Olmec
Crouching Male Transformation Figure
Mexico, Olmec, c. 900–300 BCE,
Serpentine with traces of cinnabar
Height: 4 1/4 in. (10.8 cm)
Standing man
Mexico, Olmec, Pre-Columbian,
Jade
Height: 14 in.
Offering #4
La Venta, Mexico, Olmec
c. 900–400 BCE,
Serpentine, jadite,
granite, and schistose
Height: figures 6-5/16 to 7-15/16 in., celts 9-5/16 to 10-3/4 in.
In Olmec culture, artists tended to display the body in a vague, rubbery humanoid shape with elongated heads including flat noses and almond shaped eyes. The arms and legs are held slightly apart from everything else and arms slightly bent at the elbows.