Revealing the Truth Behind the Olmecs

The ancient Olmecs were Black Africans of the Manding-Shi group. Their artwork consisted of a collection of twenty-two colossal stone heads. The Manding-Shi was the original Sahara civilization that began over 20,000 years ago. The ancient Olmecs were the first civilization of Mexico. They were also known as the aquatic people. The Olmecs used a script identical to an alphabet used by Africans of the Mende ethnic and linguistic group. This script was found on monuments at Monte Alban, Mexico and other places. When the script used by the Olmec’s was compared to Mende script, it was identical, and the words and translation was found to be the Mende language. The Olmecs were West Africans of the Mende group and they spoke the Mende language and used the script. The Olmec heads have distinct features that resemble Africans from West Africa. The heads are 1.5 to 3.5 meters in size and weigh 5 to 50 tons. They are made from basalt from mountains. The mountains are 150km away and were somehow transported without wheels or animals. They were made in honor of rulers and only a ruler would be able to have one made. They are made to look like a specific person, most likely an Olmec ruler. The headdress depicted on the Olmec heads would have been made from cloth and animal hide. The Olmec heads had flat faces, thick lips, the African hairline is clearly visible in some stone and terracotta works, the use of cornrows, afro hair style, flat "mohawk" style similar to the type used in Africa, dreadlocks, braided hair and even plain kinky hair. Not all of the heads are the same but they all have some form of a characteristic that resembles that of the Mende civilization in West Africa. Relation to other works The Olmec heads were only the beginning of statues to come. The Stonehenges were also colossal stone structures that took a great amount of people to construct. The Stonehenges were associated with death and burial and held meaning to the civilization that constructed them. The Egyptians also had sculptures that reflected a piece of their civilization. Egyptian sculptures reflect the religious beliefs of the community. Egyptians believed that at birth a person contained spiritual life that in order to live on Egyptian’s came up with mummification. Mummification did not suffice they began to make statues so that the spirit could live on. Egyptian sculptures of Pharaohs were created in very formal manners and in a style of realism. Leaders were depicted most of the time throughout history up until the classical and archaic style began to surface. Then we see sculptures pertaining more toward gods. Greek sculptures focused on sculpting out perfection with the human body. The Greeks made sure there sculptures encompassed a balance, symmetry and preciseness. During this period sculptures began to change over the years. Sculptures went from tense facial expressions, to the smile known as the archaic smile, to the Laocoon sculpture in which the expression is showing an intense and very emotional facial expression with movement. Humanism, idealism, and realism all focus on the bodies anatomy, movements, and there flexing of the muscles. They kept the realism in the facial expressions and idealized the figures body drastically. So from the Olmec heads to art history today, so much has changed and evolved. Humanities relation to God The Olmec heads are very pertinent in unlocking how this culture of people related to their God. The religious practices of the Olmecs were identical to the religious practices of West Africans. The Olmecs had a religious practice of Thunder Worship that involved an ax as a prominent feature. The Olmecs made use of Shamen’s just as West African civilizations. Some religious artifacts used by the Olmecs were found on a statue of an ancient Nigerian Oni or Priest-king. That is another truth for all cultures. Humanities relation to the Universe In relation to the Universe there is a theme to use art history as a way of depicting a greater idea and even today these universals still convey meaning. Just as the Olmecs used these colossal stone heads to honor their rulers, we see this same trend all throughout history up until today. There truly is not anything new under the sun, because all the other civilizations that came after the Africans borrowed all their ideas. All throughout society we see that for all people, art is a constant and will remain. Art has been a catalyst in expressing various ideas, concepts and the way in which cultures or civilizations have thrived all throughout history. We see in the Olmec stone heads that even the African Olmecs had some sort of hierarchy and social structure. Every civilization in order to thrive must have order and laws in place to build foundation and structure. Humanities relation to Humanity Throughout history there are traces of many cultures and civilizations. There seems to be an innate desire within to leave something great behind for the next generation to come and we see this throughout art history. Sculptures are one of the earliest ways that civilizations have used for many purposes and functions within their societies. African figural sculpture served many functions: grave figures were designed to watch over the dead, fertility images were invoked to promote or assist in childbirth; still other sculptures served in rituals of divination and healing. The use of sculptures served many purposes such as honoring someone divine or in high position, reminding of evil, victory celebrations, ritualistic purposes and the like. As for the Manding-Shi civilization, these sculptures sought to honor rulers within their group. The size of sculptures often times depicts the level of superiority an individual has within a specific civilization. It also amazes me how powerful a group of people can be when working toward the same goal. There are some colossal, monumental architecture, sculptures and various works of art that today historians and the like cannot figure out how they were constructed. “Know thyself.” This quote reveals exactly what I am choosing to do as an African-American woman in a society that depicts “Black” and “African” in a negative light. The lack of African presence in the textbook depiction of Africa amazes me and not to mention the amount of history that is left out. It saddens my heart to see all the biases that inform a lot of information placed in the humanities textbook. This affects the conventions of who I am and how I see myself. The ideas throughout America are all based on European perspectives infused with stolen traditions from the African people. During the Old Kingdom or pre-history period of Egypt, Egypt was known as Kemet. Kemet means “The Black Nation or “The Black City.” The Kemetic people were ancient black people of the Nile Valley. They studied the cosmos and recognized that great powers hold the universe together. This was a land ruled by African people; people who looked like me. There is power in history and everyone is entitled to know their history. I feel so strongly about my culture and my people, so when I gain information that contradicts African history it pushes me to learn more and to understand all angles of the debates and arguments. Evaluation The Olmec heads have been up for debate for many years and today humanist, historians and the like argue whether the Olmecs were African people. The evidence speaks for itself and “According to one of the scientists who appeared on the Art Bell Show, there was some embarrassment among Mexican archeologists because they thought that the most ancient calendar was that of the Mayas…They have examined pottery and terracotta figurines from Mexico and have concluded based on tribal scarification, cornrows and other evidence that the Olmecs with Negroid features were infact West Africans.” So this just goes to show that we cannot run from the truth. No matter how much it is veiled and conformed, it will still leak out at some point. References & Resources: http://geographytsu.freehomepage.com/AfricanPresenceinEarlyAmerica.htm MEXICAN ARCHEOLOGISTS "EMBARRASSED" BY DISCOVERY OF ANCIENT AFRO-OLMEC CALENDAR DATING BACK TO ABOUT 3113 B.C. From: Paul Barton Date: 3/3/01 The History of Sculpture from The New Book of Knowledge® http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3753866 BLACK CIVILIZATIONS OF ANCIENT AMERICA (MUU-LAN), MEXICO (XI) Gigantic stone head of Negritic African during the Olmec (Xi) Civilization By Paul Barton http://www.raceandhistory.com/historicalviews/ancientamerica.htm The Olmecs: An African Presence in Early America [Excerpt from a larger article] By Paul A. Barton http://www.essaysbyekowa.com/olmecs.htm Ancient Egyptian Sculpture https://sites.google.com/site/completearthistory/egyptian-sculp