Friday, November 24, 2017

Possible sacred maize object found in stream at Olmec site

The Olmec Maize God - The University of Chicago Press: Journals

www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/10.1086/RESvn1ms20166943

by K Taube - ‎1996 - ‎Cited by 70 - ‎Related articles

The Olmec Maize God. The face of corn in Formative Mesoamerica. KARL TAUBE. In both ancient and contemporary Mesoamerica, no other foodstuff has had a ..

Ancient Olmec Culture - ThoughtCo

https://www.thoughtco.com › ... › Latin American History › Before Columbus

Mar 6, 2017 - Maize was a staple of the Olmec diet, although it is possible that it was introduced late in the development of their culture. Whenever it was ...

Olmec Civilization - Ancient History Encyclopedia

https://www.ancient.eu/Olmec_Civilization/

Olmec prosperity was initially based on exploiting the fertile and well-watered coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico to grow such crops as corn and beans (often ...

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10 MARCH, 2015 - 21:51 MARK MILLER

Possible sacred maize object found in stream at Olmec site

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Archaeologists have found an artifact made of jadeite at an Olmec site in Mexico that they think represents a cob of corn and that may have been offered to the gods. Corn was a vitally important crop in ancient Mexican and other parts of the Americas, and ancient natives told stories across its broad range.

Archaeologists found a jadeite object possibly in the shape of a corn cob at an ancient Olmec site in the Mexican state of Veracruz. (Photo by Professor Carl Wendt)

Philip Coppens, who writes and speaks on ancient cultures, wrote an article about the importance of maize in pre-Columbian Mexico: “In a 1982 exhibition, the Mexican National Museum of Culture claimed that maize was ‘not domesticated, but created.’ Indeed, maize is accepted as Man’s first, and perhaps his greatest, feat of genetic engineering. So much so, that it is even said to be a gift from the gods. Despite decades of research, there is no known wild ancestor; there is no known way to evolve a non-shattering variant; it is known that maize does not have a method to propagate itself – and thus relies on humans to survive as a species.”

Coppens said people in Mexico were domesticating corn nearly 5,500 years ago as evidenced by archaeological remains of early maize ears found at Guila Naquitz Cave in the Oaxaca Valley, dating back to around 3450 BC.

A diver at the site Arroyo Pesquero in Veracruz State found the jadeite object in a stream. He was working with archaeologists, including Carl Wendt of California State University-Fullerton, who said it may have been the tip of a staff and a symbol of authority. Then, perhaps Olmec people placed it in the stream as an offering to the gods. The time frame would have been 900 to 400 B.C.

An Olmec mask from the same site where the corn cob-like object was found. This mask dates between 900 and 500 BC. (Adrienlenoir photo/ Wikimedia Commons )

Wendt and other scholars on the team published a paper in the journal Ancient Mesoamericaabout the find. “While having practical importance today as a spot to collect fresh water, in Olmec times, the confluence would also have been important for symbolic and cosmological reasons, and an ideal place for a ritual hoard or votive offerings,” they wrote. “Freshwater, so critical to daily life, was relatively scarce in a region of stagnant swamps. It is no wonder that springs and other freshwater sources were sacred places, and sacrificing [objects] at them was an important part of Olmec ritual.”

From the Great Lakes of the U.S. Upper Midwest and southern Canada to Central America, natives told stories about how the gods gave corn to the people.

The Aztecs, who came later and were farther north in Mexico than the Olmecs, had a story about how the gods bestowed corn on the weak, hungry people they’d created. From the article The Discovery of Corn at the website Aztecs at Mexico Lore, which summarizes the ancient story “The Legend of the Suns”:

In the paradise of Tamoanchan, the gods looked at the newly formed, but weak, humans and said to each other, ‘What shall the humans eat? Everyone must look for food for them.’ The red ant brought forth some corn kernels from within the Mountain of Our Sustenance, also known as Tonacatépetl. It offered the corn to the humans and Quetzalcóatl saw this. He asked ‘Where did you get it?’ The ant did not want to say and refused to do so for a long time. Nevertheless, it eventually succumbed to pressure and told Quetzalcóatl that Tonacatépetl contained the corn. Quetzalcóatl then became a black ant and went inside this hill, Mountain of Our Sustenance. He collected some corn and returned to Tamoanchan where the gods chewed on it immediately.
The paste from the chewed corn was then placed on the lips of the humans and they began to stir and become stronger.

The gods Oxomoco and Cipactonal throw lots with grains of corn, Codex Borbonicus ( Mexico Lore )

Another type of corn story comes from the Ojibwa people of southern Canada and the northern United States in the Great Lakes Region. From an article at the online Columbia Undergraduate Journal of Art History :

The book Nanabush and the Mandomin presents Ojibwa children with a brave and compassionate hero that they can identify with. In this adventure, Nanabush, after speaking with his grandmother Nokomis, sets out to meet a brave warrior named Mandomin that his grandmother foresaw in a vision. The purpose of his quest was to help his people in a great way. In order to fulfill this task, Nanabush must wrestle with the great warrior spirit for three days. Nanabush finally defeats Mandomin, after which Mandomin instructs Nanabush not to allow weeds to grow on his grave. Nanabush tends the grave and after a few days a wondrous plant began to grow which would come to be known as sweet corn, a substance to feed the Ojibwa people.

Olmec Writing: The oldest in the Western Hemisphere | JYI – The ...

www.jyi.org/issue/olmec-writing-the-oldest-in-the-western-hemisphere/

Olmec Writing: The oldest in the Western Hemisphere. by: Doshi Ojus Date: February 2007. Insect, dart tip,corn, corn, throne, beetle, shucked corn. Vertical fish ...

Lightning Celts and Corn Fetishes: the Formative Olmec and the ...

www.academia.edu/.../Lightning_Celts_and_Corn_Fetishes_the_Formative_Olmec_an...

STUDIES IN THE HISTORY OF ART .58- Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts Symposium Papers XXXV Olmec Art and Archaeology in Mesoamerica ...

The mysterious civilization of the Olmecs

http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-ancient-places-americas/mysterious-civilization-olmecs-002540

The mysterious civilization of the Olmecs

An Olmec style face adorns the side of the Mask Temple at the Mayan site of Lamanai in Belize

7 JANUARY, 2015 - 11:29 DHWTY

The mysterious civilization of the Olmecs

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Mexico is perhaps most well-known, archaeologically speaking, as the home of the Aztec civilization. Yet, before the arrival of the Aztecs, another sophisticated civilization, the Olmecs, ruled the region for almost 1000 years. Although pre-Olmec cultures had already existed in the region, the Olmecs have been called the cultura madre , meaning the ‘mother culture’, of Central America. In other words, many of the distinctive features of later Central American civilizations can be traced to the Olmecs. So, who were the Olmecs, and what was their culture like?

The Olmec civilization flourished roughly between 1200 BC and 400 BC, an era commonly known as Central America’s Formative Period. Sites containing traces of the Olmec civilization are found mainly on the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, specifically in the states of Veracruz and Tabasco. Although the Olmecs did have a system of writing, only few of their inscriptions are available to archaeologists at present. Moreover, there is not enough continuous Olmec script for archaeologist to decipher the language. As a result, much of what we know about the Olmec civilization is dependent on the archaeological evidence.

The Olmec/Zapotec center, Monte Alban, near the city of Oaxaca, Mexico

The Olmec/Zapotec center, Monte Albán, near the city of Oaxaca, Mexico. Source: BigStockPhoto

For a start, the Olmecs left behind much of their artwork. The most famous of these are arguably the so-called ‘colossal heads’. These representations of human heads are carved from basalt boulders, and at present, at least seventeen of such objects have been found. The colossal heads measure between one and three metres in height, and seem to represent a common subject, i.e. mature men with fleshy cheeks, flat noses, and slightly crossed eyes. Incidentally, such physical features are still common amongst the people of Veracruz and Tabasco, indicating the colossal heads may be representations of the Olmecs themselves. Given the amount of resources needed to produce such objects, it may be speculated that these heads depict the Olmec elites or rulers, and were used as a symbol of power, perhaps like the colossal heads of Jayavarman VII at Angkor Thom in Cambodia.

Colossal stone head of the Olmecs. Source: BigStockPhoto

In addition, the Olmecs also produced miniature versions of these giant heads. One such object is a ‘stone mask’ in the British Museum. In contrast to the colossal heads, this mask, which is made of serpentine, is only 13 cm high. This mask has similar facial features to the colossal heads.

Although such features can be seen in the descendants of the Olmecs, some scholars have speculated that the mask represented an African, Chinese or even a Mediterranean face. The mask also has four holes on its front, speculated to represent the four cardinal points of the compass. As the Olmec ruler was believed to be the most important axis in the world centre, it has been suggested that the mask represented an Olmec ruler. Furthermore, there are numerous circular holes on the face, indicating that face piercings and plugs were used by the Olmecs. Due to the lack of Olmec skeletons (they have been dissolved by the acidic soil of the rainforest), this mask may be the closest we can get to seeing what the Olmecs looked like.

Olmec c rawling baby sculpture (1200-900 BC), Las Bocas, Mexico. ( Wikimedia Commons )

By 400 B.C., the Olmecs mysteriously vanished, the cause of which is still unknown. Although the Olmecs were only rediscovered by archaeologists relatively recently, i.e. after the Second World War, they were by no means a forgotten civilization. After all, the word Olmec itself (meaning ‘rubber people’) can be found in the Aztec language. It seems that the ‘Mesoamerican ballgame’, which was observed by the Spanish when they encountered the Aztecs, was invented by the Olmecs. As this game involved the use of a rubber ball, this may be the reason why the Olmecs were named as such by the Aztecs. This ballgame and several other features of Olmec civilization may be found in subsequent Central American civilizations. Thus, the Olmecs had a considerable amount of influence on these later cultures. As so little is known about the Olmecs today, it would require much more work and research to gain a greater understanding and appreciation of their importance to succeeding Central American societies.

Artist’s depiction of a Mesoamerican ball game ( Image source )

Featured image: An Olmec style face adorns the side of the Mask Temple at the Mayan site of Lamanai in Belize. Source: BigStockPhoto

References

Cartwright, M., 2013. Olmec Civilization. [Online]
Available at: http://www.ancient.eu/Olmec_Civilization/

Christ And Buddha: How Can You Explain the Uncanny Similarities?

http://www.ancient-origins.net/human-origins-religions/christ-and-buddha-how-can-you-explain-uncanny-similarities-008377

8 JULY, 2017 - 18:54 JIM WILLIS

The Christ And The Buddha: How Can You Explain the Uncanny Similarities?

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Buddhism and Christianity arose independently of each other, separated as they were by almost 3,000 miles and at least 500 years. In terms of religious belief systems they are even farther apart. Many Buddhists, for instance, don't believe in a supreme being. Christianity is based on such a belief. The Buddha was careful to reject any efforts to label him a deity. Christ claimed to be one with God. The Buddha taught his followers to find the Middle Way between poles of opposites such as good and evil. Christ encouraged his disciples to choose the good and reject the evil.

But despite the differences there exists an uncanny similarity in how an underlying mythology shaped the stories of the founders of these two world religions. We can't help but wonder if writers shaped their origin story to fit a mythological pattern of some kind. The principle texts of both religions were written down only after decades, and in some cases centuries, had passed since the founder's death, leaving plenty of time to organize oral tradition into familiar and acceptable frameworks. How else can we explain such an uncanny similarity?

Both Left Home & Faced Down Evil

Consider the following:

Both Siddhartha Gautama, who was to become the Buddha, and Jesus of Nazareth, who was to become the Christ, are said to have left their homes in the prime of their lives, seeking truths that exist beyond the scope of most people's interest. Both were eventually led into a wilderness where, alone, they faced the devil and his traditional three temptations.

Scene of the Buddha's Great Departure from palatial life. Gandahara 1-2nd century. Guimet Museum. Personal photograph 2005. This scene depicts the "Great Departure" predestined being, he appears here surrounded by a halo, and accompanied by numerous guards, mithuna loving couples, and devata, come to pay homage. ( CC BY-SA 3.0 )

Siddhartha sat beneath the Bo tree where Mara, an old Hindu god and devil figure, confronted him.

Mara depicted in the Burmese style, attempting to tempt Buddha ( CC BY-SA 3.0 )

Jesus, in the wilderness, faced Satan, the fallen angel formerly known as Lucifer.

Lucifer depicted in The Temptation of Christ, by Ary Scheffer, 1854. ( Public Domain )

It’s believed that both were tempted by the cravings of the flesh, the spirit, and worldly pride. Both emerged from that experience with a new teaching and immediately proclaimed their insights.

Both Spread Teachings

The Buddha's first order of business was to deliver the famous Deer Park Discourse . Here he put forth the teaching that was to become the bedrock of Buddhism: The Four Noble Truths .

The Buddha teaching the Four Noble Truths. Sanskrit manuscript. Nālandā, Bihar, India. ( Public Domain )

Jesus preached what has come to be known as the Sermon on the Mount , wherein he outlined, in the Beatitudes, a model for Christian life. Both sermons detailed, in systematic fashion, how followers were to live out the precepts of the founders.

Both Betrayed!

Both then selected a group of twelve disciples—one of whom was to later become a betrayer. Although the Buddha lived on into old life, both men eventually died at the hands of another man, who they each forgave before succumbing to death.

Kiss of Judas (1304–06), fresco by Giotto, Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy ( Public Domain )

Even the final words of the Buddha are echoed by the proclamations of Christianity.

The Buddha said, "Be ye lamps unto yourselves." Jesus said almost the same thing: "Ye are the light of the world."

The Buddha declared all matter in this world to be transitory. Jesus said: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away."

The Buddha's last words are said to be, "Work out your own salvation with diligence." The Apostle Paul, speaking for Jesus, said, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

Both Founders Had Priesthoods and Symbolic Postures

The traditions that followed both men are equally interesting. Both developed a system of priesthood, complete with rules and regulations for men who ascended to positions of leadership.

how ancient maya agronomists changed the modern world

28 AUGUST, 2017 - 19:10 JAMES O KON

Remembering the Future: How Ancient Maya Agronomists Changed the Modern World

READ MOREABOUT REMEMBERING THE FUTURE: HOW ANCIENT MAYA AGRONOMISTS CHANGED THE MODERN WORLD

http://www.ancient-origins.net/opinion-guest-authors/remembering-future-how-ancient-maya-agronomists-changed-modern-world-008695

28 AUGUST, 2017 - 19:10 JAMES O KON

Remembering the Future: How Ancient Maya Agronomists Changed the Modern World

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The Maya were the longest-lived civilization in history. Their history lasted for 3,500 years and traced parallel time lines with other ancient civilizations. They began their civilization in 2500 BC in parallel with the ancient Sumerians and it terminated in 900 AD, during the reign of Emperor

Charlemagne, but their histories did not converge because the Maya and other world civilizations did not realize that each other existed. The Maya were the phantoms of history.

Experts of Agronomy

They developed advanced sciences in astronomy, mathematics and one of the five original written languages in the world. They constructed grand high-rise cities replete with otherworldly art and architecture. But, their greatest science was agronomy. They were the greatest agronomists in world history. They developed cultivars that nourished the Maya people, enabling their rapid growth into a society of profound thinkers.

For more than 8000 years Maya agronomists created cultivars or plant varieties of unequaled quality by combining science with selective plant breeding. The goal was to develop cultivars that enhanced the lifestyle of their populace.

After the discovery of America, Spanish explorers encountered Maya cultivars and they adopted these, disseminating them across the world. The adoption of the unique cultivars by peoples in Afro-Eurasia altered history.

Maya Crops in Demand Around the Globe

In the 16th century, Maya cultivars were espoused by cultures across the globe. By 1530, tomatoes were growing in Italy; maize was an African crop by 1590; papayas were grown in Asia by 1530, tobacco in 1520 (and even turkeys in England by 1520). In 1550, Europeans introduced cassava and the peanut to tropical Southeast Asia and West Africa.exico’s Haunted City of Thunder – El Tajin: Surprising Connections Between Cultures Worlds and Eras Apart