[Aztlan] Zero and the Long Count

[David Hixson]

--- Jorge Pérez de Lara <jorgepl at estudioelias.com>
wrote:

> Tres Zapotes Stela C ...[snipped]
> A stone at Chiapa de Corzo... [snipped]
> The
> La Mojarra stela and 
> the so-called Tuxtla statuette... [snipped]

> ...dates are too late for the monuments
> to be Olmec...
 
First of all, Jorge is absolutely correct (in my
opinion).

However, this really depends upon how one defines
"Olmec".  If one limits the definition to the Early
and Middle Preclassic sites of the Gulf Coast
(especially the sites of San Lorenzo and La Venta) --
then yes, there are no clear indications of the
"Olmec" using the long count.

However, the Tres Zapotes monument, along with the
Tuxtla Statuette and others do indicate that the long
count was in use by the later Middle Preclassic and
early Late Preclassic, in or near the Olmec heartland.

So, for the "splitters" -- these are not Olmec. Yet
for the "lumpers" -- these can be seen as evidence for
the development of the long count out of "later"
(generally glossed as "Epi-") Olmec culture.

I have my personal opinions on this (like Jorge, I'm a
splitter), but I wanted to make sure that casual
readers knew that if someone says the "Olmec" used the
long count, this would certainly be a defensible
point, even if some Olmec specialists would disagree
about using the term "Olmec" for what is often
considered "Epi-Olmec" culture.

May I suggest the cleverly titled article "First
Dates" by Joyce Marcus.  This is an excellent survey
of known early calendar dates in Mesoamerica:

Marcus, Joyce 
1991     "First Dates" Natural History 4:26-29 

-Dave


       
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