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I wonder whether you actually get paid for this,
originally posted by: NeoIkonEpifanes
The earliest depictions of the feathered serpent in Mesoamerica date to the Olmec culture, about 1200 BC. In addition to Monument 19 of La Venta, which I have already referenced in my previous post, the rock art in the Juxtlahuaca cave might be the earliest depiction of this deity in the Olmec world. It is to be noted that the iconography of the feathered serpent appears already fully developed in these early depictions, suggesting a much longer period of gestation, of which little however survives in the archaeological record.
The feathered serpent was later incorporated in the mythology of other Mesoamerican cultures with various names, such as Quetzalcoatl (Aztec), Kukulkan (Maya), etc.
There is no proof that these myths penetrated as far South as to influence the legend of Viracocha, Thunupa or Naylamp, which might have had an independent, although possibly parallel genesis.