Olmec mask pendant (900 – 400 BC).  Made of serpentinite, 13cmhigh.This pendant was reuse

Olmec mask pendant (900 – 400 BC).  Made of serpentinite, 13cmhigh.This pendant was reused by the Maya, and was found in the Pétendepartment of Guatemala.  It was worn around the neck as a pendant(as the eyes are not pierced), and may have provided the wearer witha new identity as an ancestor or deity (perhaps as an Olmec raingod).The toothless, down-turned mouth and infant-like face are typical ofOlmec art.  There are two Olmec glyphs incised on each side of themouth.  The ears are perforated, and the mask may originally havebeen decorated with piercings.Olmec glyphs are the earliest known writing in the Americas, and theOlmecs were the earliest Central American civilization.  Steppedtemples, ceremonial ball games, and complex astrological calendars,all familiar within Maya and Aztec society, originated with theOlmecs.  It is not know what caused their decline: it may have beenoverpopulation, a volcanic eruption, or rivers changing course.Detail of left eye. Detail of hole to left of mouth. -- source link

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