An extremely rare opportunity is offered to visitors to Pointe-à-Callière: works from the Olmec civilization, the oldest in Mesoamerica, dating back 3,600 years, are on display until September 15 in the museum of archeology and history of Montreal.
The exhibition presents 272 pieces from this little-known era, including some masterpieces that have never been shown to the public. A 4.5-ton stone head, created three millennia ago, is among the main attractions of the event.
From 1600 years before the Common Era (another way of saying “before Jesus Christ”) and until the year 200, this civilization laid the foundations of a culture of which certain elements remain present in Mexico and America central.
Seasoned architects, the Olmecs built the first pyramids in Mesoamerica. They practiced agriculture using a sophisticated irrigation system. They invented a calendar and a writing guide using pictograms. Manufacturing rubber allowed them to create the ball game, which continued in subsequent civilizations, including the Mayans and Aztecs.
“It is a truly exceptional exhibition, and a tour de force to bring together for the first time these objects which come from 12 Mexican institutions,” says Anne Élisabeth Thibault, general director of Pointe-à-Callière.
Juan Manuel Garibay López, coordinator at the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico, was moved to admire these usually scattered artifacts under one roof. “This is an important journey into Olmec culture and artifacts,” he said in English.
The exhibition opens a window onto the territory and myths of this ancient civilization, recently brought to light – a farmer from Tres Zapotes, near the Gulf of Mexico, discovered by chance on his land, in 1858, the first of the 17 heads monumental buildings which were all buried in the ground. Protected from oxygen and humidity, these statues are in an astonishing state of conservation.
Aura of mystery
The circumstances of the decline of the Olmec civilization remain to be established. “We know that several objects were buried. We couldn’t get rid of objects that were too heavy. Is it because of a war? Would we have wanted to hide the influence of this civilization? » asks Anne Élisabeth Thibault.
The discovery of the first heads and other figurines, at the end of the 19th centurye and at the beginning of the 20th centurye century, has intrigued archaeologists and historians. “The works were so distinct from those of subsequent civilizations that when they found the first heads, they initially thought they might be African heritage, given the quite unique facial features,” explains the director of Pointe-à-Callière.
“But as we began to discover other objects, notably in rubber, but also in jade, such as ritual axes, we understood that several elements of this civilization were found in the civilizations which followed. These were not disparate objects, but from a very well-organized civilization, which mastered the earth and engineering,” she adds.
The Olmecs worshiped the jaguar, corn and water, underlines Brigitte Lacroix, project manager at Pointe-à-Callière. Sculptures of jaguar men bear witness to an ancient myth of the creation of the world from the point of view of these pre-Columbian people.
Warrior heads
The TV series The mysterious cities of Gold, created in the early 1980s, falsely portrayed the Olmecs as villains who lived during the era of Spanish colonizers. Anne Élisabeth Thibault has not seen the series, but considers it “plausible” that they were personified as threatening beings.
“The heads are still warrior heads. They are covered with a headdress, the look is quite piercing. However, historical and archaeological research does not allow us to affirm that these were a particularly bloodthirsty people,” she concludes.
The 4.5-ton head on display in Montreal is the only one, among the 17 existing, that can be moved elsewhere in the world. The work arrived by air in a wooden box. The sculpture was placed in its protective envelope on the base where it is displayed. The wooden armor was then dismantled. Half a dozen technicians, supported by “very little machinery”, carried out the operation.
“These are very delicate manipulations,” explains the museum director. It is still the heritage of humanity. You can’t replace works like that. That’s why we’re so lucky to have them in Montreal. »