Jadeite celt, 10-4th century BCE, Mexico, Mesoamerica Metropolitan Museum of Art About 1000 BCE, celts-elongated, elliptical ground stone tools-would acquire meaning beyond their workaday function. When made of greenstones such as the hard, polishable jadeite, celts symbolized ears of maize. The profile image incised on the upper portion of this celt is that of the Olmec maize god, identifiable by the tall tripartite element emerging from the cleft in his headdress.
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Cite This Work
APA Style
Art, M. M. o. (2018, April 16). Olmec Celtiform Ax. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/8622/olmec-celtiform-ax/
Chicago Style
Art, Metropolitan Museum of. "Olmec Celtiform Ax." World History Encyclopedia, April 16, 2018. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/8622/olmec-celtiform-ax/.
MLA Style
Art, Metropolitan Museum of. "Olmec Celtiform Ax." World History Encyclopedia, 16 Apr 2018, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/8622/olmec-celtiform-ax/.
