My Mind's on Mesoamerica

I've been re-reading Dennis Tedlock's translation of the Popul Vuh (no, no not the Popul Vuh you're thinking of), so Mesoamerica has been on my mind. The Popol Vuh relates the creation myth of the K'iche' Maya, and the deeds of their divine and human precursors. Yes, Mesoamerica has loomed in my thoughts lately (it could just be the desire to leave the cold, slushy Northeast for a tropical locale, though).

The oldest known Mesoamerican civilization, the likely predecessor of Mayan civilization, was the Olmec civilization. Olmec art is known for it's massive stone heads, and its slightly unsettling "were-jaguar" babies. Hey, now, wait a minute... let's get a closer look at one of those were-jaguar babies:






Hmm... now where have I seen that sneering, down-turned mouth? O!M!G!





AYIYIYIYI! It all makes sense now, the talk of blood, the role as a "basketball player"... Sarah in 2012 is looking pretty terrifying.

In order to scrub this awfulness from your mind, there's a gorgeous animated version of the Popol Vuh by Patricia Amlin, inspired by images taken from Mayan ceramics: