Blocks, Bricks, and Material Practices of Intersubjectification at Pre-Columbian La Venta, Mexico

La Venta, a Middle Formative period (ca. 800–400 BC) Olmec regional center on Mexico’s Gulf Coast, is famous for its ritual deposits of thousands of stacked serpentine blocks. These hypertrophic “massive offerings” were treated as evidence for an elite group who controlled this wealth and commanded the labor of countless commoners. The early appearance of social inequality evident by these greenstone objects provides an opportunity to investigate variable processes of subjectification beyond a simple binary of elites and commoners. At La Venta, as elsewhere, certain kinds of subjects manifested themselves as skilled crafters in intersubjectifying relationships with the patrons who consumed their products as well as with other artisans. Applying contemporary theories of subjectivity and materiality allows a more comprehensive understanding of how a category of block-makers emerged in tandem with both political leaders and with the producers of more routine objects with which the blocks were juxtaposed: adobe bricks.