Olmec Plaque

Etched into this jade tablet is one of the earliest known depictions of the Mesoamerican cosmos. A pyramid-shaped mountain sits atop the open maw of a cave, an entrance to the primordial waters of the underworld. This mountain-cave motif embodies the three levels of the cosmos: the celestial mountaintop where the gods reside, the earth, and the watery underworld. Among the Nahua, this ancient concept is analogous to the altepetl (water-mountain), a symbol of both a land and its people. A maize plant directly above the mountain-cave represents the axis mundi, with four kernels marking the corners of the cosmos.

This vessel reproduces—in both form and design—the fundamental concepts of Mesoamerican land and lineage: a mountain atop a cave, through which flow the primordial waters of creation. Painted with remarkable artistry, this vase depicts a supernatural scene that envelopes its entire surface, including the base. The complex scene relates a story of creation, principally the birth of a yellow-haired culture hero and his subsequent ensoulment in a baptismal water rite. The narrative begins with two creator deities who converse in a stylized mountain within a personified cave. The fanged maw of the cave curls to open on the base of the vessel.