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DOCUMENTED OUTFIT · CLOSED CONTEXT OR CONTROLLED COMPARISON

La Venta grave goods

Tomb A: green, red and a lost identity

Tomb A at La Venta contained jade, beads, cinnabar and other objects alongside highly deteriorated human remains.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

DECLARED VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION · AI-GENERATED IMAGE · TRACEKEEPERS

Generated reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis

Declared visual reconstruction; not a photograph of the original nor documentary evidence.

Contextual image of Sixteen figures before six axes as if a gathering were suspended for the La Venta offering set
DECLARED VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION · AI-GENERATED IMAGE · TRACEKEEPERS

Generated reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis

Declared visual reconstruction; not a photograph of the original nor documentary evidence.

History and context

INAH links the figurine and other jade objects to mortuary bundle II, associated with highly deteriorated remains of a young person.

Representative objects: Basalt chamber, mortuary bundles, female jade figurine, hematite mirror, cinnabar, beads, stingray spine and shark tooth.

Evidence and interpretation

Documented fact: INAH links the figurine and other jade objects to mortuary bundle II, associated with highly deteriorated remains of a young person. Mandatory caution: We do not know the name or function of each object. Offering 4 is a ritual deposit, not a demonstrated human tomb.

Catalogue facts

Date
ca. 600–400 BCE
Location
Complex A, La Venta · Tabasco
Complex
Basalt chamber, mortuary bundles, female jade figurine, hematite mirror, cinnabar, beads, stingray spine and shark tooth
Level
Trousseau or funerary context with visible caution

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

Greenstone8 dated objects

7 / 8In the centre: La Venta grave goods

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: .

Objects linking sea, tools and body

The grave goods of Burial II included more than a human figure: a stingray-spine-shaped jade pendant, a votive perforator, and a representation of two forearms with hands. The museum interprets these pieces alongside the shark tooth and ray remains as material references to the marine world and known utensils. The seated figurine measures nearly eight centimetres and wears a simple skirt and a hematite mirror on the chest. The miniatures allow the study of which objects were selected to accompany the deceased, without identifying their sex by that of an associated figure.

Location and territory

Physical world map with routes of human evolutionPresent-day world coastline from Natural Earth in an equirectangular projection. The overlaid markers let you explore each milestone.Map base: Natural Earth 1:110m · public domain · present-day reference coastline

LOCATED SITE

La Venta · MexicoMarker of the archaeological complex.

Where it is held

National Museum of Anthropology (Mexico)

Item or group in the record · Documented collection

The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.

Sources and references

Consult the institutional funeral context

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