Mysterious Olmec stone heads

Before Europeans discovered America around the XV-XVI century, there were many civilizations appeared, developed and died out on this land.

Olmec civilization

Painting Olmec civilization

Surviving between 1400 and 300 BC, Olmec was the first Central American civilization. They live on the low-lying coast of the Gulf of Mexico (now Veracruz and Tabasco states). However, they developed a trading network from the Mexican valley in the north to Central America in the south. This network allows them to share initiatives such as text, human sacrifices, calendars, Central American ball games and a writing system of horizontal bars and dots along with civilizations Maya and Aztec later.

The search for the giants of Olmec people

Matthew Stirling, head of the American Department of Ethnology in 1938, is conducting research on a few prehistoric archaeological sites at the time. He was heading to Tres Zapota, a place that could carry many traces of prehistoric people. He found his partner, William Duncan Strong, the head of Columbia University Anthropology in search. However, because Tres Zapota is an undeveloped area, they need the help of another person, Clarence Wolsey Weiant, a graduate student who is working on a doctoral thesis on this mysterious land. The expedition began

Olmec stone head

Four months after starting, the expedition encountered many obstacles such as swamp terrain, continuous rain, spiders, snakes and insects as they searched for 2 miles around the area. Here, they discovered the oldest stones of Central American civilization, a religious statue and 15 U-shaped sculptures.

However, the biggest discovery came only after Weiant heard the story of a local resident reporting from an expedition a few years earlier about the site in the forest. Weiant led the expedition into the forest and there, they dug a deep trench and discovered the most famous artificial artifacts of Central American civilization - the 1.8m high Cabeza Colosal head. After that, they gradually found 16 more giant statues at 4 locations: Tres Zapota (2 units), Rancho la Cobata (1 unit), La Venta (4 units) and San Lorenzo (10 units).

The structure of Olmec stone heads

Olmec heads are carved from volcanic monolithic badan of Tuxtlas mountain and have a height ranging from 1.47m to 3.4m. Before the stone blocks were carved, they were moved to the engraving site from a distance of 300km.

Olmec stone heads have vivid expressions

Scientists still do not understand how Olmec people can move rocks weighing up to 18 tons. If using human power, it is necessary to have 1,500 people to move continuously for 3-4 months to be able to bring stones to the carving place. Engraving tools are also stone, not iron or copper, so the carving is very time consuming. However, the facial expressions of the statues are incredibly vivid.

Who are these Olmec heads?

There are two main theories about the characters carved on stone heads. The first and most popular hypothesis is that Olmec people portray their great generals in the military. However, if relying on the hat of the statues on the head, this may be the portrayal of the head of football players executed at that time (in Central America, if playing the ball lost to the loser will be beheaded) . No matter who these heads represent, they still have a special feature that no one overlaps with each other. Each has individual motifs and logos. Another mystery is that two heads have been engraved, unknown due to religious reasons or lack of stone.

Relationship with Africa

Since its discovery, anthropologists have argued vehemently about the origin of the heads. They have thick lips, thin faces and big noses, the characteristics of Africans and scientists believe that the Olmec Africans have settled in the Americas.

Jade mask features Asian characteristics

However, this theory was rejected by many anthropologists. They speculated that the supposedly carved facility was due to the difficult carving of stone with primitive tools. This is even more evident when the Jade statue bears Asian characteristics.

The meaning of the Olmec civilization discovery

The discovery of Olmec civilization changed the thinking of previous anthropologists. They once thought that the Mayan civilization was the beginning of Central American civilization, but the Olmec people were indeed the first owners in this area from 1400 to 300 BC. This was even more evident when later studies showed that Maya and Aztec civilizations were of Olmec origin. The great thing is that they built great cities and pyramids before becoming Rome and the Egyptian pyramids were born.