Thirty Years After La Mojarra: Epi-Olmec Writing Revisited

Summary

Almost a century after William H. Holmes published the first study of the incomparable Tuxtla Statuette, the La Mojarra Stela was recovered from the Acula River in Veracruz, Mexico. In the three decades that followed, the hieroglyphic script that pours over these objects has been scrutinized and debated, named and renamed, both deciphered and declared undecipherable. This paper reflects on the status of Isthmian studies and explores the intricacies of Epi-Olmec visual culture as it is understood today. By drawing connections to the Late to Terminal Formative cities of the Pacific coast and highlands, as well as the other great script traditions of ancient Mesoamerica, this paper aims to move Epi-Olmec epigraphy from the realm of theoretical firebrand to its rightful place as an integral field of study within early Mesoamerican visual culture.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Maya Highland and Pacific Coast Archaeology: New Data, Debates, and Directions Part 1

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14463