Figure, 11th-6th century BCE, 8 7/8 x 7 in. (22.54 x 17.78 cm), Ceramic, Mexico, 11th-6th century BCE, The Olmec people developed the first cities of Mesoamerica. Situated in the tropical lowlands of Mexico, these early urban societies produced most of the major features of later regional civilizations: monumental architecture and sculpture, hieroglyphic writing, a calendrical system, and intensive agriculture. The distinctive Olmec art style, expressive of their religion, greatly influenced subsquent Mesoamerican art.A prominent motif in Olmec art is the 'baby face,' a fleshy human face with drooping mouth, squinting eyes, and snub nose. Here the distinctive features are part of a naturalistic depiction, but in many Olmec pieces they merge with feline traits like snarling lips and fangs. These pervasive references to the spiritual union of a jaguar and a human allude to an Olmec conception of the supernatural status of rulers.

Figure, 11th-6th century BCE, 8 7/8 x 7 in. (22.54 x 17.78 cm), Ceramic, Mexico, 11th-6th century BCE, The Olmec people developed the first cities of Mesoamerica. Situated in the tropical lowlands of Mexico, these early urban societies produced most of the major features of later regional civilizations: monumental architecture and sculpture, hieroglyphic writing, a calendrical system, and intensive agriculture. The distinctive Olmec art style, expressive of their religion, greatly influenced subsquent Mesoamerican art.A prominent motif in Olmec art is the 'baby face,' a fleshy human face with drooping mouth, squinting eyes, and snub nose. Here the distinctive features are part of a naturalistic depiction, but in many Olmec pieces they merge with feline traits like snarling lips and fangs. These pervasive references to the spiritual union of a jaguar and a human allude to an Olmec conception of the supernatural status of rulers.

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