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...historians and archaeologists agree, however, that the Olmec produced the earliest sophisticated art in Mesoamerica and that their distinctive style provided a model for the Maya, Aztec and other later civilizations in the region. According to Joralemon, small-scale Olmec objects made prior to 900 B.C. tend to be ceramic, whereas later pieces were often fashioned of jade and serpentine, rare materials that required great skill to carve. The vast majority of Olmec artifacts are sculptures--figurines, decorated stone stelae, votive axes, altars and the like--some of which were polished to a mirror-like shine...
Human figures from the earliest period tend to wear simple, understated costumes, while later ones are more embellished. The purpose of the objects changed as well. The ceramics were simply sculptures, while the jade pieces were often intended for rulers to wear. Explains Joralemon: "They were clearly a display of personal wealth, an indication of status and prestige"-- evidence, he suggests, that the society may have been growing increasingly stratified...
...past five or 10 years researchers have managed to uncover a number of key sites, including the monument-strewn ruins of Teopantecuanitlan in the Mexican state of Guerrero, and the sacred shrine at El Manati, whose murky springs yielded the first examples of wooden Olmec statuary and the earliest known evidence of child sacrifice in Mesoamerica. Heat and hardship notwithstanding, the prospect of understanding the still shrouded origins of Mesoamerican civilization--and the haunting beauty of the items on display at the National Gallery--makes it all seem worthwhile...
Well, I have, once again, become my mother. One of my roommates works the late shift in his job. Combined with his half-hour commute, he cannot physically be home before midnight. However, now that we have calculated that midnight is the earliest possible moment he can get away, I find myself growling and grunting laments to the effect of "the least he can do is come home and spend time in this lovely clean apartment" as midnight comes and goes. My past coming back to haunt me, my other roommate remarked last night that she feels like the little...
...earliest research projects, Charlie showed no signs of having considered my synopsis in his interviews--whole hours down the drain. More recently, as I've patterned my reports on those of the permanent research "staff" (an assiduous and humorous pair of recent graduates from Fordham and Amherst), I've found questions quite similar to those I've proposed creeping into the interviews. Somehow, that's very rewarding. Still, each day I am struck by the seemingly absurd variety of my assignments--one minute I'll be asked to elucidate the political philosophy of Michael J. Sandel, the next minute...