The earliest representations of feathered serpents appear in the Olmec culture (circa 1400-400 BCE). It is believed that Olmec supernaturals such as the feathered serpent were the forerunners of many later Mesoamerican deities, although experts disagree on the feathered serpent's importance to the Olmec. The Olmec feathered serpent is generally shown as a crested rattlesnake, sometimes with feathers covering the body, and often in close proximity to humans. Several Olmec representations have survived including La Venta Monument 19 and a painting in the Juxtlahuaca cave.
The pantheon of the people of Teotihuacan (200 BCE - 700 CE) also featured a feathered serpent, shown most prominently on the Temple of the Feathered Serpent (dated 150-200 CE). Several feathered serpent representations appear on the building, including full-body profiles and feathered serpent heads.
Buildings in Tula, the capital of the later Toltecs (950-1150 CE), also featured profiles of feathered serpents.
Quetzalcoatl is the Aztec incarnation of the Feathered Serpent deity, known from several Aztec codices such as the Florentine codex, as well as from the records of the Spanish conquistadors. Quetzalcoatl was a bringer of knowledge, the inventor of books, and associated with the planet Venus.
And from the Vedas:
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