Chalcatzingo was probably an Olmec trading outpost, situated in a prime location for controlling traffic through the mountains to Guerrero, a key area rich in minerals. This was one of the few highland sites to have monumental stone art and architecture at this time: platforms faced with cut stone blocks, stelae (carved monoliths), an altar and massive rock carvings.
These are in characteristic Olmec style and feature Olmec themes. One scene depicts a figure seated within the mouth of an Olmec dragon; another a naked prisoner and his warrior captors.
Figurines are also common: these are in a local style although like some Olmec art they seem to be portraits of local rulers.
Most of the domestic material in this large settlement is of local type or imported from neighbouring regions with which trade had always been carried on, indicating that most inhabitants were natives of the region.
The settlement contained numerous workshops in haematite (iron ore), obsidian (volcanic glass) and serpentine (an attractive green stone): most of the products of these must have been transferred to the Olmec heartland.
