Big Heads

 As I wrote in my previous posts, Alejandro and I spent the weekend in Jalapa (also spelled Xalapa), the capital of the state of Veracruz.  We began our stay with a visit to one of the most outstanding archaeological museums in the country, the "Museo de Antropología de Xalapa".  This museum, operated by the University of Veracruz, contains more than 25,000 objects from the pre-Hispanic civilizations which flourished in that state.

One of the most fascinating cultures is that of the mysterious Olmecs, the oldest civilization in Mesoamerica.  It arose along the gulf coast of Veracruz around 1500 B.C., and was the mother of all later civilizations in Mexico.  The Xalapa Anthropology Museum contains the largest collection Olmec artifacts in the world.

As you enter the Olmec galleries this inscription is on the wall...

"This is the root of your history, your cradle and your altar.  You will hear the silent voice of the most ancient culture of Mexico, perhaps the mother civilization of our continent.  The Olmecs converted rain into harvest, the sun into a calendar, stone into sculpture, cotton into fabric, pilgrimages into commerce, mounds into thrones, jaguars into religion, and men into gods."

The Olmecs are best known for the colossal heads which they carved from blocks of stone that were transported over a distance of more than ninety miles to their ceremonial sites.  Although they are all similar, each face is distinctive, and it is thought that they might be portraits of Olmec rulers.  They all wear headgear that look like football helmets.  These may be protective helmets for warfare or the ceremonial ballgame.  The headgear on each of the statues is decorated with its own unique designs.

The Xalapa museum has seven colossal heads on display.  (The National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City only has two.)  They all come from the Olmec site of San Lorenzo in southeastern Veracruz.  The heads are numbered, not according to their age, but according to the order in which they were discovered at San Lorenzo.

At the entrance of the museum is Head Number 8, which was discovered in 1970, and is considered one of the best preserved of the heads.

Head Number 5, discovered in 1946, features distinctive earrings. 

 

Head Number 1 is one of the largest, and is nicknamed "El Rey" (The King).

These three heads, lined up in a row, clearly show you that each one is an individual portrait.

Head Number 4, discovered in 1946, is one of the smaller heads.

There are some who think that Head Number 3 represents a woman.

Head Number 9 is the only one of colossal heads from San Lorenzo which has a slight smile.

It is thought that Head Number 7 was carved from a block of stone which originally served as a throne.

There is much more to the Olmecs than big heads, and I will show you more objects from the museum in my next post.