
Contents
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Identifying the Fetus and the Embryo in Olmec Sculpture Identifying the Fetus and the Embryo in Olmec Sculpture
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The La Venta Fetuses and a Visual Narrative of Creation The La Venta Fetuses and a Visual Narrative of Creation
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Narrative Station 1: Fetuses in a Womb Narrative Station 1: Fetuses in a Womb
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Narrative Station 2: Rituals at Sacred Caves of the Four Directions Narrative Station 2: Rituals at Sacred Caves of the Four Directions
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Narrative Station 3: The Dawning of Human-Maize Narrative Station 3: The Dawning of Human-Maize
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Narrative Station 4: The Goddesses, Sources of Life Narrative Station 4: The Goddesses, Sources of Life
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Narrative Stations 5 and 6: The Decapitated Heads and the Phallic Column Narrative Stations 5 and 6: The Decapitated Heads and the Phallic Column
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Conclusions and Questions Conclusions and Questions
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Works Cited Works Cited
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The Colossal Fetuses of La Venta and Mesoamerica’s Earliest Creation Story
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Published:December 2008
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Abstract
Among the earliest monumental sculptures of the Americas were depictions of the human fetus. Along with representations of the human embryo, sculptures of the fetus were important subjects in the art of the Olmec of Mexico, 1400–400 BCE. This chapter explores the crucial roles of these images in the earliest known narrative—a visual one—of the creation of the world and the origins of human beings in Mesoamerica. The monumental fetus sculptures of La Venta, an archaeological site in the State of Tabasco, Mexico, were players in a underworld ball game. In this context, the fetuses, as metaphors for “life force,” battle the chthonic forces that would usurp that precious vitality. Images of fetuses and embryos in ancient Mexico emerge as metaphors for the ineluctable processes of metamorphosis that life entails.
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