Another Mystery of Mesoamerica: The Enigma of the Olmecs

» JohnDTP - Olmec Stratification

Ms O'Halleran discusses the possibilities and nature of class stratification among the Olmecs. I am interested if anyone has info or a source for:
1. Presence or absence of slavery among the Olmecs;
2. Relationship between political and religious classes.

Given the investment of resources in monumental architecture and sculpture one might suppose that slave labor was used. If not, then I wonder why the Olmecs would have developed differently in this respect from Mediterranean cultures.

Religious ritual and shamanism seem to have occupied an important place in Olmec culture. Is there any evidence of whether it was a theocracy. If the political elite were not priests, then I wonder what evidence exists of the nature of the relationship between the two classes.

-- posted by JohnDTP

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» Marella - Olmecs & Rapa Nui

It would be HIGHLY unlikely for the Olmecs and the Rapa Nui people to have had any contact. The Olmecs lived on the Mexican Gulf coast, and Easter Island is 1000 miles plus out in the Pacific. Also, you've got to overcome the timeframe differences and the fact that the statues are nothing alike physically nor did they serve the same social purpose.

-- posted by Marella

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» Marella - Well, here's my opinion

In a way, you're talking to the wrong person. I'd make a HORRIBLE diffusionist.

The main Olmec centers of La Venta, Tres Zapotes, and San Lorenzo were active largely between 1200-400 B.C. They are famous now for their "colossal heads." It has been argued that the heads represent people with African features, but since all Olmec art was highly stylized (even the stuff that may have represented individual leaders), I see no evidence in the facial features themselves to lead me to believe there was an African influence.

Of course, you'd had to figure out how the Iron Age Africans (and sculptors, to boot) got to Mexico...just for starters.

To quote Muriel Porter Weaver's book, _Aztec, Maya and their Precedessors_, "The heads are complete monuments in themselves and had no bodies . . . The tallest heads measure 3m in height and weigh up to 20 tons. They are believed to be actual portraits of Olmec leaders distinguished by the headgear."

The Rapa Nui people were constructing moai between A.D. 1400-1600. The moai stand on "ahu," flat slabs of stone, and had additional stones placed on top of their heads and, when finished, had eyes inlaid in them. They seem to represent various lineage-groups, and may have mediated between these groups, their chiefs, and the gods. All of them have their backs to the sea and face the extinct volcano Rano Raraku.

Personally, I feel that people are just darn clever. There's no reason to suppose the Olmecs couldn't get the idea of carving colossal heads all by themselves, and that goes for the Rapa Nui islanders and their moai as well. Besides, if you want to tie these two traditions together, not only do you have to figure out how to bridge fantastic distances (for people without airplanes), but also the 1800 year difference between the waning of Olmec civilization and the construction of the moai.

-- posted by Marella

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