In some instances, commoners purposefully destroyed and reused portraits of rulers.Īncestral Chatinos occupied coastal Oaxaca prior to the arrival of the Mixtecs around A.D. Elsewhere in Mesoamerica, however, the circumstances are more clear. Many details about the Olmec colossal heads remain unknown. Or it may be that incoming rulers defaced the heads of their predecessors to help justify their newfound authority. ![]() It may be that these monuments were ritually killed to neutralize the powers of rulers after their deaths. ![]() Scholars have proposed several theories to explain the defacement of Olmec colossal heads. Others have gouges carved into their surfaces or pox marks ground into their faces. Many have had pieces of their noses or lips broken off. The largest weighs about 40 tons and measures over 10 feet high. These portraits of rulers’ faces were carved from basalt boulders. 400, purposefully disfigured colossal heads. The Olmec, who lived in the lowlands of the Gulf of Mexico between approximately 1400 B.C. Thousands of years later, Mesoamericans engaged in a similar practice. Their goal was not to erase history but to show in dramatic fashion the downfall and ultimate humiliation of a once powerful leader. Importantly, Akkadians chose to mar rather than obliterate this monument to Sargon. Akkadians cut off its ears, broke its nose and gouged out one of its eyes. Although the likeness initially glorified the king, it was later purposefully mutilated. This portrait probably represents King Sargon of Akkad, known for conquering nearby Sumerian city-states. Thompson recently explained, “destruction is the norm and preservation is the rare exception.”Īkkadians, who lived in Mesopotamia between about 23 B.C., created a bronze likeness of one of their living rulers. And those in power have destroyed monuments to reinforce their authority and erase the names and accomplishments of their predecessors.Īs art historian Erin L. Since at least the third millennium B.C., economically, socially and politically marginalized people have questioned authority by mutilating public images of rulers. Those defacing monuments are not oblivious to history. Protesters today, like their ancient counterparts, have challenged the social order by questioning who should and should not be publicly venerated, who should be remembered or forgotten.īut Trump is also mistaken. The recent destruction of monuments is about power in the present. In response to the recent defacement of monuments in the U.S., President Donald Trump issued an executive order in June stating that his administration “will not allow violent mobs…to become the arbiters of the aspects of history that can be celebrated in public spaces.” He added that the protesters’ “selection of targets reveals a deep ignorance of history.” ![]() Photograph © Phillip Baird colossal head from San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, Veracruz, Mexico. They are all adorned with helmet-like headdresses. Each head is different, with slight variations in expression and features. Who the colossal heads were meant to represent is not known however, it has been suggested that they were made to be portraits of rulers. One of the more unique remains of Olmec culture are the colossal, carved stone heads they created (see left). The Olmec were not alone in this region and where surely influenced by their neighbours and by the older cultures that had previously lived in the area. The Olmec founded several powerful centres in what are now the Gulf Coastal Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco, a tropical lowland environment. The Olmec were an early culture (1200 - 600 B.C.) and are thought to have been one of the first peoples to establish and exhibit many of the hallmarks of larger Mesoamerican civilization. The Olmec have been identified by what remains of their technically impressive and naturally expressive sculpture, which they crafted on both small and grand scales.
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