4 101 x The volcanic Tuxtla mountains were the source of the basalt used by the Olmec for their colossal heads, stone 'altars', drains and other monumental constructions. The basalt was transported over considerable distances on rafts. It has been suggested that the main mound at La Venta was constructed in imitation of a Tuxtla volcano.
# Tuxtla mountains
5 13 42 1
#CM San Lorenzo
6 9 42 1
#RD La Venta
7 0 42 8
#IW Social organisation
8 0 42 6
#IW Mounds, ballcourts and sacrifice
9 0 42 7
#IW Villages and Ceremonial centres
10 101 x The latest Olmec ceremonial centre, Tres Zapotes, belongs to the period of Olmec decline, when the culture had been overtaken by the explosive development of civilizations in the Mexican highlands. It is nevertheless an impressive site, with over fifty mounds, including a stone faced pyramid, set in groups round plazas.
# Tres Zapotes
11 101 x Less well known than San Lorenzo and Las Venta, Laguna de los Cerros was a major Olmec ceremonial centre similar to and contemporary with San Lorenzo. Here many plazas are arranged in an astronomical alignment, with clay and earth mounds and stone drains, colossal heads and other typical Olmec material.
# Laguna de los Cerros
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#IW Tlatilco
13 101 x Around 700 BC this important site had a complex of north-south orientated plazas and platforms, including a stone faced pyramid supporting a temple, and was culturally allied with both the Maya region and the Olmec. Later, however, the locally developed Izapan culture expanded to dominate the Maya regions and even influenced the late Olmec.
# Izapa, Izapan material from Tres Zapotes - optional:
14 101 x At Moyotzingo, a small town with pyramids and craft specialization was developing around 800 BC. Such towns, devoid of Olmec influence, were springing up in much of Mesoamerica and clearly show that the Olmec were not wholly responsible for the formation of regional centres in every area.
# Moyotzingo
15 101 x From around 1200 BC San Jose Mogote was the major settlement in the Oaxaca valley: abundant imports reflect the activities of an increasingly powerful elite. Initially imports included Olmec objects, but after 900 BC the centre was powerful enough to out compete Olmec traders, whose influence declined, a pattern repeated in many highland centres.
# San Jose Mogote
16 101 x The Chiapas region was closely linked culturally to the Olmec heartland. At Chiapa de Corzo an early village developed into a town with a large planned centre similar in design to the complexes at La Venta: this was typical of settlement in the region, where ballcourts also began to be constructed at this time.
# Chiapa de Corzo, Nice Olmec object from here
17 102 G An important piece of Olmec statuary was discovered at Las Limas. A seated figure, probably of a ruler, holds across his lap the figure of a were-jaguar god, probably demonstrating his royal status. Incised on the statue are the faces of four other Olmec deities, depicted with typical cleft heads.
# Las Limas, photo to be used in PE
18 0 42 5
#IW The Olmec Otherworld
19 101 x In the heart of Guerrero is the cave site of Juxtlahuaca. Two interconnected caverns lead downwards, seemingly into the underworld, and at their heart are Olmec paintings. In one a great red snake with a plume of green feathers is presumably the Olmec version of Quetzalcoatl, the great Plumed Serpent god.
# Juxtlahuaca, Plumed serpent painting
20 0 42 4
#The Olmec Legacy
xx 101 x A cache of material here included twenty-five life-sized jade masks, each clearly a portrait and some probably depicting the same individual at different ages. Identical masks have been found in other Mesoamerican sites, over a wide area: some scholars interpret them as a sign of Olmec political control of other regions.
