Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery: Gulf Coast Olmec Sex, Gender, and Dress as Reflected in the San Bartolo Murals

Summary

The murals within the Pinturas structure at the site of San Bartolo, Guatemala have provided invaluable information for understanding the Late Formative period Maya, as well as for understanding their emulation, adoption, and adaptation of Epi-Olmec culture, religion, and iconography. As noted by a number of scholars, the figures depicted in the murals have the distinctive, graceful, and relatively naturalistic body forms of early Maya images, but the facial types, clothing, and adornments reflect Olmec and Epi-Olmec types. In their emulation and imitation of Olmec garments and accouterments on the more sexually identifiable Maya-style figures, therefore, the San Bartolo murals also serve to provide clear evidence confirming recent identifications of sexed and gendered features, gendered clothing, and gendered accouterments in Gulf Coast Olmec sculpture.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• See How We Are: Representing Identity in the Ancient Americas

Keywords

Spatial Coverage