Karl Taube brings his expertise on ancient Mesoamerican peoples to his study of the Olmec objects in the Robert Woods Bliss Collection of Pre-Columbian Art. All thirty-nine art objects (including masks, statuettes, and jewelry) are illustrated in color plates and include many complementary and comparative black-and-white illustrations and drawings. Jade objects compose the majority of the Olmec collection and throughout the book the author emphasizes the role of jade as a powerful symbol of water and fertility, and particularly, as a symbol of the maize plant, which was the fundamental source of life and sustenance for the Olmec.
   --