. Spoon/perforator with incised Quincunx design, Early-Middle Preclassic periods, 1500-300 BC, Guerrero Olmec culture, incised and drilled greenstone. Photo by Madman2001.
A bloodletting spoon is a type of artifact discovered on many Olmec archaeological sites. Although there is some variety, the spoons generally have a flattened 'tail' or blade, with a thickened end. The thick part has a shallow off-center bowl on one side and a second, smaller bowl on the other side. Spoons usually have a small hole pierced through them, and in Olmec art are often depicted as hanging from people's clothing or ears.
Bloodletting spoons have been recovered from Chalcatzingo, Chacsinkin, and Chichén Itzá; the images are found carved in murals and on stone sculptures at San Lorenzo, Cascajal and Loma del Zapote.
Olmec Spoon Functions
The real function of the Olmec spoon has long been debated. They're called 'bloodletting spoons' because originally scholars believed them to have been for holding blood from auto-sacrifice, the ritual of personal bloodletting. Some scholars still prefer that interpretation, but others have suggested spoons were for holding paints, or for use as snuffing platforms for taking hallucinogens, or even that they were effigies of the Big Dipper constellation. In a recent article in Ancient Mesoamerica, Billie J. A. Follensbee suggests Olmec spoons were part of a hitherto unrecognized tool kit for textile production.
Her argument is in part based on the shape of the tool, which approximates bone weaving battens recognized in several Central American cultures, including some from Olmec sites. Follensbee also identifies several other tools made of elite greenstone or obsidian, such as spindle whorls, picks and plaques, that could have been used in weaving or cord-making techniques.
The answer, if you're looking for one, is that Olmec spoons were probably used for a variety of reasons---but Follensbee's paper makes a compelling argument for weaving to be one of them. It's an interesting paper. Take a look.
Sources and More Information
- Bloodletting, more on the black art
- Where do you wear your paint pot? FAMSI
- Olmec spoons, a bunch of photographs from the Latin American Studies site.
- Textiles
- Cascajal Block
- Olmec Civilization Timeline and Description
- Chichén Itzá
- Follensbee, Billie J. A. 2008 Fiber technology and weaving in formative-period Gulf Coast culture. Ancient Mesoamerica 19:87-110. Added: It turns out that this entire issue from Ancient Mesoamerica is free at the moment, and it contains many articles on weaving and textiles. Yippee!
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