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]
Also known as the "Tree of Life" stone,[3] the complex religious imagery of Izapa Stela 5 has led to different theories and speculations concerning its subject matter, including the possibility it suggests Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact.
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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]
Mainstream Mesoamerican researchers identify the central image as a Mesoamerican world tree, connecting the sky above and the water or underworld below.[8]
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]
Based on the "Tree of Life" theories put forth by Stirling and others, M. Wells Jakeman proposed that the bas-relief image was a representation of Lehi's dream of the tree of life in the Book of Mormon.[11] Jakeman published multiple interpretations and theories about the stone during his lifetime and the Lehi theory quickly filtered through Mormon culture.[12]
Other Latter-day Saint researchers have claimed that the six figures at the level of the tree represent Lehi's family at the time of the vision, from left to right: Sariah, Lehi, Laman, Lemuel, Sam and Nephi. Four of the six figures are facing the tree, representing those who ate of the fruit in Lehi's vision, and the Laman and Lemuel figures are facing away representing their rejection of the tree. However, most modern LDS scholars are skeptical about a possible link between the stella and the Book of Mormon.
Ivan van Sertima interpreted the imagery to support theories of an African origin citing, for example, what he interprets as a boat at the bottom of the scene.[13]
Mainstream Mesoamerican scholars do not support linking Izapa Stela 5 to the Bible, the Book of Mormon, or an "out of Africa" theory. For example, Julia Guernsey Kappelman, author of a definitive work on Izapan culture, finds that Jakeman's research "belies an obvious religious agenda that ignored Izapa Stela 5's heritage".[14]