An Olmec Vision of Infinity:

Iconology and the Las Limas Monument

J. Grant Stauffer and F. Kent Reilly
 Las Limas Monument 1
—  Often referred to as the “Rosetta Stone” of Olmec Religion

—  22 in high 16 in wide, weight 132 lb., carved between 1000

and 600 BC. Largest Formative Period Green Stone statue.

—  Discovered by Rose and Paschal Manuel in 1965 at the

pueblo of Las Limas near Jesus Carranza, stolen in 1970.
Recovered in San Antonio, TX and is currently on display at
the Museo de Antropologia de Xalapa.

Celtiforms from the Dumbarton

Oaks figure’s regalia
Rosa and Severiano Paschal
Manuel

Discovered the Las Limas

Figure in 1965

Taken to their home, the

statue was enshrined on an
Altar and reverenced as the
“La Virgen de las Limas”
Las Limas Monument 1

Images compliments of Dr. Reilly

 Panofsky’s Three Steps

—  Erwin Panofsky

—  Developed the method of structural
analysis.
—  “Understand the whole through the
isolation of its parts.”

—  Three steps of structural analysis:

—  Pre-iconographic
—  Iconographic
—  Iconologic

—  Published in Studies in Iconology:

Humanist Themes in the Art of the
Renaissance (1939)
Step 1: Pre-Iconographic

Upper Level
(Region 3)

Middle Level
(Region 1)

Lower Level
(Region 2)
Step 1: Pre-Iconographic
—  L.L. Monument 1 is divided
into three regions.

—  Meaning can be interpreted

before iconographic analysis.

—  “Presentation theme”

—  “Seating of the Uinal”

—  Cosmological layout

(tripartite)

La Venta Monument 77
Step 2 (Region 1): Iconographic

—  Body displays deities that are

associated with “cosmic
corners.”

—  In relation to Region 2, the

maize god, these form an “X”
that puts the “baby jaguar” at
the cosmic center.

—  Each deity bears

characteristics derived from
the natural environment.
 Step 2: Region 1

Banded Eye God Glyph Osprey Illustration

 Step 2: Region 1

“Bird Monster” Glyph Harpy Eagle

 Step 2: Region 1

Olmec Dragon Glyph Tropical Caiman

 Step 2: Region 1

“Xoc” or Shark Glyph Bull Shark Illustration

Step 2: Region 2

—  Olmec maize god

bears distinctive
characteristics:
—  Curved mouth
—  Corn crib or “Sky
Band” motifs
—  Headband and
draped ear
adornments

—  Located at the center

 Step 2: Region 2
Olmec Maize God
Las Limas
Monument 1

La Venta Altar 5
“Presentation
Theme”
Step 2: Region 3

—  Like the Dumbarton

Oaks figure, the Las
Limas Monument
exhibits royal regalia.

—  Trefoil motif is missing,

but was provided using
alternative methods.

—  Image compliments of

Dr. Reilly.
 Step 2: Region 3

Dr. Reilly has proposed that an actual ear of maize was wrapped on the Las
Limas Monument to serve as a trefoil motif.
Step 3 (Region 3): Iconologic

—  Iconology attempts to

explain undergirding
principles behind an
artistic craft.

—  I propose that the mouth

surround of the Las
Limas Monument is a
single layer of “nested
cosmograms” that
illustrate infinite
rulership.
 Step 3: Region 3
—  Iconology requires the
reconstruction of
identified motifs.

—  Even at the regional

level, multiple
cosmograms appear in
layers (in 3D).

—  These “nested

cosmograms” follow a
symbolic grammar.
Created using Dr. Reilly’s
“Cut-out-and-fold up” technique
 Acknowledgements
*Dr. Kent Reilly
*Dr. Manuel Aguilar
*California State University
*LACMA
*AHS Contributors and Members
*Olmec Art and Iconography Panel
Participants
*Texas State University in San
Marcos
*CASAA
*Students in Dr. Reilly’s “Art and
Archaeology of the Olmec” class