OLMEC RELIGION: A Key to Middle America and Beyond

SIGNED by the author on the title page. xiv, 185pp. Sewn binding in green cloth. B/W photo illustrated throughout. FINE copy, exceedingly clean and sharp; DJ tips a bit worn, price clipped. We acquired this along with Dr. Luckert's personal scholarly library, and he graciously signed all of his author-copy. 'Here is a new and revolutionary interpretation of the oldest religion in Middle American civilization. A historian of religions proposes that it was a serpent, not the commonly represented jaguar, that was the religious symbol of the ancient Olmecs, who occupied southeastern Mexico and are today generally considered the forerunners of the Mayas. His 'primary objective,' says author Karl W. Luckert, 'is an interpretation of Olmec religious symbolism,' as he emphasizes the history-of-religions approach rather than the scientific or archaeological interpretation previously used. And certainly, in the absence of written or spoken words, the best religious expression is physical iconography. The author presents this curiously compelling topic in intriguing fashion. He begins with a definition of religion as 'man's response to so-conceived greater-than-human reality configurations' and proceeds from this definition to volcanoes, to pyramids, to pyramid serpents, to mosaic sculptures. He uses the concept as a basis for his contention that it was a serpent (complete with fangs, toothless gums, and a bifid tongue) rather than the jaguar which fascinated the Olmecs. From his considerable research and observation of zoo reptiles, he identifies the enigmatic La Venta mosaic masks as realistic representations of the green rattlesnake, Crotalus durissus durissus. Engrossingly written and illustrated with 64 photographs and drawings, this book boldly presents a new insight into the formative period of one of the world's greatest archaic civilizations.…