Congenital Deformities and the Olmec Were-Jaguar Motif
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2571389 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Carson N Murdy (Pennsylvania State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1981 |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 861-871 |
| Publication date | 1981-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Antiquity (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-7316 • E-ISSN: 2325-5064 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/280112 |
| OpenAlex | W2323085548 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 15 |
Although previous studies of Olmec iconography have correctly recognized the importance of the jaguar element and its conceptual origins in the shaman-jaguar transformation complex of beliefs, they have not explained why the Olmec expression of feline features should be different from their expression in other prehistoric American art styles sharing origins in the same complex of beliefs, nor why the Olmec chose to express them in the form of an infant were-jaguar, often held in the arms of a seated adult male. It is here suggested that the majority of the attributes of the were-jaguar motif can best be explained by analogy with the congenital deformities manifested in and associated with multifactorial neural tube defects. The apparent fusion of the portrayal of these defects with the portrayal of feline elements suggests that the art style and religious beliefs were being manipulated for political reasons, which would be most likely in a chiefdom form of sociopolitical organization. Reasons for stylistic variation in the portrayal of the were-jaguar and its widespread distribution are discussed
Aesthetics · Archaeology · Art · Biology · Genealogy · Iconography · Jaguar · Motif (music) · Prehistory · Shamanism · Sociology · Anthropology · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · Ecology · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · History · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
Origins of the state and civilization
Handbook of Middle American Indians
The Aztecs, Maya and Their Predecessors
Origins of Religious Art and Iconography in Preclassic Mesoamerica
So-Called Jaguar-Human Copulation Scenes in Olmec Art
Some Archaeological Correlates of Ranked Societies
A Linguistic Look at the Olmecs
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |