Izapa Stela 5

Izapa Stela 5 is one of a number of large, carved stelae found in the ancient Mesoamerican site of Izapa, in the Soconusco region of Chiapas, Mexico along the present-day Guatemalan border. These stelae date from roughly 300 BCE to 50 or 100 BCE,^[1] although some argue for dates as late as 250 CE.^[2]

Izapa Stela 5 (V. Garth Norman 1965)

Night photography of stela 5 with acute side lighting relief of difficult to see details.

Also known as the "Tree of Life" stone,^[3] it appears to illustrate a Mesoamerican creation myth.

The stela

Documented by Smithsonian archaeologist Matthew W. Stirling in 1941, Stela 5 is composed of volcanic andesite and weighs around one-and-a-half tons.^[4] Stela 5 presents the most complex imagery of all the stelae at Izapa.^[5] Researcher Garth Norman, for example, has counted "at least 12" human figures, a dozen animals, over 25 botanical or inanimate objects, and 9 stylized deity masks.

Like much of Izapan monumental sculpture, the subject matter of Stela 5 is considered mythological and religious in nature^[6] and is executed with a stylized opulence. Given the multiple overlapping scenes, it appears to be a narrative.^[7]

Interpretation

Mesoamerican researchers identify the central image as a Mesoamerican world tree, connecting the sky above and the water or underworld below.^[8]

As a creation myth

Linda Schele and Mary Ellen Miller further propose that the stela records a creation myth, with barely formed humans emerging from a hole drilled into the tree's left side. The associated seated figures are completing these humans in various ways.^[9] Julia Guernsey Kappelman, on the other hand, suggests the seated figures are Izapa elites conducting ritual activities in a "quasi-historical scene", which is framed by, and placed in the context of, the "symbolic landscape of creation".^[10]

Book of Mormon application

Based on parallels with traditions originating in the Old World, a few researchers have linked the stone to theories of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints archeologist M. Wells Jakeman proposed that the image was a representation of a tree of life vision found in the Book of Mormon.^[11] Jakeman's theory was popular for a time among members of the Church of Jesus Christ, but found little support from Church of Jesus Christ apologists.^[12] Julia Guernsey wrote that Jakeman's research "belies an obvious religious agenda that ignored Izapa Stela 5's heritage".^[13]