Olmec Bloodletting
نویسنده
چکیده
and Middle Formative (ca. 1200-500 B.C.) Olmec symbol system is the focus of the present study.1 We have identified a series of symbols in largeand small-scale stone objects and ceramics representing perforators and a zoomorphic supernatural associated with bloodletting. While aspects of this iconography are comparable to later Classic Lowland Maya iconography of bloodletting, its deployment in public and private contexts differs, suggesting fundamental variation in the way bloodletting was related to political legitimation in the Formative Olmec and Classic Maya cases. Our point of departure is the relatively well-documented iconography of autosacrifice among the Lowland Maya.
منابع مشابه
The Lazy-S: A Formative Period Iconographic Loan to Maya Hieroglyphic Writing
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