STUDIES IN THE HISTORY OF ART «58+ Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts Symposium Papers XXXV Olmec Art and Archaeology in Mesoamerica Edited by John E. Clark and Mary E. Pye National Gallery of Art, Washington Distributed by Yale University Press, New Haven and London (2200)Scepter, Mid Formative ened blacstone, fom ‘shal efi, Cardena, ‘Theo Me een Ate KARL TAUBE University of California, Riverside Lightning Celts and Corn Fetishes: The Formative Olmec and the Development of Maize Symbolism in Mesoamerica and the American Southwest ‘other food plant had a more profound impact in the New World than com, or Zea mays. As the preeminent staple since Formative times, maize played an essential ole in the develop ment of Mesoamerican civilization and also permeated its ritual and belief. Not only was sagriculeural abundance a central concern of an- cient Mesoamerican religions, but maize also provided a means by which Mesoarnericans viewed themselves and their world. In the Quiche Maya book, the Popol Va, the cosmo- gonie events of world ereation are tantamount to fashioning the four-sided maize feld. The product ofthis cosmic Rel isthe present people of com, whose flesh was formed of grund yel low and white maize obtained from Mount Paxil (Tealock 1996: 63-64, 145-146, 220). To the ‘Aztecs, maize was also the stuff of human sub- stance and life, as evident in the description of the maize goddess Chicomecoatl "indeed truly she is our flesh, our livelihood: through her we live; she is our strength” (Sahagin 1950-1982, 2:64) Alehough maize symbolism constituted an essential part of the Meso- american worldview, thee was by no means a simple dichotomy between the economic and religious roles of cor. By Middle Formative times (c. 00-500 b.e., maize wasa central component of a compiex ideology involving agricultural surpluses and wealth Taube 1996) In this essay I explore essential and ele mental aspects of maize symbolism by focus ing on the Formative period Olmecimagery (c. 1150-500 b.c.). During this Formative period—the time of the first widespread ap- pearance of maize and food production in ‘Mesoamerica—many of the fundamental ‘meanings and associations of maize were de- veloped. Among the Formative themes dis- ‘cussed here are the identification of corn with the axis mundi and the cardinal directions and the comparison of corn ears to two precious ‘materials jadeite and quetzal plumes| and their associated artifacts (polished stone celts and feathered maize fetishes). The Olmec maize complex can be observed over much of Middle Formative Mesoamerica, including such far flung sites as Chalchuapa, El Salvador, and Teo: pantecuanitlén, Guerrero, as well as the Olmec heartland, Moreover, a great deal of the maize symbolism can be traced to later culeures of Classic and Postclassic Mesoamerica, Here 1 document the continuity of Olmec maize sym: bolism in later Mesoamerica, with special fo ceus on the Classic Maya and Postclassic Aztec. In addition, some of the most striking aspects of this early Formative complex, including the use of directional maize celts, feathered corn fetishes, and the identification of corn with items of wealth, continue in contemporary Puebloan ceremonialism of the American Southwest. I suggest that the early dissemi- nation of maize agriculture in Mesoamerica and the American Southwest concerned more than agricultural practices and technology; it involved a complex body of ritual and belief, 297Maize and the Formative Olmec Although domesticated maize is first docu- ‘mented for the Archaie period Coxeatlan phase in the Tehuacan Valley of Puebla, it does not appear to have been a major Mesoamerican staple until approximately 1000 bc. [see Ar- rnold, this volume). Thus, while corn is known. for pre-Olmec, Early Formative Mokaya sites of the southern coastal region of Chiapas and neighboring Guatemala (see Clark and Pye, this volume), the cobs were relatively small and unproductive, Moreover, the analysis of Mokaya human bone collagen reveals that ‘maize was not a major component of the local diet (Blake et al, 1992; Clark and Blake 1985). In contrast to the earlier Mokaya villages, the ‘major Olmec occupation at San Lorenzo, Vera- ‘eruz, constituted a sharp development in the accrual and manipulation of social surplus and 298 TAUBE ‘wealth. Earthworks, long stone drains, and megalithic monuments all testify to the eco- nomic rower controlled by the rulers of this great center. However, the economic base of San Lorenzo remains poorly understood. Al- though Michael Coe and Richard Diehl (1980, 2: 144] cite the presence of grinding stones as ‘evidence of maize preparation, virtually no maize remains were found during their exea- vations, They suggest that the San Lorenzo (Olmecs practiced a mixed economy with a va- riety of staples, including manioc and other root exops as well as corn. Recent work in the vicinity of La Venta, ‘Tabasco, has documented a widespread pres- ence of com by 1150. (Rust and Leyden 1994: 192), However, maize use increased markedly during the Middle Formative apogee of La Venta {e. 800-500 b.c): “The maximum den- 1. Mid Formative Olmee baz signa and the Olmce aise Go a bane maize Ieee 10h) eto oie, Stale Ls Vente fel ater Diet sox Sih el mtze wih ving silkaer fralemoa 170 fig 80} fl Olmec Maze Gidea nisl ip Perdue cle (rowing Linds Schell omer Mae Cod wrth sta ete Welt incaed Ro ‘ear cel eer Medlin Toren. 7 {Poti Maze Goa with fll ale sgn with ‘cated bios 5