Olmec colossal heads
Olmec colossal heads are stone representations of human heads sculpted from large basalt boulders. The heads date from at least 900 BC and are a distinctive feature of the Olmec civilization of ancient Mesoamerica. Seventeen confirmed examples are known from four sites within the OlMec heartland on the Gulf Coast of Mexico.
About Olmec colossal heads in brief
Olmec colossal heads are stone representations of human heads sculpted from large basalt boulders. The heads date from at least 900 BC and are a distinctive feature of the Olmec civilization of ancient Mesoamerica. All portray mature individuals with fleshy cheeks, flat noses, and slightly crossed eyes; their physical characteristics correspond to a type that is still common among the inhabitants of Tabasco and Veracruz. The boulders were brought from the Sierra de Los Tuxtlas mountains of Verac Truxtlas, Mexico. It is thought that the monuments represent portraits of powerful individual OlmEC rulers. The smallest weigh 6 tons, while the largest is variously estimated to weigh 40 to 50 tons, although it was abandoned and left uncompleted close to the source of its stone. One theory is that these were worn as protective helmets, maybe worn for war or to take part in a ceremonial MesOamerican ballgame. Seventeen confirmed examples are known from four sites within the OlMec heartland on the Gulf Coast of Mexico. Most have been dated to the Early Preclassic period with some to the Middle Preclassic period. The city of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán was succeeded as the main centre of the civilization by Tres Zapotes and Lagrosa about 900 BC, but other urban centres were less significant. Very fine art, much clearly clearly for an elite, survives in several forms, notably Olmac figurines and larger figurines such as Wrestler. The figurines have been recovered in large numbers and are mostly in pottery and are presumably available to the population of the area.
The stone-style masks are of particular relevance to the colossal heads, because they are the only ones that allow us to make an accurate estimate of the size of the heads in stone. They are also the first people in the Americas to develop a sophisticated style of stone sculpture. The Olmic civilization developed in the lowlands of southeastern Mexico between 1500 and 400 BC, and is regarded as the ‘Mother Culture’ of MesoAmerica. In the first decade of the 21st century evidence emerged of Olm EC hieroglyphs dating to around 650 BC. The earliest examples of OlMEC writing have been found on roller stamps and stone artefacts; the texts are short and have been partially deciphered based on their similarity to other Meso American scripts. The evidence of complex society developing has led to the Ol mecs being regarded as ‘the mother culture’ of the Americas, although this concept remains controversial. The first inhabitants of theAmericas to construct monumental architecture and to settle in towns and cities. They were the first to develop the sophisticated art form of pottery, and to build monumental architecture in a lowland tropical forest setting. They also developed a sophisticated way of writing that is similar to that of the Sumerian civilization of Iraq and the Erlitou culture of China’s Yellow River, and the Indus Valley Civilization of India.
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This page is based on the article Olmec colossal heads published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 31, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
