The United States will return an old monstruo of the tierra (“Earth Monster”) statue in Mexico. The one-ton artifact dates from 800 to 400 BCE and belongs to the Olmec civilization, an early Mesoamerican culture that influenced later societies, including the Maya.
Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard confirmed the resumption on March 31 Tweeter, naming the sculpture Mexico’s “most sought-after” Olmec artifact. The ancient civilization is perhaps best known for its massive stone heads – thought to represent the leaders – but also left behind other carved artifactsceramics and structures, including burial mounds and pyramids.
The hole in the center of the “earthly monster” is an open mouth which symbolizes the passage to hell. This figure is repeated throughout Olmec art and could help scholars to further the study of civilization according to a common agreement. statement of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).
The recently recovered artifact was created in south-central Mexico at Chalcatzingothe best preserved Olmec city. Archaeologist Mario Córdova Tello said the four bromeliad flowers growing from the figure’s gaping mouth are seen throughout Chalcatzingo art, and Mexican officials said the close connection to the ancient city makes the work of art as important as the more famous head sculptures.
Mexican authorities attribute the repossession to the Manhattan District Attorney’s (DA) Antiquities Trafficking Unit office. The unit has found hundreds of artifacts looted over the past few years, some from private collections and others from public institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The prosecutor’s office did not respond to Hyperallergic Immediate request for comment and has not made the recent recovery or repatriation public. A spokesperson for the Consul General of Mexico in New York said Hyperallergic that the office only knows “the Earth monster” was probably in the United States in the mid-20th century and made an appearance in a 1968 issue of American antiquity. It is not known exactly when and how the “earth monster” was illegally removed from Mexico.
Mexico has launched an aggressive initiative to repatriate its cultural heritage and has opposite the sale of its historical objects to auctions abroad. The country said it has received thousands of returned items over the past few years.
“This monument is a key element for research on Olmec iconography, so we receive it with great joy and enthusiasm,” Tello said.
