olmec art and artifact exhibit at lacma-los angeles.

jaguar statue.

giant olmec head.

anthropomorphic were-baby (as in werewolf, but these are mixes of jaguars supposedly).

possum pitcher.

the above two statues are a set of twins, most likely foreshadowing the "hero twins" theme carried throughout meso-america.

anthropomorphic were-person representation with fire eyebrows (poss. indication of shamanic drug usage).

don't know much about this guy, but probably my favorite piece in the exhibit.

worlds oldest soccer ball.  circa 1600-1500 b.c.e. (yes folks, that is a 3,500 year old ball).

these figurines were found in a grave.  i studied them in school about a year and a half ago, and wish i paid more attention now.

the olmec civilization existed from roughly 1800 b.c.e. to 400 b.c.e., and if you count a few outposts, 400 c.e.  amazing.  if you are in the l.a. area and you give a crap about old boring stuff like this, you should check it out as it is pretty damn cool. 

oh yeah, after i went to this exhibit, i went to canter's deli on fairfax.  canter's is the best damn deli (at least outside of nyc), and my camera died, so photos some other time.