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F. Kent Reilly, III
(Online version; also available in PDF format.)
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Ever since the 1926 discovery of the quintessential Olmec site of La Venta, there has been considerable academic speculation as to the relationship between Middle Formative Period Olmec art and iconography and the art and iconography of the Classic Period Maya. The opinions expressed within that often heated debate have varied from a hesitant identification of the La Venta monuments as products of Maya culture (Blom and La Farge 1926:85) to the conclusion that "no linear scheme of stylistic development originating in the Olmec culture can fit the varieties of sculpture that we now observe in the two Maya areas" (Proskouriakoff 1968b:128).
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| PARI editor's note: For the reader's convenience, the online edition of this paper is illustrated with details from the original illustrations. The complete illustrations are also presented as they originally appeared: |
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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| Figure 1 - | Facade masks from Cerros and Tzutzuculi: (a) Facade of Structure 5c-2nd at Cerros with a pair of short-snouted and long-snouted zoomorphic masks placed of either side of the central staircase (drawing from Schele and Miller 1986: fig. 11.1); (b) facade of Mound 4 at Tzutzuculi with a long-snouted mask placed on the right of the staircase and a blunt-snouted mask placed on the left (redrawn by Kent Reilly from McDonald 1983: fig. 12); (c) Monument 2, Tzutzuculi (redrawn by Kent Reilly from McDonald 1983: fig. 31); (d) Monument 1, Tzutzuculi (redrawn by Kent Reilly from McDonald 1983: fig. 29). |
| Figure 2 | (a) "Slim": a greenstone statue, executed in the "Olmec Style" from the Pacific Coast of Guatemala (drawing by Gillett G. Griffin, 1985); (b) "Slim": with the incised, secondary iconography "rolled out" (drawing by Gillett G. Griffin, 1985). |
| (a) "Slim": the hat or headdress (drawing by Gillett G. Griffin, 1985); (b) head of relief figure on the left end of San Lorenzo, Monument 14 (redrawn by Kent Reilly from Coe and Diehl 1980: volume 1, figure 438); head of relief figure on right side of La Venta Altar 5 (drawing by Kent Reilly 1986); (d) head of Chalcatzingo Monument 10 (redrawn by Kent Reilly from Gay 1972: figure 34). |
| Figure 4 | Fig. 4 "Slim": the mask with accompanying illustrations showing the natural sources of the incised elements. (a) "Slim": the mask (drawing by Gillett G. Griffin, 1985); (b) the Las Limas Figure (drawing from Wicke 1971: title page [1]) ; (c) the left shoulder image from the Las Limas Figure (drawing from Joralemon 1976: fig. 3c); the harpy eagle (drawing by Kent Reilly, 1988); (d) the right shoulder image from the Las Limas Figure (drawing from Joralemon 1976: fig. 3b); the osprey (drawing by Kent Reilly, 1988). |
| Figure 5 | "Slim": the incised secondary iconography on the torso (drawing by Gillett G. Griffin, 1985). |
| Figure 6 | "Slim": the incised iconography on the right arm. (a) The frontal-facing zoomorph incised on the back of the right hand (drawing by Gillett G. Griffin, 1985). (b) The arcing, bound, and sacrificed captive figure incised on the right arm (drawing by Gillett G. Griffin, 1985). Note the head drawn with a "whip-lash" line above the feet and the element that resembles a tail emerging from the feet. (c) The pelt worn by the "Blind Shaman of Atlihuayan" (drawing from Joralemon 1976: fig. 4a). Note the resemblance of the layered tail of this pelt to the tail emerging from the feet of the bound captive that arcs along "Slim's" right arm. |
| Figure 7 | "Slim": the scepter carried in the right arm. (a) The right arm scepter/bloodletter (redrawn by Kent Reilly after Griffin 1985). Note the face on the blade, which identifies this ritual instrument as a personified supernatural and the dotted lines that indicate where the third set of bindings should be located. (b) Four examples of elements that function as "double merlons" (drawing by Kent Reilly, 1988). (c) The Classic Maya personified bloodletter (redrawn by Kent Reilly from Schele and Miller 1986: fig. IV. 1). |
| Figure 8 | "Slim": the incised figures on the left arm. (a) The frontal-facing zoomorph incised on the back of the left hand (drawing by Gillett G. Griffin, 1985). (b) The arcing "flying torchbearer" incised on the left arm (drawing by Gillett G. Griffin, 1985). Note the double merlon above the chin. (c) El Volador, the "Flying Olmec," Chalcatzingo, Mon. 12 (drawing by Kent Reilly, 1988). (d) An Olmec "Flying Figure" incised on a jade celt of unknown provenience (redrawn by Kent Reilly after Grove 1984: fig. 33). |
| Figure 9 | (a) "Slim": the left arm scepter (drawing by Gillett G. Griffin, 1985). Note the profile face with the cross bands in the eye. (b) The personified cave from Chalcatzingo, Mon. 1 (drawing by Kent Reilly, 1988). |
| Figure 10 | (a) "Slim": the belt and apron (drawing by Kent Reilly, 1988). Note the double merlon pattern cut in the bottom of the belt. (b) "Slim": the elaborate knot, at the small of the back, with which the belt is tied (drawing by Kent Reilly, 1988). |
| Figure 11 | "Slim": the incised secondary iconography located on the left and right thighs (drawing by Gillett G. Griffin, 1985). |
| Figure 12 | (a) "Slim": the piscine-zoomorph and accompanying motifs incised on the right thigh (drawing by Gillett G. Griffin, 1985); (b) "Slim": the snake-shell motif positioned above the mask on the back of the right-thigh piscine-zoomorph and the Classic Maya Shell Wing Dragon (drawings by Kent Reilly, 1988); (c) the tropical alligator gar (drawing by Kent Reilly, 1988); (d) the cross-hatched pattern formed by a gar fish's ganoid scales (drawing by Kent Reilly, 1988); (e) "Slim": the three profile heads located above and below the body of the piscine-zoomorph (drawing by Gillett G. Griffin, 1985). |
| Figure 13 | (a) "Slim": the profile incised below the right knee (drawing by Kent Reilly, 1988). (b) "Slim": the incised image on the right foot (drawing by Gillett G. Griffin, 1985). The spaghetti like appearance of this image is caused by lines cut into the foot to represent the toes. (c) "Slim": the reconstructed right foot image (drawing by Kent Reilly, 1988). |
| Figure 14 | (a) "Slim": the crocodilian-zoomorph and accompanying motifs incised on the left thigh (drawing by Gillett G. Griffin, 1985). (b) The real-life crocodilian from which the crocodilian-zoomorph on "Slim" is constructed (drawing by Kent Reilly, 1986). Three species of crocodile—Crocodylus moreletti, Crocodylus actus, and Caiman crocodylus fucus—are indigenous to the Olmec climax zone. (c) "Slim": the mask on the back of the crocodilian-zoomorph's tail (drawing by Gillett G. Griffin, 1985). Note the similarities—flame eyebrow, striping under the eye, overhanging upper lip, and the tie-ribbons that hold the mask in place. |
| Figure 15 | (a) "Slim": the three profile heads located above and below the body of the crocodilian zoomorph (drawing by Gillett G. Griffin, 1985). (b) "Slim": the "glyphic" element incised above the back of the crocodilian-zoomorph (drawing by Kent Reilly). This "glyphic" element is a head variant of the zoomorphic image carved below it. (c) La Venta, Mon. 6 (drawing from Joralemon 1976: fig. 9c). This large sarcophagus is carved in the likeness of a crocodilian-zoomorph. This supernatural hangs unmoving on the surface of the water; from his back sprout vegetative elements whose shape is reminiscent of the squash plants depicted at Chalcatzingo. (d) A crocodilian posed for water dancing (drawing by Kent Reilly, 1988). |
| Figure 16 | (a) "Slim": the profile head incised below the left knee (drawing by Kent Reilly, 1988). (b) "Slim": the incised image on the left foot (drawing by Gillett G. Griffin, 1985). The spaghetti like appearance of this incised image is caused by lines cut into the foot to represent the toes. (c) "Slim": the reconstructed left foot image (drawing by Kent Reilly, 1988). |
| Figure 17 | Chalcatzingo: the Cerro Chalcatzingo and the arrangement of the bas-reliefs into three groupings or stations (drawings of the Cerros Delgado and Chalcatzingo by Kent Reilly, 1988; Station C: Mon. 10 by Kent Reilly, 1988; Station A: Mons. 2-4 from Grove 1968: figs. 3 and 4, and Mon. 5 from Joralemon 1971: fig. 244; Station B: Mon. 14 by Kent Reilly, 1988, Mon. I from Coe 1965b: fig. 10, and Mon. 12 by Kent Reilly, 1986). |
| Figure 18 | "Slim" and Chal-catzingo: a comparison of the thematic content of the iconography. Celestial Realm: the head of "Slim" (drawing by Gillett G. Griffin, 1985); Chalcatzingo, Mon. 10 (redrawn by Kent Reilly after Cay 1972: fig. 34). (a) Chalcatzingo, Mon. 2 (drawing from Grove 1968: fig. 3). (b) "Slim," the right torso iconography (drawing by Gillett C. Griffin, 1985). (c) Chalcatzingo, Mon. 5 (draw-ing from Joralemon 1971: fig. 244). (d) "Slim," the piscine-zoomorph (drawing by Gillett C. Griffin, 1985). (e) Chalcatzingo, Mons. 3 and 4 (drawing from Grove 1968: figs. 4 and 5). (f) Chalcatzingo, Mon. 1 (drawing from Coe 1965b: fig. 10). (g) Chalcatzingo, Mon. 12 (drawing by Kent Reilly, 1988). (h) "Slim," the left torso iconography (drawing by Gillett G. Griffin, 1985). (i) Chalcatzingo, Mon. 14, compared to the crocodilian water dancing posture (drawing by Kent Reilly, 1988). (j) "Slim," the crocodilian-zoomorph (drawing by Gillett G. Griffin, 1985). |
| Figure 19 | (a) Palenque: the sarcophagus lid from the Temple of the Inscriptions (drawing from Merle Greene Robertson 1983: fig. 99); (b) Palenque: the Dumbarton Oaks Panel (drawing from Schele and Miller 1986: fig. VII. 3). |
| Sixth Round Table: Olmec Influence | Page 1
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