Matthew W. Stirling
American archaeologist
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deciphering of Olmec inscription
- In pre-Columbian civilizations: Veracruz and Chiapas
…was read by its discoverer, Matthew W. Stirling, as a date in the Maya calendar corresponding to 31 bce; this is more than a century earlier than any known dated inscription from the Maya area itself. Thus, it is highly probable that this calendrical system, formerly thought to be a…
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discovery of Olmec sculpture
- In Native American art: Mexico and Middle America
…heads” that the American anthropologist Matthew W. Stirling found at La Venta; delicate greenstone “baby-face” figures; and figurines with a rounded facial form, thick features, heavy-lidded eyes, and down-turned mouth that are referred to as “were-jaguars” because the image of this mythological or quasi-symbolic supernatural being is a humanoid type…
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