'Earth Monster' sculpture points to ancient beliefs in Mexico
It was carved from volcanic rock sometime between 800-400 BC during the heyday of the Olmec civilization, one of Mexico's earliest complex societies.
By REUTERS
Published: MAY 27, 2023 07:20
A view shows the Olmec bas-relief Monument 9 of Chalcatzingo after it was repatriated from the city of Denver, Colorado, U.S., at the "Museo Regional de los Pueblos de Morelos" museum, in Cuernavaca, Mexico, May 25, 2023, in this photo released and distributed by Mexico's National Institute of Anthr
(photo credit: Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History/Handout via REUTERS)
A massive stone sculpture carved by Olmec artists more than 2,000 years ago that evokes ancient religious beliefs has returned to Mexico after decades in the United States in a homecoming cheered by officials and scholars.
Known today as the "Earth Monster," the sculpture was likely taken from central Mexico during the 1960s, spending time in the hands of private collectors as well as on public display before being seized by antiquities trafficking agents working with New York prosecutors.
The symbol-laden artifact weighs roughly a tonne (2,200 pounds) and was likely found several decades earlier at the Chalcatzingo archeological site in Morelos state, just south of Mexico City.
US officials coordinated with their Mexican counterparts to repatriate the sculpture earlier this week.
It was carved from volcanic rock sometime between 800-400 BC during the heyday of the Olmec civilization, one of Mexico's earliest complex societies with sites mostly clustered around the country's Gulf coast. The Olmecs are well-known for their advanced artistic tradition, including colossal head sculptures.
More:
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-744330
= new reply since forum marked as read
by Jeremy Hance on 4 December 2014
Indigenous group hopes the monument will help them protect an embattled Amazon reserve
A still from the film, The Reunion, showing the Rostro Harakbut.
A new short film documents the journey of an Amazonian tribe hiking deep into their territory to encounter a mysterious stone countenance that was allegedly carved by ancient peoples. According to Handcrafted Films, which produced the documentary entitled The Reunion, this was the first time the Rostro Harakbut (i.e. the countenance of the Harakbut people) has been filmed. Today, the monument—and the indigenous people in the Peruvian region—are imperiled by an influx of illegal loggers, miners, and colonists.
“It was three days of rough hiking to get there, but then it was glorious,” Rainforest Foundation U.S. Program Manager, Tom Bewick, who was along during the expedition, told mongabay.com “The Rostro is extraordinary, and it really has the feeling of a guardian of the forest. Luis and Jaime, the main protagonists in the film, were genuinely awestruck.”
Rising above a waterfall—and looking somewhat like the brooding stone faces of Easter Island or something out of the Lord of the Rings—this giant monument has long been known to the Harakbut people who live in the Amarakaeri Reserve. But they have kept it a secret until now. The the giant face has never been studied by archeologists, but the Harakbut believe the face is not the product of natural forces, but carved by their ancient ancestors.
The Reunion from Handcrafted Films on Vimeo.
Bewick says there are a number of clues pointing to manmade origin, rather than natural forces.
“The Rostro is perched perfectly overlooking a river valley, and presides over a waterfall and a basin that resembles an amphitheater,” he explained, adding that “there are markings all over the Rostro that indicate that it was hacked out with rudimentary tools.”
More:
https://news.mongabay.com/2014/12/giant-stone-face-unveiled-in-the-amazon-rainforest-video/
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Surprise! I found the 8 minute film clip on YouTube! I hope you have time to see it. I loved it immediately.
193 views Nov 27, 2014
Stunning story about indigenous Harakbut people exploring their ancient past in the Peruvian Amazon with the discovery of an enormous carved stone face 'rostra' in the cliffs of the jungle. The 'rostra' had never been documented before. Perhaps the discovery of these ancient monuments could help prevent the exploration of gold mining and petroleum companies encroaching upon their territories. You can find other short films on a similar issue at If Not Us Then Who: ifnotusthenwho.me/ The films are a culmination of more than two years of participatory filming by Handcrafted Films. From Indonesia to Peru, we have been working with local partners to articulate individual stories through film.
Using the powerful visuals they are now organising a global roadshow in the lead up to COP21 in Paris. Our aim is to draw attention to the wider issue of deforestation, community-based solutions and ultimately to put pressure on governments and their commitment to slow climate change.
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For anyone who doesn't know, the U.S. oil company, Hunt Oil, which is the one hovering over this area with the idea of exploiting it was mentioned in the Mongabay article. It was started and owned by E.L. Hunt, eccentric father of the late Lamar Hunt who bought the Texan football team, moved it to Kansas City, renamed it as the Kansas City Chiefs, an outstanding team, and grandfather of the current owner, Lamar Hunt's son. (I have failed to remember his name as Lamar's name was identified with the Chiefs so very long. ) It's horrible knowing an oil company which was ever related to the Chiefs is the organization interested in tearing up the Amazon! Curse, curse, curses.
Natural rockface or tribal sculpture? Peru and US’s Hunt Oil don’t care
Natural rockface or tribal sculpture? Peru and US’s Hunt Oil don’t care
The recent “rediscovery” of the “Harakbut Face” in the Amazon raises fears about gas exploration.
David Hill
Fri 8 May 2015 11.17 EDT
Do you see what that man in the photo above sees in the rock in front of him? That’s what some Harakbut indigenous people call the “Rostro Harakbut” - the “Harakbut Face” - located in a spectacular, super-remote part of the south-east Peruvian Amazon.
Is the “Rostro” natural - whatever that means really - or has it been sculpted, or does that even matter? Is it true it was effectively “rediscovered” by someone working for a firm contracted by US-based company Hunt Oil which was cutting seismic lines through the area and detonating 1000s of explosives underground? Just how important is the “Rostro” to the Harakbuts, and can its existence help them to protect their wonderful forests and rivers from gold-miners and gas exploration by Hunt?
Tom Bewick, from the Rainforest Foundation US, also visited with Redman. He told the Guardian he thinks the “Rostro” was sculpted because:
There are no other rocks remotely similar in shape in that river valley. . . [It] is perched perfectly overlooking a valley, and presides over a waterfall and a basin that resembles an amphitheater. . . There are markings all over [it] that indicate it was hacked out with rudimentary tools. . . There are actually two Rostros - a Rostro within a Rostro - look below the nose. . . The boulders along the river are arranged in a way to channel the flow away from hitting the [Rostro’s] face directly, and in a way that would make it impossible for the face formation to have been caused by impact from even the heaviest of storms. . . The Harakbut don’t have a written history, but claim the Rostro has been in their oral history for generations and generations.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/andes-to-the-amazon/2015/may/08/natural-rockface-tribal-sculpture-hunt-oil-peru
I have heard about these in the past. We have a few in NA too though mostly only our indigenous peoples know about them. Interesting film, thanks for posting.
Thank you, so much, for taking the time to check it out. 
Thanks for the info. that this has happened in NA, as well. Didn't know. Very good news.
