmec, with "no attempt to represent individuality". The young lord wears a huge boxy headdress, the front of which is covered with what is apparently a mask. The mask shows the cleft head, the almond eyes, and the downturned mouth characteristic of the

Olmec were-jaguar The werejaguar was both an Olmec motif and a supernatural entity, perhaps a deity. The werejaguar motif is characterized by almond-shaped eyes, a downturned open mouth, and a cleft head. It appears widely in the Olmec archaeological record, and ...

supernatural, implying that the human had become, or was acting under the authority and/or the protection of, the supernatural. Plumes flow backward along the sides of the headdress. From its top, vegetation – perhaps

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

– is sprouting. This were-jaguar mask is identified with the Olmec rain god, and the iconography and the location of the statue reflect the widespread

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

n belief in mountaintops as the dwelling of rain gods.

Archaeological discovery

The sculpture was first identified by surveyor Ismael Loya in 1897 and re-discovered by

Frans Blom Frans Blom (9 August 1893 – 23 June 1963) was a Danish explorer and archaeologist. He was most associated with his research of the Maya civilization of Mexico and Central America. Biography Frans Ferdinand Blom was born in Copenhagen, ...

and Oliver La Farge in their expedition of 1925. Located on a platform or "level" in the saddle between the two highest peaks of volcano's crater rim, the statue was found surrounded by broken offering vessels, jade offerings, and numerous other objects, dating from ancient times to the 20th century, indicating it had been an object of veneration for millennia. These offerings and the statue itself served to identify the San Martin Pajapan mountaintop as a sacred landscape. Although well preserved, the face had been particularly ravaged, perhaps intentionally. The statue was further damaged in 1897, when Loya broke off part of the arms stealing it. The statue, except for the face, has since largely been restored. In 1929, Marshall Seville, from the Museum of the American Indian in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, associated the statue with other unattributed artifacts in various collections, based on stylistic similarities and a common iconography. Since it was unlikely the statue had been moved far since its original site, Seville proposed that this "Olmec" artistic style (as he referred to it) originated in southern Veracruz.Coe, p. 42. The monument is on display at the

Xalapa Museum of Anthropology The Xalapa Museum of Anthropology (; ''MAX'') is an anthropological museum in the city of Xalapa, capital of the state of Veracruz in eastern Mexico. It is known for its collection of artifacts from Mesoamerican Gulf Coast cultures such as the ...

Notes

References

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External links

Excerpts from Blom & LaFarge's ''Tribes and Temples''
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Mesoweb
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Martin Pajapan Monument 1 Olmec art Mesoamerican artifacts 10th-century BC works 1925 archaeological discoveries