. Ancient Mexico and Central America. Indian art; Indian art. With the sole exception of this superb wooden mask, no objects of perishable materials have come to us from the Olmecs; yet they undoubtedly did much sculpture in wood. This mask was found in a cave south of Taxco, in the state of Guerrero. It may have lain there undisturbed for over two millennia. On the other hand, its marvelous preservation may be due to the possibility that it was never buried, as many other objects were, but was passed on from hand to hand for many centuries as a revered religious object and placed in the cave
. Ancient Mexico and Central America. Indian art; Indian art. With the sole exception of this superb wooden mask, no objects of perishable materials have come to us from the Olmecs; yet they undoubtedly did much sculpture in wood. This mask was found in a cave south of Taxco, in the state of Guerrero. It may have lain there undisturbed for over two millennia. On the other hand, its marvelous preservation may be due to the possibility that it was never buried, as many other objects were, but was passed on from hand to hand for many centuries as a revered religious object and placed in the cave only in recent times. In any case, it is clear that it was designed to be worn; three holes on the rim show where ties were placed to hold it to the wearer's head. It fits nicely on the head. At one point in the mask's history, the mouth region was covered with a mosaic applique of jade, possibly the addition of a much later owner. Wooden mask. Olmec. Canyon de la Mono, Guerrero. Height 6% Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original American Museum of Natural History; Boltin, Lee; Meyer, Alfred P. , 1935-. New York : American Museum of Natural History
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