Olmec Stone Mask
A History of the World in 100 Objects
The Four Directions of the Olmec Mask
For the Olmec we have these great colossal heads, we have thrones, portraits of kings. And very often important here too is the concept of centrality. On this finely carved serpentine mask we see four elements on the cheek, which are probably the four directions. The ears are pierced in several places, presumably for gold earrings. But at the corner of his mouth there are what look like enormous dimples. They must in fact represent circular holes.
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