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Research lead · Serpents & creatures
When does a serpent become the same serpent?
A widely shared creature needs a precise comparison.
2 groups · 2 registered records · reviewed 2026-09-19
Motif families: Serpents & composite creatures
Identity still open
Distant serpent images
Several regions combined in the supplied montage.
Why these examples belong together
A provisional image group. It will be split into object records as component identities are established.
image-group · Place unresolvedSerpent montage · mixed sources
Some component images remain unidentified; the montage is one claim presentation, not one ancient object.
Dates, sources & image record
- Date unresolvedunresolved · Several different surfaces and source photographs; no common date can be assigned.
claim montage · Individual photographers unresolved. Rights unresolved; supplied claim image. Image record
Existing supplied montage; its parts have unequal source resolution.
Preserved Fenton comparison thread · Supplied-image identity register
Olmec La Venta
La Venta’s figure and serpent
Monument 19, with its figure, serpent and handled object.
Why these examples belong together
One monument represents a wider proposed tradition. Its different features can participate in different comparisons.
object · La VentaLa Venta · Monument 19
A seated figure sits within a serpent and carries a small handled form. The INAH discussion considers a copal bag.
Dates, sources & image record
- c. 900–400 BCE · site contextsite context · Broad principal La Venta horizon; an individual monument date remains to be tightened. Date source
photograph · Gary Todd. CC0. Image record
Existing source image; displayed uncropped. No generated reconstruction.
La Venta Monument 19 in El Tlacuache 1199 · La Venta: archaeological site
The proposed connection
What makes it a question?
The proposing montage links distant serpent forms through extra features such as feathers, horns or relations to people.
The preserved thread provides the distant montage. La Venta is a separately sourced example for inspection, not proof of the proposed route.
Preserved Fenton comparison thread
Look closely
What appears to correspond
- Elongated, curving creatures recur in the assembled presentations.
Keep in the frame
What differs or remains uncertain
- Some component images are unlocated and undated.
- Horns, feathers, beaks and crest-like forms should not be merged into one binary feature.
Transmission check
Transmission not yet assessed
The comparison is not yet identified or dated well enough to exclude ordinary transmission, later borrowing or an image-selection effect.
What would move this forward
- Split the montage into independently sourced surfaces.
- Document local serpent traditions before testing a shared bundle of features.
Follow the evidence
Sources & scope
Provisional editorial record; no independent specialist sign-off. Status describes review depth, not the probability of a historical connection.
- claim · Bruce Fenton
The project retains the supplied thread with known gaps, images and later source checks.
- research · INAH
Page 18, figure 17: figure within a serpent and a possible copal bag. This does not establish the meaning of distant handled forms.
- project · Deep Memory
Preserves captions, uncertainties and supplied images. A social caption is not an independent archaeological identification.
- heritage · INAH
Provides site context and a principal 900–400 BCE horizon, used as a broad context range rather than an individual monument date.
