Currently not on view
Human ear,
900–600 B.C.
and supernatural figures, all carved in Olmec style, have been discovered from Costa Rica to the central Mexican Highlands to the southwest Mexican coast in the present-day state of Guerrero.
More Context
Didactics
The remarkable, naturalistic carving of this human ear, which conveys the cartilaginous structure and texture, is in marked contrast to that of the flangelike ears typical on even the most realistic Olmec images. The only intrusion on this verisimilitude is the incision at the tragus. No holes exist for mounting or suspension except that in the lobe, which may have held an attachment. If worn as a pendant, it would have hung upside down. The ear is flat at the bottom, most likely a formal expediency. Four shallow holes are drilled along the front edge of the ear; the third hole from the top is drilled through horizontally. It is not known whether this ear was originally one of a pair or carved alone. The significance of such an isolated body part is unknown, although they perhaps functioned as trophies or, as has been suggested, funerary regalia. (from The Olmec World, 1996)
Information
900–600 B.C.
North America, Mexico, Guerrero
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