Luke Caverns

So this is made... So this is made from basalt by the modern Olmec people.

So this is made... So this is made from basalt by the modern Olmec people.

Yeah, super cool. So these guys – Thank you. These guys, we don't know who they are. We don't know exactly what they represent because they're just guys with normal faces. They have Olmec faces, but they're all wearing this helmet. What the hell does the helmet mean? It could be two different things.

Yeah, super cool. So these guys – Thank you. These guys, we don't know who they are. We don't know exactly what they represent because they're just guys with normal faces. They have Olmec faces, but they're all wearing this helmet. What the hell does the helmet mean? It could be two different things.

Yeah, super cool. So these guys – Thank you. These guys, we don't know who they are. We don't know exactly what they represent because they're just guys with normal faces. They have Olmec faces, but they're all wearing this helmet. What the hell does the helmet mean? It could be two different things.

It's a signature of their divine rulership, like we think they might be kings, somebody who can commission a monument this big. This is a testament to his power. Or these are revered ballgame players, the Mesoamerican ballgame. I'm sure you've dove into this a little bit. Or it's both, that the most masculine thing that you can be is a great Mesoamerican ballgame player, and that's the king.

It's a signature of their divine rulership, like we think they might be kings, somebody who can commission a monument this big. This is a testament to his power. Or these are revered ballgame players, the Mesoamerican ballgame. I'm sure you've dove into this a little bit. Or it's both, that the most masculine thing that you can be is a great Mesoamerican ballgame player, and that's the king.

It's a signature of their divine rulership, like we think they might be kings, somebody who can commission a monument this big. This is a testament to his power. Or these are revered ballgame players, the Mesoamerican ballgame. I'm sure you've dove into this a little bit. Or it's both, that the most masculine thing that you can be is a great Mesoamerican ballgame player, and that's the king.

He wants to see himself out of it. It's the same thing as Marcus Aurelius' son. Why am I forgetting his name? The really bad emperor. God, I can't remember his name. But anyways, he wanted to be seen like Hercules fighting in the Colosseum. And, um, so we think this might be a kind of similar thing. There's a whole different type of people that are existing in the Olmec realm.

He wants to see himself out of it. It's the same thing as Marcus Aurelius' son. Why am I forgetting his name? The really bad emperor. God, I can't remember his name. But anyways, he wanted to be seen like Hercules fighting in the Colosseum. And, um, so we think this might be a kind of similar thing. There's a whole different type of people that are existing in the Olmec realm.

He wants to see himself out of it. It's the same thing as Marcus Aurelius' son. Why am I forgetting his name? The really bad emperor. God, I can't remember his name. But anyways, he wanted to be seen like Hercules fighting in the Colosseum. And, um, so we think this might be a kind of similar thing. There's a whole different type of people that are existing in the Olmec realm.

Um, we can look up, uh, uh, Olmec where Jaguar, please, Jamie. Um, thank you. And, um, There's a whole different type of person. So here's one image. If you keep scrolling, you'll see images that are carved into... So this is a little bit of a better image right here.

Um, we can look up, uh, uh, Olmec where Jaguar, please, Jamie. Um, thank you. And, um, There's a whole different type of person. So here's one image. If you keep scrolling, you'll see images that are carved into... So this is a little bit of a better image right here.

Um, we can look up, uh, uh, Olmec where Jaguar, please, Jamie. Um, thank you. And, um, There's a whole different type of person. So here's one image. If you keep scrolling, you'll see images that are carved into... So this is a little bit of a better image right here.

But sometimes when they're carved into jade and you can see the light reflecting off of it, you get a better image of what these things really look like. So where Jaguar, Olmec, and maybe do jade. Oh yeah, there we go. Top right. Yeah, check that guy out. So that's a human. That's not an animal. It is a human who has turned into the essence of a jaguar.

But sometimes when they're carved into jade and you can see the light reflecting off of it, you get a better image of what these things really look like. So where Jaguar, Olmec, and maybe do jade. Oh yeah, there we go. Top right. Yeah, check that guy out. So that's a human. That's not an animal. It is a human who has turned into the essence of a jaguar.

But sometimes when they're carved into jade and you can see the light reflecting off of it, you get a better image of what these things really look like. So where Jaguar, Olmec, and maybe do jade. Oh yeah, there we go. Top right. Yeah, check that guy out. So that's a human. That's not an animal. It is a human who has turned into the essence of a jaguar.

And we see this everywhere, all over the Olmec world. But they're never the colossal heads. They're always in jade or they're smaller Olmec monuments. And sometimes the heads are maimed, like the head is just completely destroyed. And there's these jaguar claws that are carved into an Olmec face, like tearing apart its face, tearing apart the symbol that's on the top of their head.

And we see this everywhere, all over the Olmec world. But they're never the colossal heads. They're always in jade or they're smaller Olmec monuments. And sometimes the heads are maimed, like the head is just completely destroyed. And there's these jaguar claws that are carved into an Olmec face, like tearing apart its face, tearing apart the symbol that's on the top of their head.

And we see this everywhere, all over the Olmec world. But they're never the colossal heads. They're always in jade or they're smaller Olmec monuments. And sometimes the heads are maimed, like the head is just completely destroyed. And there's these jaguar claws that are carved into an Olmec face, like tearing apart its face, tearing apart the symbol that's on the top of their head.