[Aztlan] ME,AR:Was there a "Proto-Mayan Empire"?; viz. Nicaraguan columns & statues, Costa Rican jades,etc.?

[kevin farley]

> When I was last in Granada,Nicaragua I saw many very large 
statues in the Museum there. Very weathered looking. They were lacking in detail mostly, but  one looked almost Aztec (!!?). Are they soft stone?..."tufa" ?...or have they been smoothed by being weathered for a VERY long time? 
> Where do they fit into Meseo-American archeology? 
> Does anyone know where more can be found?..in the Lake Nicaragua 
> region? ...  Elsewhere? 
 Who made them? When? ,,,etc. I'd love to know more. 
   There don"t appear to be any Temples,etc.in that area  to acomodate these large statues.(?!?). Were these people in in thestatue&column export business? 
    In addition to those large mysterious stone (or tufa?)statues found 
in the Lake Nicaragua region,
  I've also been wondering why Costa Rica has the most magnificicnt 
Jade Collection ( and pottery and ceramic art collections of great sophistication and 
variaties of styles ) but seemingly  no major acrhitecture to speak 
of ??? Any thoughts? 
  Was Mayan Civilization much more diversified and trade-friendly than 
previovsly thought? Or was there an earlier Meta-Mayan empire that 
allowed for manufacture of artifacts in Costa Rica for "market " in 
the Yacatan.(ie.A united system, or Empire,without the boundries to 
trade implyed by the image of waring City States?) 
  Can the mineral composition of the statues and columns made in 
Nicaragua be traced to sites in other places? 
  Are the columns at Chichen Iza of local stone? Or from elsewhere? 
  Analysis of mineral signatures should trace these patterns.Has such work 
been done? 
  I look forward to hearing more from anyone with information and/or 
ideas on this subject. 
                                  Siccerely,   Kevin Farley

       
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