Olmec Sculpture

The Olmec people were selected because of the little information really known about this tribe. They were a civilization first thought to follow others, however, soon realized to have existed before them. Through my research I found pictures of various art works including large statues. The colossal heads were definitely intriguing, however, the statue of an Olmec shaman holding a baby at the edge of a cave caught my attention. This piece of history helped me to consider whether the shaman was holding the baby as an offering to the gods or symbolized a newly born child being welcomed to this world from another. During my research I found that the Olmec both sacrificed and celebrated their people. While viewing this statue, an observation might be that the cave could have been used as a den where the shaman would participate in a ceremony to determine what the child’s status was to be among the people. This statue appears to be one of religious nature and possibly a place where religious ceremonies were held on or in near proximity. The materials used to create these large statues were not available in the area where they were found, which leads me to question how the Olmec people were able to bring these large stones over miles of terrain and rivers. And, were these large sculptures believed to protect the tribe more because of their size and placement. Hopefully, as time goes on, more information can be uncovered about this civilization that will help in answering these questions.