THE SHARK-MONSTER IN OLMEC ICONOGRAPHY - Imaginary Year

PHILIP J. ARNOLD III, “The Shark-Monster in Olmec Iconography”
Mesoamerican Voices, 2 (2005)
Figure 13. Lowland earth bands consisting of shark’s teeth embedded in double merlons: (a) earth band from the Alvarado
Stela. Redrawn from Taube 1995:Figure 9e; (b) earth band from Izapa Stela 5. Redrawn from Smith 1984:Figure 33f; (c)
earth band from Chiapa de Corzo Stela 7. Redrawn from Taube 1995:Figure 9f; (d) earth band from Tepatlaxco monument.
Redrawn from Quirarte 1973:Figure 7c and Coe 1965:Figure 43h.
1976:78-79) reduces these “base-line designs”
into smaller components that include
“stepped frets” and “triangles.” When disaggregated
in this manner, the earth bands
can be read as a series of triangular shark’s
teeth embedded within double merlons
(Figure 13). Double merlons set within
triangles also flank the mouth of the image
on Stela C from Tres Zapotes (e.g., Coe
1965:Figure 42). Double merlons appear
on the mosaic masks from La Venta
(Drucker 1952; Drucker et al. 1959).
Reilly (1994b:10-11) relates these double
merlons to the open mouth of the earth-
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crocodilian (here identified as the sharkmonster).
The observation that the shark
tooth at the end of a scepter should be “embedded”
within a double merlon gum line
is perfectly consistent with these readings.
In some instances the tooth-tipped
scepter is paired with “knuckle-dusters” or
“manoplas” (e.g., Grove 1987; Joralemon
1971; Piña Chan 1989:Figure 150). According
to Schele (1995:107), E. Wyllys
Andrews proposed the now-widely accepted
interpretation that these objects are
horizontal sections of large conch shells.
The precise function of these items remains