Chapter 4
Part II
Having observed repitions in certain colors, styles, shapes and patterns, I wondered if there other repitions I had missed over the years. Sure enough there were and below you will see another example of repition play out.
If you look carefully you can see that this stone has a small depression or divot at its center. The divot is circular, uniform in shape, and appears to have been made by tooling⁴ as opposed to being depressed by hand (more specifically a finger). The opposite side is smooth and flat and absent a similar depression.
This small white egg-shaped terracotta piece also has a divot or depression. The divot is uniform and also appears to have been tooled. The exterior border of the stone has been painted with a solid brown band. The central portion has been painted brown in a speckled almost airbrush style. Both sides of this stone are nearly identical.
Side A of this slightly globular shaped terracotta stone is painted in the same speckled airbrush style as the last example. Side B displays a circular divot accentuated by a white space. The depression is uniform in shape. Once again, the divot appears to have been created with the use of some type of tool. And, once again, under close examination, no tool marks are evident. These two images are of the stone in a standing position.
When viewed from alternate perspectives this stone, like others, becomes more impressive.
A frontal overhead view of Side B reveals the oval-shaped base of the stone. As you can see the oval-shaped base is painted black. Do you recall seeing the black oval-shape on another stone? Well, you did back in chapter one. Apparently the blackened oval shape held some important meaning as it too was repeatedly seen.
Additional views.
Tip: Divots were sometimes used to form large oversized eyes much as black ovals were sometimes used to form mouths.
This bone-white terracotta piece has a circular divot in the center. The maker of this stone chose to highlight the divot by the use of a lighter shade of white, like the previous example. Brown pigments/paint were applied in an almost airbrush style, as shown in the last two examples. Similar pigments were also placed on the opposite side of this stone.
Wide black pigments were applied to other sections of the stone. If you look carefully at these blackened sections you might be pleasantly surprised by what is seen.
On the right, I’ve taken the liberty of highlighting the blackened section referenced in red. In this example the white border surrounding the black pigments forms two symbols combined; a double heart ♥ and a yet discussed symbol. No doubt the double heart ♥ symbol is for the two entities it encircles. If you don’t see their faces it’s alright. To be fair, I haven’t told you about the nine (9) distinct styles the Aha used to create these stones. These nine styles will be discussed in the next chapter.
The above piece is intact although, like many others, it appears broken. Below are a few more images from different perspectives. Each view provides a different image. One in particular forms the head of a white hoarse 🐴 with a speckled black mane.
Here’s another terracotta piece with a divot.
This stone was painted in a similar style as the others. It also has black banding or paint added to create symbols like the one highlighted in red. The opposite side is smooth and has no divot. Multiple views of this piece are provided as well.
Finally, here is the divot of all divots!
What makes this piece extra super special is the fact that it is highly polished obsidian stone 🧐🤯. The divot or depression is circular and uniform like other examples shown. Equally, the divot appears to have been tool made. Like the first divot stone example, the opposite side of this piece is flat. How the Aha people were able to delicately work obsidian stone and polish it to a mirror finish boggles the mind. This stone is pictured under indirect and focused lighting.
Throughout this chapter I have shown you various repeating patterns found in connection with these stones. If nothing more, the last stone, and the others, truly makes you wonder what life in the Americas was like Before the Olmec.
This ends chapter 4. I hope you’ve been entertained as well as educated by these amazing stones. Thanks for all of the support and by all means share. ☺️😃👍.