Twin 'grumpy mouth' reliefs of Olmec contortionists discovered in Mexico

The Olmec reliefs are thought to depict local rulers performing ritual contortion.

The rulers from the ancient Olmec civilization are thought to have come from Tenosique, a town located in the state of Tabasco, near Mexico's southern tip. The Olmec ruled from 1200 B.C. to 400 B.C. They are best known for their sculptures of huge heads.

The sculptures are made of limestone and measure 4.5 feet in diameter and 1,543 pounds in weight. The faces of local rulers are depicted with their mouths agape and their arms crossed. The leaders' open mouths are alluding to the "roar of the jaguar" and each piece has footprints, corncobs and an Olmec cross.

This shows that the portraits were of important figureheads in the Olmec community.

The ancient ritual bloodletting may have been done at carvings in Mexico.

The later Maya ajaw altars may have evolved into the Olmec carving style. The word "ajaw" means "he who shouts, he who sends, and the one who orders, and in these Maya monuments the mouth stands out." The Caracol Maya archaeological site in Belize contains some of the Maya ajaw altars, which tell us about the permanence of this theme for more than three centuries.

There are five different reliefs of contortionists attributed to the Olmec that have been found elsewhere in the region. The portraits depict rulers doing ritual contortion. "Adopting a stance that reduces the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain to achieve a trance-like state" is what this practice involves, according to Heritage Daily.

The Middle Usumacinta region is bordered by the Chacamax River to the north and the San Pedro River to the south. An anonymous tip led to the discovery of the reliefs in 2019. The Ejido Emiliano Zapata piece is included in the collection of the Pomon site Museum.

It was originally published on Live Science