Mexico recovers Olmec “monster of the earth” in the US

Mexico recovered in the United States a monument of more than a ton belonging to the ancient Olmec culture that represents “a monster of the earth” and that was carved before the Christian era, the government reported.

“It reaches 1.8 meters in height and 1.5 meters in width, and weighs approximately one ton and dates from the Middle Preclassic period (800-400 BC),” the Foreign Ministry and the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) reported on Friday. ) in a joint statement.

He Chalcatzingo Monument 9originally from the current state of Morelos (center), “is one of the most important pieces that Mexico was looking for,” the foreign minister told the press Marcelo Ebrardand specified that the operation to transport the piece to this country will be detailed soon.

The bas-relief depicts a “monster of the earth”a cosmogonic creature that appears frequently in Olmec iconography, the statement explained.

The open jaws of the piece symbolize access to the underworld and “a sequence of three concentric bands is projected over its mouth, figuring the cruciform access to a cavern,” he added.

Although the manner and date in which it was illegally removed from Chalcatzingo is unknown, “it has been documented that it was disclosed in 1968, by the archaeologist David Grove in the American Antiquity magazine, hence it is thought that at the beginning of the second half of the 20th century was already in the United States,” the statement said.

The New York authorities recovered the monument, but the press release did not specify where it was found.

As part of the effort of mexican government For rescuing the historical heritage illegally removed from the country, since 2018 almost 10,000 goods have been recovered, some about to be auctioned, according to official figures.