3 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Olmec reliefs show Ancient Olmec Leaders In Trance-Like State Roaring Like Jaguars

Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered two carved reliefs from the late Olmec period (900-400 B.C.) in Villahermosa, Tabasco, southeastern Mexico that are thought to depict local rulers performing ritual contortion.

Carved reliefs depicting two tough-faced monarchs from the Olmec civilization are believed to show a pair of leaders in a trance-like state, roaring like a jaguar, in the midst of a “contortionist” ritual designed to induce black-outs.

The reliefs are carved from 4.6-foot-diameter spherical slabs of limestone that weigh more than 1,500 pounds each. Each relief depicts a guy wearing a four-corncob headdress, his face distorted in a grimace — lips open and turned down, eyes wide. In the middle of the headdress is a “Olmec cross,” a jaguar glyph that served as a status symbol. The faces take up nearly all of the space, with footprints on the sides and arms crossed beneath.

The jaguar is a very prevalent figure in many pre-Columbian Mesoamerican societies, with a jaguar deity appearing in almost all belief systems from this time period. Some archeological evidence suggests that the Maya kept jaguars as pets.

Both monuments represent the local rulers of the Middle Usumacinta region and date to the late Olmec horizon (900-400 BC).

Photo: National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

Other similar monuments from the Middle Usumacinta region suggest that the reliefs are depicting the leaders during a “contortionist” ritual, in which they were effectively strangled into an otherwordly trance.

The reliefs were found in a private house in Villahermosa. The homeowner said he had found them while leveling agricultural land on his farm in Tenosique.  (A very similar circular relief was found in Tenosique in 2000.) Archaeologists plan to survey the find site in hopes of narrowing down the date of the carvings.

“The five monuments have in common the representation of large faces, possibly of local rulers, who also practiced contortionism, not in a playful sense, but ritual. By adopting the position in which they appear portrayed –which reduces the irrigation and oxygenation of the blood to the brain–, the characters reached trance states in divinatory ceremonies and that conferred powers on them,” Tomás Pérez Suárez, an archaeologist at the INAH, explained in a statement.

This style of relief is typical of the late Olmec civilization prior to the process of “Mayanization” that struck the culture around 500 to 300 BCE.

Photo: National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

It does appear, however, that the legacy of the Olmec civilization lived on. Archaeologists from the INAH speculate that the style seen in this duo of reliefs perhaps evolved into the classic Maya “ajaw” inscriptions, which depict leaders with a similarly gaping mouth.

“It is possible that these faces evolved and derived in the Mayan ajaw altars , such as those of the Caracol site, in Belize, which tells us about the permanence of this theme for more than three centuries, already for the Early Classic and Late Classic periods. (495 to 790 AD). The word ajaw means ‘he who shouts’, ‘he who commands’, ‘he who orders’; and in these Mayan monuments the mouth stands out, a feature that must come from Olmec times, especially from these circular reliefs of ‘contortionists’ that are portraits of local chiefs”added Pérez Suárez.

Cover Photo: National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

Related Articles

The largest stone coffin grave found so far at the Yoshinogari Ruins -3.2 meters

30 May 2023

30 May 2023

A grave with a stone coffin around 2.3 meters long and dating to the latter part of the Yayoi Period...

The 20-million-year-old fossil of a sea creature in the ancient city of Tyana may have been used as a means of payment

22 October 2021

22 October 2021

During the ongoing excavations in the ancient city of Tyana in the Kemerhisar district of Niğde, a 20-million-year-old fossil thought...

Metal Scraps were Used İnstead of Money in Bronze Age Europe

8 May 2021

8 May 2021

Bronze scrap uncovered in hoards in Europe was used as currency, according to researchers from the Universities of Göttingen and...

2,700-year-old bronze figurine found in Germany’s Tollence River: goddess or weight?

9 April 2022

9 April 2022

A Bronze Age female figurine discovered in the Tollense River in northern Germany may have been a goddess, part of...

2500-year-old Persian ancient palace dish discovered in Oluz Höyük, Türkiye

18 October 2023

18 October 2023

A 2,500-year-old earthenware pot containing bone fragments and grains from the Persian-era palace kitchen was discovered during archaeological excavations at...

The human remains dating back 10,000 years unearthed in Vietnam

15 November 2023

15 November 2023

In Ha Nam Province, northern Vietnam, skeletal remains dating back 10,000 years have been discovered. This is marking the oldest...

1,600-year-old steelyard weight found in Turkey’s ancient city of Hadrianopolis

1 December 2021

1 December 2021

Archeologists have discovered a 1,600-year-old steelyard weight during excavations in the ancient city of Hadrianopolis, located in the Eskipazar district...

New Evidence could Change the Date People First Arrived in North America

2 June 2021

2 June 2021

While investigating the origins of agriculture, researchers made an unexpected discovery. According to an unexpected finding made by an Iowa...

More than 1,300 prehistoric burial mounds in western Azerbaijan systematically surveyed for the first time

2 January 2025

2 January 2025

Over 1,300 archaeological sites in Azerbaijan were systematically surveyed and documented in two field campaigns in 2021 and 2023 by...

Pompeii Reopening Antiquarium

6 February 2021

6 February 2021

The Antiquarium, a permanent museum within the Pompeii Archaeological pact, reopens. Opened in 1873, the Antiquarium was bombed during World...

White grape pips found in the Negev dated may be the oldest of its kind worldwide

29 April 2023

29 April 2023

Researchers from the University of York, Tel Aviv University, and the University of Copenhagen provide new insight into the mystery...

The Nightmare of the Roman Soldiers “Carnyx”

9 July 2023

9 July 2023

The Carnyx was a brass musical instrument used as a psychological weapon of war by the ancient Celts between 300...

New rune discovery in Oslo

16 February 2022

16 February 2022

For the third time in a month and a half, archaeologists have found a new rune in Oslo. The artifact...

Analyses of a 2,900-year-old iron chisel from Portugal revealed surprisingly high-quality steel

22 September 2023

22 September 2023

Steel tools were believed to have only become widespread in Europe during the Roman Empire, but a recent study shows...

The 7th-Century Lombard Kings’ Tombs Found in Pavia, Italy

24 December 2024

24 December 2024

The excavations, conducted between September and October by the Catholic University, uncovered numerous burials attributed, on the one hand, to...