 "The Grandmother", La Venta (reproduction) La Venta is the name of a Pre-Columbian archaeological site of the Olmec civilization. The site is located in the Mexican state of Tabasco at 18°07′N 94°03′W. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (667x1000, 169 KB) La Abuelita / The Grandmother (repro) Zona arqueológica La Venta / La Venta archaeological site Tabasco, Mexico Photo taken by Hajor, Aug. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (667x1000, 169 KB) La Abuelita / The Grandmother (repro) Zona arqueológica La Venta / La Venta archaeological site Tabasco, Mexico Photo taken by Hajor, Aug. ...
The term Pre-Columbian is used to refer to the cultures of the New World in the era before significant European influence. ...
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been investigated using the discipline of archaeology. ...
Monument 1, an Olmec colossal head at La Venta The Olmec were an ancient people living in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, roughly in what are the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. ...
The United Mexican States (Estados Unidos Mexicanos or Mexico) comprises 31 states (estados) and one federal district (Distrito Federal), which contains the capital, Mexico City. ...
This article refers to Tabasco state; for the condiment see Tabasco sauce Other Mexican States Capital Villahermosa Other major cities List of municipalities Area 25,267 km² Ranked 24th Population (2000 census) 1,889,370 Ranked 20th Governor (2001-07) Manuel Andrade Díaz (PRI) Federal Deputies (6) PRI = 6...
Olmec overview The Olmec civilization was prominent in Mesoamerica from as early as 1500 BCE through 100 BCE, although there is evidence that the Olmec culture existed into the Common Era. The Olmec heartland is an area on the south coast of the Gulf of Mexico coastal plain of southern Veracruz and Tabasco, is thus called because of the concentration of a large number of Olmec monuments as well as the greatest Olmec sites. The area is about 125 miles long and 50 miles wide (200 by 80 km), with the Coatzalcoalcos River system running through the middle. These sites include San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, Laguna de los Cerros, Tres Zapotes, and La Venta is one of the greatest of the Olmec sites. Mesoamerica is the region extending from central Mexico south to the northwestern border of Costa Rica that gave rise to a group of stratified, culturally related agrarian civilizations spanning an approximately 3,000-year period before the European discovery of the New World by Columbus. ...
The Common Era (CE), also known as the Christian Era and sometimes the Current Era, is the period of measured time beginning with the year 1 until the present. ...
The Common Era (CE), also known as the Christian Era and sometimes the Current Era, is the period of measured time beginning with the year 1 until the present. ...
Gulf of Mexico in 3D perspective. ...
The state of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave is one of the 31 states that compose Mexico (does not include the Mexican Federal District). ...
Front and side views of Colossal Head 1 now located at Museo de AntropologÃa de Xalapa in Xalapa, Veracruz. ...
Tres Zapotes is a Mesoamerican archaeological site located in the south-central Gulf Lowlands of Mexico in the Papaloapan river plain. ...
La Venta is dated to between 1200 BCE through 400 BCE which places the major development of the city in the Middle Formative Period. Located on an island in a coastal swamp overlooking the then-active Río Palma river, the city of La Venta probably controlled a region between the Mezcalapa and Coatzacoalcos rivers.
The site itself is about 18 miles inland with the island consisting of slightly more than 2 square miles of dry land. The main part of the site is a complex of clay constructions stretched out for 12 miles in a North-South direction, although the site is 8° West of true North. The entire southern end of the site is covered by a petroleum refinery, and has been largely demolished, making excavations difficult or impossible. Many of the site's monuments are now on display in the archaeological museum and park in the city of Villahermosa, Tabasco (photos of park). Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Petroleum (from Greek petra – rock and elaion – oil or Latin oleum – oil ), crude oil, sometimes colloquially called black gold or Texas Tea, is a thick, dark brown or greenish liquid. ...
The National Gallery in London, a famous museum. ...
Villahermosa (Beautiful Village in Spanish language) capital city of Tabasco, Mexico and seat of municipality of Centro. ...
La Venta at its height In its heyday, La Venta was a monumental center that contained an elaborate series of buried offerings and tombs as well as monumental sculptures similar to the many found at San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, perhaps the most well known of the Olmec sites. Power of the Olmec culture passed down to La Venta after the decline of San Lorenzo, in about 900 BCE. It is calculated that the site supported a population of at least 18,000 people during its principal occupation. The major features of the site at La Venta are Complex A and the Great Pyramid. The Great Pyramid is a huge clay pyramid 110 ft high, one of the earliest pyramids known in Mesoamerica. The current conical shape of the pyramid was once thought to represent nearby volcanoes or mountains, but recent work by Rebecca Gonzalez-Lauck has shown that the pyramid was in fact a rectangular pyramid with stepped sides and inset corners, and the current shape is probably due to 2500 years of erosion. The pyramid itself has never been excavated, but is thought to contain an elaborate tomb, such as many other Mesoamerican mounds and pyramids do. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1108x868, 148 KB) Summary Created by Madman using the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1108x868, 148 KB) Summary Created by Madman using the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. ...
For other uses, see Volcano (disambiguation). ...
Complex A is a mound and plaza group located just to the north of the Great Pyramid. It was erected in a period of 4 construction phases that span over 4 centuries. Beneath the mounds and plazas were found a vast array of offerings and other buried objects including buried jade celts, polished mirrors made of iron-ores, and large mosaic offerings made of serpentine blocks. Most of these latter items were found in 3 large pits, known as the Massive Offerings, filled with hundreds of tons of serpentine blocks. Also unearthed were 4 rectangular pavements each roughly 15 ft × 20 ft and each consisting of about 485 blocks of serpentine. The mosaics were laid in the form of an abstract jaguar mask, a common theme in Olmec art. Soon after completion, these pavements were covered over with colored clay and then many feet of earth. Celt (pron. ...
Serpentine Serpentine is a group of common rock-forming hydrous magnesium iron phyllosilicate ((Mg, Fe)3Si2O5(OH)4) minerals; it is also often rich in other metal ores, including chromium, manganese, cobalt and nickel. ...
The jaguar played an important role in the culture and religion of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. ...
Colossal heads It is clear that the Olmecs were a knowledgeable and artistic people, as is evident by the many monuments and sculptures they have left behind. The site of La Venta itself included floors of different colored clays and platforms painted in red, yellow, and purple. Throughout this city of color were a large number of monuments sculptured from basalt. Perhaps the most intriguing of the monuments are the four colossal heads. Seventeen colossal heads have been unearthed, 4 of them at La Venta (officially described as Monuments 1 through 4).
 Olmec stone head from La Venta (now in Villahermosa) The La Venta heads are thought to have been carved by 700 BCE, but possibly as early as 850 BCE, while the San Lorenzo heads are credited to an earlier period. The colossal heads can measure up to 9 ft 4 in. in height and weigh several tons. The sheer size of the stones causes a great deal of speculation on how the Olmecs moved them. The basalt quarry was found in the Tuxtla Mountains, over 80 km away. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
Each of the heads wears headgear resembling 1920-style American football helmets, although each is unique in its decoration. These helmets probably served as protection in war and in the ceremonial Mesoamerican ballgame played throughout Mesoamerica. The consensus is that the heads represent mighty Olmec rulers or famous ballplayers, or both. Great Ball Court at Chichén Itzá A Ball Court Goal, Chichén Itzá Ball court marker, from the Maya site of Chinkultic. ...
Scientific consensus is the collective judgment, position, and opinion of scientists in a particular field of science at a particular time. ...
The flat-faced, thick-lipped characteristics of the heads have caused much debate about their resemblance to African characteristics. Some insist that the Olmecs were African. Others have said it is possible that the heads were carved this way reflecting the shallow space allowed on the basalt boulders, and not the actual appearance of the people. Others note that in addition to the broad noses and thick lips, the heads have the asian eye-fold, and that all these characteristics are still found in modern Mesoamerican indians. In the 1940s artist/art historian Miguel Covarrubias published a series of photos of Olmec artworks and of the faces of modern Mexican indians with very similar facial characteristics. A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. ...
// Events and trends World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ...
José Miguel Covarrubias (November 22, 1904 — February 4, 1957) Mexican painter and caricaturist. ...
Altar 4 The site also included several "altars" of basalt, the most familiar being Altar 4. Altar 4 represents a figure, probably a ruler or shaman dressed in an elaborate headdress and sitting inside what appears to be a cave. The figure is holding on to a rope, which wraps around the base of the altar to the right side where it is tied to a seated figure. The left side is eroded away but is thought to be similar to the scene on the right. Basalt Basalt is a common gray to black volcanic rock. ...
The consensus today is that these "altars" are thrones on which the Olmec rulers were seated during important rituals or ceremonies. This leads many researchers to interpret the figure at the front as a ruler, who is contacting or being helped by his ancestors, the figures on either side of the altar. Alternatively, the side figures are thought to be bound captives.
Discovery and excavation La Venta was found and excavated by Matthew Stirling between 1941 and 1943, with several subsequent excavations following through the 1960s. Stirling is sometimes credited with identifying the Olmec civilization; although some Olmec sites and monuments had been known earlier, it was Stirling's work that put the Olmec culture into context. For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ...
1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ...
The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ...
See also Mesoamerican chronology
Offering 4 at La Venta Mesoamerican chronology The chronology of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica is usually divided into the following eras: Paleo-Indian Period c. ...
Olmec figurines of Mesoamerica describe archaeological finds of clay and ceramic figurines used for ritual purposes. ...
|
Feeds |
Contact