San Lorenzo Olmec Head

The heads were each carved from a single basalt boulder which in some cases were transported 100 km or more to their final destination presumably using huge balsa river rafts wherever possible and log rollers on land.

San lorenzo olmec head. San lorenzo is an olmec period site located in the state of veracruz mexico. The la cobata head is stylistically very different from the other 16 suggesting it came much later in the olmec timeline. It is located on a steep plateau above the coatzacoalcos floodplain. To date 17 colossal olmec heads have been discovered in various locations associated with the ancient olmec civilisations.

San lorenzo tenochtitlan or san lorenzo is the collective name for three related archaeological sitessan lorenzo tenochtitlan and potrero nuevolocated in the southeast portion of the mexican state of veracruzalong with la venta and tres zapotes it was one of the three major cities of the olmec and the major center of olmec culture from 1200 bce to 900 bce. Although all wear the hat or headdress worn during war and the mesoamerican ballgame each of these massive heads has unique features which suggests they depict specific olmec rulers. Two of the most important olmec centres. They were the first mesoamerican civilization and laid many of the.

In this example the head has unexplained drilled dimples which are also seen in some of the other heads. An olmec colossal stone head in basalt from san lorenzo c. 34 it was discovered by a joint archaeological project by the instituto nacional de antropologia e historia and yale university as a result of a. The artwork weighing 18 tons and measuring approximately 10 feet tall it was sculpted from stone by artist ignacio perez solano.

Ten thought to be the oldest were found in san lorenzo veracruz four in la venta tabasco two in tres zapotes veracruz and one in la cobata. Seventeen heads have been discovered to date 10 of which are from san lorenzo and 4 from la venta. Ten of the 17 heads have been found at san lorenzo arranged in a plaza with red sand and yellow gravel. The olmec civilization proves similar to many others that developed in latin america in that they left behind intriguing clues that still have not been solved.

The olmec culture thrived along mexicos gulf coast from roughly 1200 bc. The olmecs flourished during mesoamericas formative period dating roughly from as early as 1500 bce to about 400 bce. San lorenzo is the name of the central place in the larger san lorenzo tenochtitlan archaeological region. One of the most important archaeological sites associated with this culture is known as san lorenzo.

Its original name has been lost to time. San lorenzo colossal head 7 also known as san lorenzo monument 53 measures 27 metres 89 ft high by 185 metres 61 ft wide by 135 metres 44 ft deep and weighs 18 tons. San lorenzo colossal head 7 was reworked from a monumental throne.