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tv   Democracy Now  LINKTV  October 16, 2013 3:00pm-4:01pm PDT

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some are shown cradling a supernatural infant-- part human, part jaguar-- who may have been their link to the spiritual world. similar figures appear on sculptound at la venta thtirlg me to be altars. but decades later, a clue to their true function was discovered far from the coast, at the mntainous site of oxtotitclan. its name means "place of caves," which ancient mesoamericans regarded as sacred entrances to the underrld,
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the mythic realm of ancestral and supernatural srits. a rock painting above the cave mouth shows a ruler wearing a bird mask and feathered costume. his elaborate throne depicts a monstrous supernatural face, similar to tse on the so-called alta of la venta, incating thath, too, were rones. priousesearch proposed that la venta was exclusively a site where priests resided and conducted ritual activities. however, new research has shown that it was a more complex urban area. new speaker: with the new findings, we find a much more dense population, not only on the site, on the ancient city, but also in the outlying lowland areas. obregon: dr. goalez has ao been studying the central pyramid
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gonzalez: this pyramid is, for this time period--around 400 b.c.-- probly the largest pyramid he oec world at that time. the olmecs seem to veackeearth and then held it in place by rows of limestone. obregon: electronic souing devices have detected a dense, rectangular object, possibly a tb, close to the summit. tu excavions may reveal that this manmade mountain was ri mou fo o rer. the extrinary achievements at la venta and san lorenz were long thght toe uniqueo the cotal lowlands. but ongoing excavations far from the coast indicate otherwise. in the shadoof the volcano popocatepetl in the mexican highlands es chalcatzingo, an ancient regional center
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at its height om arnd 700 to 0 b.c. new speaker: chalcatzin is a unique site in the central mexican highlands. it's thenly te in the highlands with bas-relf carvings in the olm style the ancient village of chalcatzingo, set on a terraced hillside-- these were large terraces, perhaps 100 by 100 meters each, at the largest. below the main terrace is a ge platformod. s a large ctgular form, over0 mers lon platrmounds e ry speal features. s a large ctgular form, ovunlike a pyramid, a platform can be considered to be a raised stage on which performances, rituals, were carried out that could be viewed by the entire population. a large stone slab carved with an earth monster face with a hollow mouth sat on the northern edge of that platform mound, again where it was visible to the houses on all the terres below. i can almost imagine a ritual with people moving through that open mouth of that carving.
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obregon: higher up the volcanic ss is a reliescpture at t local people call"el eg obregon: higher up the volcanic ss like the tes ala venta, it shows the figure seated within a cave. grov above the cave are three trobedouds. this is a fantastic rain and fertility scene up on the hillside. it's placed right beside the major drainage of rainwater runoff from the hillside. thhiside cvi for peelontonsure li on wesheryonent, which call the "flying olme" when i first saw it, i noticed that the headdress on the flying person was very much like nument 19 in la vea. not identical, but they were carvein theame way. so there is a connection in some of the art at chaltzingo
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with la venta's art. thlocation of chalcatzingo, a huge series of valley systems coming together, sort of suggests that maybe chalcaingo functioned as a gateway city through which gos from across central mexico, and perhaps even western mexico, funneled into chalcatzingo and then moved eastward toward the gulf coast. obrego in the valley of mexo,n the outskirts of mexico city, archaeologts have excavated graves from about 900 b.c. containing clay figures and pottery of the olmec style. other olmec objects have been found in the surrounding highlands and as far south as honduras and costa rica. the wide distribution of olmecorks of art suggests that many centers participated in the development of the style. distt vies were evidentlyy linked through trade in cacao,
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white clay for pottery, obsidian, animal skins, and the most precious commodity of all, jade. its nearest known source is in guatemala. this vt tradg network paved the way for the exange of ideas aselas g, and led to the ergce of a pan-mesoameran olmec style. miguel covarrubias defined this new aesthetic: "olmec artists were mainly concerned with simplicity and sensual realism of form, with the human being made up of solid, ample masses. they delighted in the smooth, highly polished surfaces of their jades, broken occasionally by fine, incised lines. these lines are sharp and precise." this new style, vigorous and original,
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was perhaps the finest olmec achievement. they created dynamic works of art with a strength and nobility never known before in the americas. the olmec legacy is still being explored, but olmec works of art have been found at maya and aztec sites. did later civilizations preserve olmec jades simply for the value of this precious material, or did they keep them as treasured relics from a culture that influenced their own? only future excavations will tell. but major discoverieare being unearthed each year, brinng us closer to a fuller understanding of that extraordinary culture we call olmec. ( ve drums beating ) ( music )
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annenberg media ♪ by: narrador: bienvenidos al episodio 35 de destinos: an introduction to spanish. en este episodio, pati se va a nueva york. claro, juan no está muy contento. también carlos recibe noticias de lo que pasa en la oficina en miami. tengo una copia de los reportes de los auditores. no son muy buenos.
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¿qué dicen?

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