The Yucatan Gorillas….are just impressive.

Crazy Theory 1. Olmecs developed somehow contacts with african cultures. That’s why they got their colossal stoneheads with african faces and gorillas.

Crazy Theory 2. They represent indeed SISIMITES, legendary tropical bigfoot-like creatures (which are in fact, feared by the people. He belongs to the supernatural realm, a mystery of the jungle which is not longer seen, he has backwards feet, if you follow his tracks, you get lost into the jungle, and if you see one, you will feel sick and people can even become crazy…)

Conventional Theory 3. They represent human beings, but the sculptor was not a good one or a beginner in training.
Conventional Theory 4. They represent demigods, taken out from a chamanistic vision.

Thank you for your clarification spookyparadigm. Yes, the myths of the corn god (and the feathered serpent for that matter) that rises from the bowels of the monster of the underworld seems to have its origins in the olmec culture, and from that they are present in all the rest of the mesoamerican traditions, although the way they were transmitted seems still a little unclear.

It seems we have hijcked this thread and turned it into an Archeology discussion, but that shows how incredibly tolerant and open-minded the folks running Cryptomundo are. Besides, a very important part of Cryptozoology (although the one orthodox zoologist despise the mostit seems) is the study of traditional folklore.

I should conclude by saying that if I find anything more concerning these enigmatic statues in spanish websites, I shall try to contact Loren or Craig, so it is discussed further here in Cryptomundo.

Saludos

1. Unlike the other Shang imagery, which is sort of contemporary with the Olmec (though only the end of the Shang and the beginning of the Olmec) the author had to reach back thousands of years to another Chinese culture to find something that looks like cleft heads.

2. The Olmec cleft head imagery is in accordance with other Mesoamerican cultures, which depict deities and landscapes with a cleft through which vegetation (often maize) grows, that share similar concepts and have a documented related origin as part of the same region. If the Chinese imagery is also depicting a similar concept, that would be interesting, though not evidence of contact, but if it isn’t depicting a similar concept, it isn’t much different than seeing Gemini-era astronauts on a Maya sarcophagus lid.

A claim like this demands more than “it sort of looks like it.” You need physical evidence of materials that originate in the other place. You need some sort of time frame that ties the two together. You need evidence, not general similarities in appearance.

Don’t get me wrong…I’m not saying it isn’t true. I think the idea has merit, but at this point it is just an idea. There is no concrete evidence to support these theories at this time. (Either the simian statues OR the Chinese settlers.)

The cleft head motif is quite far removed in time, as the dates note, and is related to other Mesoamerican traditions of fertility, with the ground splitting and maize emerging.

I’m not sure I follow you here, spookyparadigm. Care to ellaborate further?

The cleft head motif is quite far removed in time, as the dates note, and is related to other Mesoamerican traditions of fertility, with the ground splitting and maize emerging.