{{Short description|Signs found on the Cascajal Block}}{{Infobox writing system
| type        = Undeciphered (maybe [[logographic]] or [[proto-writing]])
| sample      = Bloque de Cascajal, Cultura olmeca.jpg
| caption     = Replica of the [[Cascajal block]], found in [[Jáltipan]], Veracruz and dated c. 900 BCE.
| time        = c. 900 BCE - 400 BCE
| fam1        = [[Proto-writing]]
| children    = * [[Isthmian script]]
| language    = [[Mixe–Zoque languages]]?
}}

'''Olmec hieroglyphs''' are a set of glyphs developed within the [[Olmec]] culture. The Olmecs were the earliest known major [[Mesoamerica]]n civilization, flourishing during the [[Mesoamerican chronology|formative period]] (1500–400 BCE) in the tropical lowlands of the modern-day Mexican states of [[Veracruz]] and [[Tabasco]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Diehl|first=Richard A.|url=https://archive.org/details/olmecsamericasfi0000dieh/page/9|title=The Olmecs : America's First Civilization|publisher=Thames and Hudson|year=2004|isbn=0-500-28503-9|location=London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/olmecsamericasfi0000dieh/page/9 9–25]|author-link=Richard Diehl}}</ref> The subsequent [[Epi-Olmec culture]] (300 BCE to 250 CE), was a [[successor culture]] to the Olmec and featured the [[Isthmian script]], which has been characterized as a full-fledged writing system, though with its partial decipherment being disputed.

There is no scholarly consensus whether Olmec hieroglyphs represent language, or are a system of [[proto-writing]]; the possible existence of writing during Middle and Late Olmec periods has been a matter of long-standing debate. Direct evidence includes the appearance of individual (potential) glyphs as well as the singleton [[Cascajal Block]] that bears a potential text. Indirect evidence includes similarities in calendar and writing systems between subsequent Mesoamerican cultures, for which the Olmecs are [[Olmec influences on Mesoamerican cultures|sometimes considered a mother culture]].<ref>"Esta gran cultura, que encontramos en niveles antiguos, es sin duda madre de otras culturas, como la maya, la teotihuacana, la zapoteca, la de El Tajín, y otras” ("This great culture, which we encounter in ancient levels, is without a doubt mother of other cultures, like the Maya, the Teotihuacana, the Zapotec, that of El Tajin, and others".) Caso (1942), p. 46.</ref>

==Periodization==
=== Cascajal block (c. 900 BCE) ===
{{Main|Cascajal Block}}
[[File:Cascajal-text.svg|right|thumb|The 62 glyphs of the [[Cascajal block]]]]
In September 2006, a report published in ''Science'' magazine announced the discovery of the Cascajal block, a writing-tablet-sized block of serpentine with 62 characters unlike any yet seen in Mesoamerica. This block was discovered by locals in the Olmec heartland and was dated by the archaeologists to approximately 900 BCE based on other debris. If the authenticity and date can be verified, this will prove to be the earliest writing yet found in Mesoamerica. The symbols on the Cascajal block are unlike those of any other writing system in Mesoamerica, such as in [[Mayan languages]] or [[Isthmian script|Isthmian]], another extinct Mesoamerican script. The Cascajal block is also unusual because the symbols apparently run in horizontal rows and "there is no strong evidence of overall organization. The sequences appear to be conceived as independent units of information".<ref>{{cite journal|author=Rodríguez Martínez, Ma. del Carmen|author2=Ponciano Ortíz Ceballos|author3=Michael D. Coe|author3-link=Michael D. Coe|author4=Richard A. Diehl|author5=Stephen D. Houston|author5-link=Stephen D. Houston|author6=Karl A. Taube|author6-link=Karl A. Taube|author7=Alfredo Delgado Calderón|date=2006-09-16|title=Oldest Writing in the New World|url=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/313/5793/1610|journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]]|location=Washington, DC|publisher=[[American Association for the Advancement of Science]]|volume=313|issue=5793|pages=1610–1614|doi=10.1126/science.1131492|oclc=200349481|pmid=16973873|bibcode=2006Sci...313.1610R|s2cid=35140904|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The 28 unique Cascajal block characters bear no obvious resemblance to later glyphs. If indeed, it has been a script, the Cascajal block script "apparently left no descendants, with no certain link to Isthmian or other Formative [period] writing." (Skidmore 2007, p.&nbsp;5)<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://www.mesoweb.com/reports/cascajal.html|title=The Cascajal Block: The Earliest Precolumbian Writing|author=Skidmore, Joel|year=2006|website=Mesoweb Reports & News|publisher=Mesoweb|format=[[PDF]]|access-date=2007-06-20}}</ref>

=== Middle Formative toponyms (900–500 BCE) ===
All Mesoamerican writing systems feature toponyms,<ref>Brotherston, G. (1999) ‘Place Signs in Mesoamerican Inscriptions and Codices’, in W. Bray and L. Manzanilla (eds.) The Archaeology of Mesoamerica: Mexican and European Perspectives. London: British Museum Press. 50–67</ref> i.e. "emblems or graphic images, which join distinct elements into meaningful arrangements but do not directly codify any specific set of sounds".<ref name=":2">Arnaud F. Lambert (2013), A possible place-sign (toponym) from Oxtotitlán Cave, Guerrero, Mexico, The Post Hole (the student-run archaeology journal) 27: 17–28, https://www.theposthole.org/sites/theposthole.org/files/uploads/192/posthole_27_192.pdf</ref> These toponyms seem to have been employed in Olmec-style art since the Middle Formative period (900–500 BCE), but the degree to which they constitute writing (i.e., record spoken language) is debated.<ref>Pohl, M.E.D., Pope, K.O. and Von Nagy, C. (2002) ‘Olmec Origins of Mesoamerican Writing’. Science. 298. 1984–1987</ref><ref>Rodríguez Martínez, M.C., Ortíz Ceballos, P., Coe, M.D., Diehl, R.A., Houston, S.D., Taube, K.A. and Calderón, A.D. (2006) Oldest Writing in the New World. Science 313: 1610–1614</ref> Possible toponyms include two examples from Guerrero,<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Coe|first1=Michael D|title=The Olmec world: ritual and rulership|last2=Princeton University|last3=Art Museum|last4=Museum of Fine Arts|first4=Houston|date=1995|isbn=978-0-8109-6311-5|pages=catalogue, plates127 and 131|publisher=Harry N. Abrams |language=en|oclc=34103154}}</ref><ref>Houston, S.D. (2004) ‘Writing in Early Mesoamerica’ in S.D. Houston (ed.) The First Writing: Script Invention as History and Process. 274-309. New York: Cambridge University Press, p. 285, Figures 10.4a and 10.4b</ref> a possible place sign from Oxtotitlán Cave, Guerrero,<ref name=":2" /> an incised greenstone celt from unknown provenance and a tablet from Ahuelican.<ref>Arnaud F. Lambert (2013), A possible place-sign (toponym) from Oxtotitlán Cave, Guerrero, Mexico, The Post Hole (the student-run archaeology journal) 27: 17–28, https://www.theposthole.org/sites/theposthole.org/files/uploads/192/posthole_27_192.pdf, Fig. 5.a, 5.b</ref>

=== Potential glyphs (650–400 BCE) ===
It was long thought that many of the glyphs present on Olmec monumental sculpture represented an early Olmec script. "If writing is (1) a graphic representation of language, (2) detached from the body of its referent, and (3) disposed into linear sequences that can theoretically expand into greater degrees of syntactic complexity, then writing first appears in Mesoamerica in the century between 600 and 500 BC, as attested on [[La Venta]] Monument 13',<ref name=":3">Houston, S.D. (2004) ‘Writing in Early Mesoamerica’ in S.D. Houston (ed.) The First Writing: Script Invention as History and Process. 274–309. New York: Cambridge University Press, p. 292</ref> the so-called "Ambassador Monument" (tentatively dated to 650 – 450 BCE,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rice|first=Prudence M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2b_DoSfVKnUC&q=la+venta+ambassador+13&pg=PA96|title=Maya Calendar Origins: Monuments, Mythistory, and the Materialization of Time|date=2009-02-17|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-77449-0|pages=96|language=en}}</ref> resp. 600-400 BCE,<ref name=":3" /> for an image see the [[Linda Schele]] photograph collection<ref>{{Cite web|title=Schele Photograph Collection, Schele Number: 127019|url=http://research.famsi.org/schele_photos_list.php?_allSearch=127019&hold_search=127019&tab=schele_photos&title=Schele+Photograph+Collection&x=0&y=0|website=research.famsi.org|access-date=2020-05-03}}</ref>).

Aside from monumental sculpture, potential glyphs have been found on portable objects such as celts (notably the Humboldt Celt dated to {{circa|450 BCE}}),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mayadecipherment.com/2015/01/26/the-royal-headband-a-pan-mesoamerican-hieroglyph-for-ruler/|title=The Royal Headband: A Pan-Mesoamerican Hieroglyph|last=Stuart|first=David|date=2015-01-26|website=Maya Decipherment|language=en|access-date=2020-04-24}}</ref> sherds, etc.<ref>de Havenon, Georgia. “AN OLMEC CEREMONIAL JADE CELT.” Source: Notes in the History of Art, vol. 35, no. 1–2, 2015, pp. 171–81</ref> However, several glyphs clearly continue symbols previously established in ''iconography'' rather than writing<ref>F. Kent Reilly, III (1996), [http://www.mesoweb.com/pari/publications/RT10/32_LazyS.html The Lazy-S: A Formative Period Iconographic Loan to Maya Hieroglyphic Writing], In Martha J. Macri and Jan McHargue (eds.), ''Eighth Palenque Round Table, 1993'' .<br /></ref> (this may include the aforementioned toponyms), so that their use for recording spoken language can only be ascertained if multiple potential glyphs appear in combination.

[[File:Proposed Olmec glyphs (San Andres).svg|150px|thumb|San Andrés [[Glyph (archaeology)|glyph]]s. The top set of glyphs have been interpreted as "3 Ajaw". The bottom two glyphs were found incised into semi-precious [[greenstone (archaeology)|greenstone]] artifacts.|alt=|left]]

[[File:San_Andres_Cylinder_Seal_print_1.svg|alt=|thumb|375x375px|A rollout of the San Andrés cylinder seal, showing the bird possibly "speaking" the name "3 Ajaw"]]

In 2002, one such glyph group was confirmed for two possible glyphs at [[San Andres (Mesoamerican site)|San Andres]]:<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1078474|doi=10.1126/science.1078474|title=Olmec Origins of Mesoamerican Writing|year=2002|last1=Pohl|first1=Mary E. D.|last2=Pope|first2=Kevin O.|last3=von Nagy|first3=Christopher|journal=Science|volume=298|issue=5600|pages=1984–1987|pmid=12471256|bibcode=2002Sci...298.1984P|s2cid=19494498|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Excavations conducted in 1997 and 1998 produced three artifacts that many archaeologists contend demonstrate that the Olmec civilization used a true writing system. These artifacts, dated roughly to 650 BCE (the middle of the Olmec concentration at La Venta and San Andres), were found in a refuse dump, the remains from a festival or feast. “The fact that the artifacts with glyphs were found in the context of feasting refuse suggest that writing among the Olmec was sacred and was closely tied to ritual activities.” <ref>{{cite journal|last=Pohl|first=Mary|year=2005|title=Olmec Civilization at San Andrés, Tabasco, México|journal=Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies|pages=10}}</ref>  The most important find was a fist-sized ceramic cylinder seal, likely used to print cloth. When rolled out, the seal shows two [[speech scroll]]s emanating from a bird, followed directly by a number of design elements enframing what has been interpreted as logograms for “king (sideways U shape),” "3 (three dots, according to the Mesoamerican bar and dots numbering system),” and “Ajaw (from the sacred 260-day calendar)", a designation used for both a calendar date and, in keeping with Mesoamerican custom, the name of an Olmec ruler. In addition to the ceramic cylinder seal, two fingernail-sized fragments from a greenstone plaque have been recovered, each containing an incised glyph. Both these glyphs have been linked to well-documented glyphs in other Mesoamerican writing systems, including the Isthmian (Epi-Olmec) and Maya scripts.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Pohl, Mary|author2=Kevin O. Pope|author3=Christopher von Nagy|year=2002|title=Olmec Origins of Mesoamerican Writing|journal=Science|volume=298|issue=5600|pages=1984–1985|doi=10.1126/science.1078474|pmid=12471256|bibcode=2002Sci...298.1984P|s2cid=19494498}}</ref>

Well-known archaeologist and writer Michael D. Coe interprets the San Andres glyphs as "an early kind of writing" <ref name=":1">{{aut|Bower, Bruce}} "Script Delivery: New World writing takes disputed turn" in ''Science News'', Vol. 162, No. 23, December 7, 2002, p. 355.</ref> while Richard A. Diehl, who excavated at the Olmec site of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan with Coe, finds that this discovery "establishes the existence of Olmec writing and calendrics by 650 B.C.E" <ref>{{cite book|author=Diehl, Richard|url=https://archive.org/details/olmecsamericasfi0000dieh|title=The Olmecs: America's First Civilization|publisher=[[Thames & Hudson]]|year=2004|isbn=978-0-500-02119-4|series=Ancient peoples and places series|location=London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/olmecsamericasfi0000dieh/page/96 96]|oclc=56746987|author-link=Richard Diehl|url-access=registration}}</ref> On the other hand, Mayanist epigrapher David Stuart stated that it would be hard to discern evidence of a writing system in a handful of symbols.<ref name=":1" /> The question was complicated in 2006 by the discovery of the [[Cascajal Block]]. The 28 unique Cascajal block characters bear no obvious resemblance to the San Andres glyphs and are, indeed, unlike those of any other Mesoamerican writing system.<ref name=":0" />  Questions concerning the interpretation of the San Andrés glyphs (and the Cascajal block) will need to await further research.

A cylinder seal from [[Tlatilco]], dated to a time frame of Olmec occupation, appears to carry a non-pictographic, linear script.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kelley|first=David H.|date=July 1966|title=A Cylinder Seal from Tlatilco|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0002731600095226/type/journal_article|journal=American Antiquity|language=en|volume=31|issue=5Part1|pages=744–746|doi=10.2307/2694503|jstor=2694503|s2cid=163539953|issn=0002-7316|url-access=subscription}}</ref> A cylinder seal from [[Chiapa de Corzo (Mesoamerican site)|Chiapa de Corzo]], Mexico, also appears to be an example of an unknown Mesoamerican script.{{Clarify|reason=This is drawn from a Kelley (1966). Is it possible that this "seal" is one of the artifacts (sherd, stele, pendant) from this site that is now considered to be Early Isthmian writing (cf. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318672076_Isthmian_Script_at_Chiapa_de_Corzo) ? Not according to the illustrations, but if it is not found to be a forgery, it is surprising that the seal is not mentioned by Macri (2017).|date=April 2020}} Both have been discussed as potential evidence for Olmec writing as they appeared during a time of [[Olmec influences on Mesoamerican cultures|Olmec influence]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kelley|first1=David H.|date=1966|title=A Cylinder Seal from Tlatilco|journal=American Antiquity|volume=31|issue=5|pages=744–46|doi=10.2307/2694503|jstor=2694503|s2cid=163539953}}</ref>

[[File:La_Mojarra_Estela_1_(Escritura_superior).jpg|alt=|left|thumb|Detail showing glyphs from 2nd century CE [[La Mojarra Stela 1]] currently located at the Museum of Anthropology of Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. The left column gives a Long Count date of 8.5.16.9.9, or 162 CE. The other columns are glyphs from the [[Epi-Olmec script]].]]

=== Epi-Olmec or Isthmian script (after 300 BCE) ===
[[File:Stela2,Chiapa_de_Corzo.JPG|right|thumb|Chiapa de Corzo Stela 2, showing the date of 7.16.3.2.13, or December 36 BCE, the earliest [[Mesoamerican Long Count calendar]] date yet found.]]
{{Main|Epi-Olmec script}}
A small number of Epi-Olmec artifacts found in the [[Isthmus of Tehuantepec]] show examples of an early Mesoamerican writing system which “may itself descend from an Olmec hieroglyphic system, but too little of the Olmec script has been recovered to confirm or disprove a connection”.<ref>Justeson, John S. and Terrence Kaufman (1993), A Decipherment of Epi-Olmec Hieroglyphic Writing. Science, 19 March 1993, pp. 1703–1711.</ref>

The longest of these texts are on [[La Mojarra Stela 1]] and the [[Tuxtla Statuette]]. The writing system used is very close (and possibly ancestral) to the [[Maya script]], using affixal glyphs and [[Mesoamerican Long Count calendar|Long Count]] dates, but is read only in one column at a time as is the [[Zapotec script]]. An Epi-Olmec stela from Chiapa de Corzo is the oldest monument of the Americas inscribed with its own date: the [[Maya calendar#Long Count|Long Count]] dates it to 36 BCE. A sherd from Chiapa de Corzo dated to 300 BCE was held to be the oldest instance of that [[Mesoamerican writing systems|writing system]] yet discovered,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.albany.edu/anthro/maldp/EOTEXTS.pdf|title=Epi-Olmec Hieroglyphic Writing and Texts|author=Justeson, John S.|author2=Terrence Kaufman|year=2001|access-date=2010-01-02|archive-date=2011-05-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525014933/http://www.albany.edu/anthro/maldp/EOTEXTS.pdf|url-status=dead}} p. 2.</ref> but more recently, it has been suggested that early Isthmian writing at Chiapa de Corzo even pre-dates the Epi-Olmec culture.<ref>Macri, Martha. (2017). [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318672076_Isthmian_Script_at_Chiapa_de_Corzo Isthmian Script at Chiapa de Corzo]. Glyph Dweller.</ref>

In a 1997 paper, John Justeson and Terrence Kaufman put forward a decipherment of Epi-Olmec. The following year, however, their interpretation was disputed by Stephen Houston and [[Michael D. Coe]], who unsuccessfully applied Justeson and Kaufman's decipherment system against Epi-Olmec script from the back of a hitherto unknown mask. The matter remains under dispute.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Writings systems of the Americas}}

[[Category:Formative period in the Americas]]
[[Category:Inscriptions in undeciphered writing systems]]
[[Category:Mesoamerican inscriptions]]
[[Category:Mesoamerican writing systems]]
[[Category:Olmecs]]
[[Category:Proto-writing]]