The Olmec colossal head is a human headstone representation carved from large basalt rocks. The head dates from at least 900 BC and is a hallmark of the Olmec civilization of ancient Mesoamerica. All play adults 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 back of the monument is often flat. The stones were brought from the Sierra de los Tuxtlas mountains in Veracruz. Given that the enormous stone slabs used in their production are transported at great distances, requiring considerable effort and human resources, it is thought that these monuments represent a strong individual Olmec ruling portrait. Each known sample has a distinctive headdress. The heads were arranged in various lines or groups in the main Olmec centers, but the methods and logistics used to transport rocks to these sites remained unclear.
The discovery of the colossal head of Tres Zapote in the nineteenth century spurred the first archaeological investigation of Olmec culture by Matthew Stirling in 1938. Seventeen confirmed examples are known from four locations within the heart of Olmec on the Gulf Coast of Mexico. Most colossal heads are carved out of cobblestones but two of San Lorenzo TenochtitlÃÆ'¡n are carved back from the great stone throne. An additional monument, in Takalik Abaj in Guatemala, is a throne that may be carved from the colossal head. This is the only known example from outside the heart of the Olmec.
Dating monuments remains difficult due to many movements from their original context prior to archaeological inquiry. Most have been dated to the Early Preclassic period (1500-1000 BC) with some into the Middle Preclassic period (1000-400Ã, SM). The smallest weighs 6 tons, while the largest is a variety of which is estimated to weigh 40 to 50 tons, though it is abandoned and left incompletely close to the rock source.
Video Olmec colossal heads
Peradaban Olmec
The Olmec civilization flourished in the lowlands of southeastern Mexico between 1500 and 400 BC. The heart of Olmec is located on the Gulf Coast of Mexico in the states of Veracruz and Tabasco, an area of ​​some 275 kilometers (171 miles) from east to west and extends about 100 kilometers (62 miles) to the mainland from the coast. The Olmecs is considered the first civilization that developed in Mesoamerica and the heart of the Olmec is one of six cradles of civilization worldwide, the other is the Chico Norte culture in South America, the Erlitou culture of the Yellow River of China, the Indus Valley Civilization of the Indian Subcontinent, the civilization Ancient Egypt in Africa, and the ancient Sumerian civilization of Iraq. Of these, only Olmec civilization was developed in lowland tropical forests.
The Olmecs are the first inhabitants of America to build monumental architecture and settle in cities and towns. They are also the first people in America to develop sophisticated stone carvings. In the first decade of 21st century evidence appears Olmec writing, with the earliest example of Olmec hieroglyphs dating around 650 BC. Examples of manuscripts have been found on seals of rollers and stone artifacts; the text is short and has been partially described by its similarity to other Mesoamerican scripts. The evidence of a complex society developing in the heart of Olmec has led to the Olmec being considered the "Mother Culture" of Mesoamerica, although the concept is still controversial.
Some Olmec rulers seem to have performed religious functions. The city of San Lorenzo was replaced as a major center of civilization by La Venta around 900 BC, with Tres Zapotes and Laguna de los Cerros possibly sharing roles; other city centers are much less significant. The nature and level of control performed by centers over the widespread rural population remains unclear. The ultra-fine Olmec art, very clearly made for an elite, survives in some form, especially Olmec statues, and larger sculptures like The Wrestler. The statues have been found in large numbers and mostly in pottery; this may be widely available to residents. Together with this, the particular relevance to the colossal head is the "Olmec-style mask" on the rock, so called because nothing has yet been unearthed under circumstances that allow proper archaeological identification of the Olmec context. This evocative stone face mask presents both the similarities and differences with the colossal head. Two thirds of the monumental Olmec sculptures represent the human form, and the colossal head falls in the main theme of the Olmec art.
Maps Olmec colossal heads
Dating
The colossal head can not be given the exact date. However, the head of San Lorenzo was buried by 900 BC, indicating that their period of manufacture and use was still earlier. The heads of Tres Zapotes have been removed from their original context before they are investigated by archaeologists and the head of La Venta is found partly exposed on the modern soil surface. The period of production of the colossal head is therefore unknown, as whether it extends a century or a millennium. The approximate time range in which the colossal heads are produced varies from 50 to 200 years. The head of San Lorenzo is believed to be the oldest, and the most skillfully executed. All the stone heads have been assigned to the Preclassic period of Mesoamerican chronology, generally to Preclassic Early (1500-1000 BC), although two heads of Tres Zapotes and Chief La Cobata were associated with Preclassic Central (1000-400 BC).
Characteristics
All heads are a realistic, vague and honest picture about men. It is very likely that they are portraits of life (or who just died) the famous ruler of the sculptors. Each head is different and naturalistic, featuring individual features. They were once considered to represent footballers although this theory is no longer widely owned; it is possible, however, that they represent the equipped ruler for the Mesoamerican ballgame. The facial expressions depicted on the head vary from stern to calm to smile. The most naturalistic Olmec art is the earliest, suddenly appearing without a surviving antecedent, with a tendency toward more stylish statues as time passes. Some surviving examples of wooden sculptures found from El Manató show that Olmec may have created more easily damaged statues than works carved from stone.
Although all colossal heads are very similar, there are different styles in execution. One of the heads of San Lorenzo carries a trail of stucco and red paint, indicating that the head was originally brightly decorated. The heads not only represent the individual Olmec rulers; they also incorporate the concept of government itself.
Producing
The production of each colossal head should be carefully planned, given the effort required to ensure the necessary resources are available; it appears that only stronger Olmec rulers are capable of mobilizing such resources. The workforce will include sculptors, laborers, inspectors, boatmen, carpenters and other artists who produce tools to create and transport monuments, in addition to the support needed to feed and otherwise serve these workers. Seasonal and agricultural cycles and river levels need to be taken into account to plan the production of monuments and the entire project may have been years from beginning to end.
Archaeological investigations from the Olmec basal workshop demonstrate that the colossal head is primarily roughly shaped by direct percussion to release small and large rock shales. The statue is then purified by surface retouching using hammerstones, which are generally round cubes that can be the same basalt as the monument itself, although this is not always the case. Abrasive was found in association with a workshop at San Lorenzo, showing its use in the completion of fine detail. The colossal head of the Olmec is formed as a monument around it with varying degrees of relief at the same job; they tend to show a higher relief on the face and relieve the ears of hearing and headdress. The 20th monument in San Lorenzo is a severely damaged throne with a figure emerging from a niche. The sides are broken down and dragged to another location before being abandoned. It is possible that the damage was caused by the early stages of re-engraving the monument into a colossal head but the work was never completed.
All seventeen heads confirmed in the heart of the Olmec are carved from basalt mined in the Sierra de los Tuxtlas mountains in Veracruz. Mostly formed from a coarse grained coarse gray basal known as Cerro Cintepec basalt after a volcano in the range. Researchers have proposed that the large Cerro Cintepec basalt rocks found on the southeast slopes of the mountains are the source of stones for the monuments. These stones are found in areas affected by large lava (volcanoes) carrying large rocks on the slopes, indicating that Olmec does not need to mine raw materials to stalk the head. Roughly rounded boulders are carefully selected to mimic the shape of the human head. Stones for the heads of San Lorenzo and La Venta are transported quite far from the source. The head of La Cobata is found on the hill of El Vigia in the Sierra de los Tuxtlas and the stones of Tres Zapotes Colossal HeadÃ,1 and Nestepe Colossal HeadÃ, 1 (also known as Tres Zapotes MonumentsÃ, A and Q) are from the same hill.
The stones are transported more than 150 kilometers (93 mi) from rock sources. The precise method of transportation of such a mass of stone is unknown, especially since Olmecs have no load-bearing animals and functional wheels, and they tend to use water transport whenever possible. Coastal currents of the Gulf of Mexico and river estuaries may have made the transport of water-borne monuments weighing 20 tons or more impractical. Two severely damaged Olmec statues depict rectangular stone blocks tied with ropes. A devastated human figure rides every block, with their legs hanging on the side. These sculptures may depict the Olmec rulers overseeing the transport of stones to be formed into their monuments. When hauling land is needed, the Olmec tend to use roads, sloping roads and roads to ease the head moves. Regional terrain offers significant hurdles such as swamps and floodplains; avoiding this would necessitate traversing the undulating hill country. The construction of temporary rice fields using suitable flood plains and will allow a direct route across the floodplain to San Lorenzo Plateau. Earth structures such as bumps, platforms, and trajectories on the plateau indicate that Olmec has the necessary knowledge and can do resources to build large-scale ground work.
The flat backs of many colossal heads represent the flat bases of the monumental throne where they are reworked. Only four of the seventeen heads of rural areas do not have flat backs, suggesting that the majority of the monuments are reworked. Alternatively, the backs of many of these great monuments may have been flattened to facilitate their transport, providing a stable form to transport monuments with ropes. The two heads of San Lorenzo have traces of niches which are the hallmark of the monumental Olmec throne and so clearly reworked from previous monuments.
Known monuments
Seventeen confirmed examples are known. An additional monument, in Takalik Abaj in Guatemala, is a throne that may be carved from the colossal head. This is the only known example outside the heart of Olmec on the Gulf Coast of Mexico. Possible additional colossal head pieces have been found in San Lorenzo and at San Fernando in Tabasco. The rugged colossal stone heads are also known in the Southern Maya area where they are associated with the style of abdominal carving. Although some arguments have been made that they are pre-Olmec, this last monument is generally believed to be influenced by the Olmec sculpture style.
San Lorenzo
The ten colossal heads of San Lorenzo originally formed two parallel lines that run north-south across the site. Although some are found from the abyss, they are found close to their original placement and have been buried by local erosion. These heads, together with a number of monumental stone thrones, may form a procession route throughout the site, strongly displaying the history of the dynasty. The two heads of San Lorenzo have been carved back from the older throne.
San Lorenzo Colossal HeadÃ, 1 (also known as San Lorenzo MonumentÃ, 1 ) is lying face up while digging. Erosion of the passing road above the monument opened his eyes and led to the discovery of the Olmec site. Colossal HeadÃ,1 is 2.84 meters (9.3Ã, ft) high; measuring 2.11 meters (6.9 feet) and weighing 25.3 tons. The monument was found partly buried at the edge of a ditch by Matthew Stirling in 1945. When found, it lies on his back, looking up. It is associated with a large number of ceramic ships and damaged statues. The majority of these ceramics have been dated between 800 and 400 BC; some pieces have been dated for the Villa Alta phase (Classic Classic Period, 800-1000 AD). Headdress has a plain ribbon tied at the back of the head. The top of the headdress is decorated with a U-shaped motif. This element descends on the front of the headdress, ending on the forehead. At the front it is decorated with five semi-circle motifs. The scalp cut does not fill the horizontal band, leaving space between two parts. On each side the face of the rope comes down from the headdress and passes in front of the ear. Her forehead creased. Lips open slightly without opening teeth. The cheeks are spoken and ears are very well executed. The face is slightly asymmetrical, which may be due to errors on the sculptor's part or can accurately reflect the physical features of the portrait subject. The head has been moved to the Museo de Antropolog de Xalapa ("Museum of Anthropology Xalapa").
San Lorenzo Colossal HeadÃ, 2 (also known as San Lorenzo MonumentÃ, 2 ) is reworked from the monumental throne. Head height 2.69 meters (8.8 feet) and 1.83 meters (6.0 feet) tall with a depth of 1.05 meters (3.4 feet); weighing 20 tons. Colossal Head 2 was discovered in 1945 when Matthew Stirling's guide cleared some of the vegetation and mud that covered it. The monument was found lying on its back, facing the sky, and excavated in 1946 by Stirling and Philip Drucker. In 1962 the monument was removed from the San Lorenzo plateau for display as part of the exhibition "The Olmec tradition" at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston in 1963. San Lorenzo Colossal HeadÃ,2 is currently at the Museo Nacional de Anthropolog in Mexico City. The head is associated with a number of ceramic discoveries; they have been dating the Preclassic Preliminary and Classical End periods. Colossal Head 2 wears an elaborate headdress that moves the horizontal band tied at the back of the head; it is decorated with three bird heads located above the forehead and temple. Scalp cuts are formed from six strips that run towards the back of the head. The front of the head decoration over the horizontal band was plain. Two short straps hang from the headdress in front of the ear. Ear jewelry is formed by large square circles or framed discs. Different left and right ornaments, with radial lines on the left ear leaf, the absent feature on the right ear. The head was badly damaged due to the unfinished rework process. This process has marked the entire face with at least 60 small holes and 2 larger holes. The surviving features seem to depict an elderly man with wrinkled forehead being sullen. Lips are thick and slightly open to reveal teeth; head has a clear chin.
San Lorenzo Colossal HeadÃ, 3 also known as San Lorenzo MonumentÃ, 3 . Head height 1.78 meters (5.8 feet) high 1.63 meters (5.3 feet) wide by 0.95 meters (3.1 feet) and weighs 9.4 tons. The head was found inside the gutter by Matthew Stirling in 1946; it was found facedown and the digging was difficult because of the wet conditions in the gutter. The monument was found 0.8 kilometers (0.50 mi) southwest of the main mound in San Lorenzo, however, its original location is unknown; erosion from sewers may have resulted in significant sculpting movements. Head 3 has been moved to Museo de Antropolog de Xalapa. Headdress is complicated, with horizontal basalt tape formed by four horizontal wires, with diagonal creases above each eye. A small hood is perched on top of the headdress. A large flap formed from four ropes down on both sides of the head, covering the ear completely. Faces usually have wrinkled eyebrows and, unusually, have clear eyelids. Lips are thick and slightly exposed; the front of the lower lip has completely ruptured, and the lower front part of the head decoration is pitted with 27 irregular artificial curtains.
San Lorenzo Colossal HeadÃ, 4 (also known as San Lorenzo MonumentÃ, 4 ) weighs 6 tons and has been moved to the Museo de Antropolog de Xalapa. Colossal Head 4 is 1.78 meters (5.8 feet) tall, 1.17 meters (3.8 feet) wide and 0.95 meters (3.1 feet) deep. The head was discovered by Matthew Stirling in 1946, 550 meters (600 y) northwest of the main mound, at the edge of a ditch. When unearthed, it is found lying on the right side and in excellent preservation conditions. The ceramic material is dug with the head to be mixed with the ceramic associated with the Head 5, making the ceramic dating ceramic becomes difficult. Headdresses are adorned with horizontal bands made of four engraved wires, similar to those of Head 3. On the right side, three tufts descend from the top of the head decoration; they ended a total of eight strips that hung in a horizontal band. These tassels are judged to represent hairs rather than ropes. Also on the right side, two wires descend on the ear and continue to the base of the monument. On the left side, three vertical ropes fall in the ear. Earflare is only visible on the right side; it is formed from a plain disc and a peg. His face was an old man with wrinkled brow, low cheekbones and a prominent chin. Lips are thick and slightly open.
San Lorenzo Colossal HeadÃ, 5 also known as San Lorenzo MonumentÃ, 5 . The monument stands 1.86 meters (6.1 feet) tall and measures 1.47 meters (4.8 feet) wide by 1.15 meters (3.8 feet). It weighs 11.6 tons. The head was discovered by Matthew Stirling in 1946, facing the mound just south of the main mound. The head is very well executed and is likely to have been found close to its original location. The recovered ceramics during the excavation become mixed with those derived from the head digging 4. The mixed ceramics have been dated for the phases of San Lorenzo and Villa Alta (around 1400-1000 BC and 800-1000 AD respectively). Colossal Head 5 is well preserved, although the back of the headband ribbon is damaged when the head is removed from the archaeological site. The headband ribbon is set at an angle and has a curve over the bridge of the nose. Headdress decorated with jaguar paws; the general identification of this decor is contested by Beatriz de la Fuente because "claw" has three claws; he identifies them as a bird of prey. At the back of the head, ten interlaced strips form a net decorated with disc motifs. Two short strings descended from the headdress in front of the ear. The ears are decorated with disc-shaped earpools with pegs. His face was an old man with wrinkles under his eyes and across the bridge of his nose, and forehead wrinkled in a wrinkle. Lips slightly open. Colossal Head 5 has been moved to the Museo de Antropolog de Xalapa.
San Lorenzo Colossal Head 6 (also known as San Lorenzo MonumentÃ, 17 ) is one of the smaller examples of colossal heads, standing 1.67 meters (5.5 feet ). It measures 1.41 meters (4.6 ft) wide by 1.26 meters (4.1 m) and is estimated to weigh between 8 and 10 tons. The head was invented by local agricultural workers and excavated in 1965 by Luis Aveleyra and Romà ¢ ¡n PiÃÆ'  ± a Chan. The head has collapsed into a ravine under its own weight and is found facing down on its left side. In 1970 it was transported to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for the eleventh century museum exhibit. After returning to Mexico, it was placed at the Museo Nacional de Antropologa in Mexico City. It is engraved with a headdress like a net united with sculpted beads. A cover descends from underneath the headdress to cover the back of the neck. The headband is divided into four strips and starts above the right ear, extending across the head. The short straps descend from both sides of the head to the ear. Ear ornaments are very complicated and larger on the front of the ear than in the back. His face was an old man with wrinkled foreheads in wrinkles, wrinkles under his eyes, sagging cheeks and deep wrinkles on either side of his nose. His face is somewhat asymmetrical, probably due to errors in the execution of the monument.
The head of San Lorenzo Colossal 7 (also known as San Lorenzo Monument 53 ) measures 2.7 meters (8.9 feet) tall 1.85 meters (6.1 feet) wide 1.35 meters (4.4Ã, ft) deep and weighs 18 tons. San Lorenzo Colossal Head 7 is reworked from the monumental throne; it was discovered by an archaeological project shared by the Instituto Nacional de Antropologa e Historia and Yale University, as a result of a magnetometer survey. It is buried at a depth of less than 1 meter (3.3Ã, ft) and lies facing upward, slightly leaning northward on its right side. The head is poorly preserved and suffers from both erosion and deliberate damage. Headdress adorned with a pair of human hands; a furry ornament carved on the back of a headband and two discs adorning the front. The short strap drops from the headband and hangs in front of the right ear. Head sports with large ears that completely cover the earlobe, although severe erosion makes the shape difficult to distinguish. The face has wrinkles between the nose and cheeks, sagging cheeks and deep eyes; lips are badly damaged and mouth open, showing tooth. In 1986 the head was transferred to the Museo de Antropolog de Xalapa.
San Lorenzo Colossal HeadÃ, 8 (also known as San Lorenzo MonumentÃ, 61 ) stands 2.2 meters (7,2Ã, ft) high; it measures 1.65 meters (5.4 m) wide by 1.6 meters (5.2 m) and weighs 13 tons. This is one of the best examples of the colossal head of the Olmec. It was found lying on its side to the south of the monumental throne. The monument was found at a depth of 5 meters (16 feet) during a site magnetometer survey in 1968; has been dated to Preclassic Beginning. After the initial discovery was re-buried; it was transferred to the Museo de Anthropolog de Xalapa in 1986. The headdress is adorned with claws or claws either jaguars or eagles. It has a headband and a cover that descends from underneath the headdress just behind the ear. Two short straps down in front of the ear. Head of the big earpiece sport in the form of a peg. Her face is an adult male with cheeks and wrinkles that sag between this and the nose. The forehead is collected in a pout. Mouth slightly open to open teeth. Most of the heads are carved in a realistic way, except the ears. It is a style and is represented by a question mark embodied in the other. The head is very well preserved and shows a great finish.
San Lorenzo Colossal Head 9 also known as San Lorenzo Monument, 66 . It measures 1.65 meters (5.4 ft) high with 1.36 meters (4.5 feet) wide 1.17 meters (3.8 feet) deep. The head was exposed in 1982 by the erosion of the trenches in San Lorenzo; found slightly tilted on the right side and facing upward, half covered by the collapsed side of the sewer and washed by the river. Although documented by archaeologists, it remains for some time in place of his discovery before being transferred to the Museo de Antropolog de Xalapa. Headdress is one piece without a different headband. The sides feature features that might be meant to represent long hair trailing to the bottom of the monument. Earflares are rectangular plates with additional trapezoidal elements on the front. The head is also depicted wearing a nose ring. Her face smiles and has wrinkles under her eyes and at the edge of her mouth. He has a sagging cheek and wide eyes. The mouth is closed and the upper lip is badly damaged. The statue undergoes several mutilations in antiquity, with nine holes hollowed into the face and headdress.
San Lorenzo Colossal Head 10 (also known as San Lorenzo MonumentÃ, 89 ) has been moved to the Museo Comunitario de San Lorenzo TenochtitlÃÆ'¡n near Texistepec. It stands 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) and measures 1.43 meters (4.7 feet) wide by 0.92 meters (3.0 feet) deep; weighs 8 tons. The head was discovered by a magnetometer survey in 1994; it was found buried, lying face up at the bottom of a cliff and dug by Ann Cyphers. Headwear is made up of 92 circular beads that cover the top of the head and down on the sides and back. Above the forehead is a large element forming a three foot leg with long nails, possibly a bird's leg. Head wear large earpools that protrude outside the beads from headdress. The coil has a circular square shape with a concave circular central part. His face is a grown man with his mouth closed, his cheeks and the line under his sagging eyes. Her mouth is carved sensitively and her head has a clear chin.
La Venta
Three of La Venta's heads are found on the east-west line of the northern Complex I; all three facing north, away from the city center. The other head is found in Complex B on the southern side of the Great Pyramid, in a plaza that includes a number of other statues. The latter, the first of the found heads of La Venta, was discovered during La Venta's archaeological exploration in 1925; the other three remained unknown to archaeologists until a local boy guided Matthew Stirling to them as he dug his first head in 1940. They were about 0.9 kilometers (0.56 mi) north of Monument 1.
La Venta Monument 1 speculates that it has become a portrait of La Venta's final ruler. Monument 1 measures 2.41 meters (7.9 feet) tall with 2.08 meters (6.8 feet) wide 1.95 meters (6.4 feet) deep; It weighs 24 tons. The front of the headdress is decorated with three motifs that apparently represent claws or animal fangs. On top of these symbols there is a U-shaped decoration that descends from the scalp. On each side of the rope monument descends from the headdress, passing in front of the ear. Each ear has a prominent ear ornament that descends from the earlobe to the base of the monument. Its characteristics are adults, with wrinkles around the mouth, eyes, and nose. Monument 1 is the most enduring head in La Venta but suffers from erosion, especially on the back. The head was first described by Franz Blom and Oliver La Farge who investigated La Venta remained on behalf of Tulane University in 1925. When found, it was half buried; its enormous size means that the inventors can not dig it entirely. Matthew Stirling fully excavated the monument in 1940, after cleansing the thick vegetation that had covered it in subsequent years. Monument 1 has been moved to Parque-Museo La Venta in Villahermosa. The head is found in its original context; related findings have been radiocarbon dated between 1000 and 600 BC.
La Venta Monument 2 measures 1.63 meters (5.3 feet) tall 1.35 meters (4.4 feet) wide by 0.98 meters (3.2 feet) deep; the head weighs 11.8 tons. The face has a broad, grinning expression that reveals the top four teeth. Cheeks are given the edge by smiling; eyebrows usually seen in other heads covered by the edge of the head decoration. The face is deeply eroded, annoying features. In addition to severe erosion damage, the upper lip and partial nose have been intentionally mutilated. The head is found in its original context a few meters north of the northwest corner of the A-2 platform pyramid. The radiocarbon dating from the context of the monument dates to between 1000 and 600 BC. Monument 2 has experienced erosion damage from exposure to elements prior to discovery. The head has a prominent headdress but this is deeply eroded and every individual detail has been removed. A rope comes down in front of the ear on each side of the head, down to the earlobe. The head is decorated with ear ornaments in the form of a disc covering the earlobe, with a clip or peg attached. The surviving details of headdress and earflares are stylistically similar to the Tres Zapotes Monument. A. The head has been moved to the Museo del Estado de Tabasco in Villahermosa.
La Venta MonumentÃ, 3 stands 1.98 meters (6.5 feet tall) and measures 1.6 meters (5.2 feet) wide by 1 meter (3.3Ã, ft) deep; weighing 12.8 tons. Monument 3 is located a few meters east of Monument 2, but was moved to the Parque-Museo La Venta in Villahermosa. Like other La Venta heads, the context is radiocarbon dated between 1000 and 600 BC. It seems unfinished and has severely damaged through weathering, making the analysis difficult. It has a large headdress that reaches the eyebrows but the detail has been lost due to erosion. The rope comes down in front of each ear and continues to the base of the monument. The ears wear large flat rings that overlap with ropes; they may represent jade ornaments of a kind that have been found in the Olmec region. Although most of the details of the face disappear, the jingle of the bridge of the nose is still clear, a feature common to expression frowned from other colossal Olmec heads.
La Venta Monument 4 measures 2.26 meters (7.4 feet) high of 1.98 meters (6.5 feet) wide and 1.86 meters (6.1 feet) deep. It weighs 19.8 tons. Found a few meters west of Monument 2 and have been moved to Parque-Museo La Venta. Like other heads in the group, the archaeological context is radiocarbon dated between 1000 and 600 BC. Headdress is complicated and, although damaged, various details can still be seen. The base of the headdress is formed by three horizontal strips across the forehead. One side is decorated with a double-disc motif that may have been repeated on the other side; if so, damage to the right side has erased his tracks. The top of the headdress is decorated with the feet of a bird of prey. Either ropes or woven hairs down on both sides of the face, from headdress to base of monument. Only one earpool survives; it is flat, in the shape of a round square, and decorated with a cross motif. The ears have been completely eroded and the lips are damaged. The surviving feature features wrinkles and wrinkles around the nose and cheeks. The head displays a prominent tooth.
Tres Zapotes
The two heads in Tres Zapote, with the head of La Cobata, are stylistically different from other known examples. Beatriz de la Fuente views them as a late regional survival of the older tradition while other scholars argue that they are just the kind of expected regional variant in border settlements. These heads are carved with relatively simple headdresses; they have squat, wide proportions and distinctive facial features. The two heads of Tres Zapote are the earliest known stone monuments of this site. The discovery of one of the heads of Tres Zapotes in the nineteenth century led to the first archaeological investigation of Olmec culture, conducted by Matthew Stirling in 1938.
Tres Zapotes MonumentÃ, A (also known as Tres Zapotes Colossal HeadÃ, 1 ) was the first colossal head to be discovered, accidentally discovered in the mid-nineteenth century, 0.62Ã, mi) to the north of the modern village of Tres Zapotes. After his discovery it remained half buried until unearthed by Matthew Stirling in 1939. At some point it was moved to the square of a modern village, probably in the early 1960s. Since then it has been moved to the Museo Comunitario de Tres Zapotes. Monument A stands 1.47 meters (4.8 feet); it measures 1.5 meters (4.9Ã, ft) wide 1.45 meters (4.8 ft) deep, and weighs 7.8 tons. The head is carved with a simple headdress with a band that does not wear off, and wears rectangular ear ornaments projected forward onto the cheeks. Faces carved with deep folds between cheeks and nose and around the mouth; forehead becomes tangled. The upper lip has been damaged recently, with the left side peeling off.
Tres Zapotes MonumentÃ, Q (also known as Head of Nestape and Tres Zapotes Colossal HeadÃ, 2 ) is 1.45 meters (4.8Ã, ft) height 1.34 meters (4.4Ã, ft) wide 1.26 meters (4.1Ã, ft) deep and weighs 8.5 tons. The exact date of the discovery is unknown but is thought to have existed in the 1940s, when it was hit by a machine used to clear vegetation from the Nestape hill. Q monument is the eleventh colossal head found. It was transferred to the Santiago Tuxtla plaza in 1951 and remains there to this day. The Q monument was first described by Williams and Heizer in an article published in 1965. Headdresses were decorated with a frontal tongue ornament, and the back of the head was carved with seven webbing tied with tassels. A rope is lowered from each side of the headdress, over the ears and to the base of the monument. The face has said folds around the nose, mouth and eyes.
La Cobata
The La Cobata region is a basal source used to carve out all the colossal heads in the heart of the Olmec. The colossal head of La Cobata was discovered in 1970 and the fifteenth to be recorded. It is found in a mountain pass in the Sierra de los Tuxtlas, on the north side of the El Vigia volcano near Santiago Tuxtla. Heads are mostly buried when found; excavations found the Late Classic (600-900 AD) offer associated with a head consisting of a ceramic vessel and a 12-centimeter (4.7-inch) obsidian blade placed placed pointing north toward the head. These offerings are believed to have been kept long after the head is engraved. The head of La Cobata has been moved from its original location to the main square in Santiago.
The head of La Cobata is more or less round and measures 3 to 3 meters (9.8 x 9.8 feet) by 3.4 meters (11 feet) tall, making it the largest known head. This huge statue is estimated to weigh 40 tons. It was stylishly different from other examples, and Beatriz de la Fuente placed it at the end of the Olmec time frame. The characteristics of the statue have led some researchers to suggest that it represents a deceased person. Norman Hammond argues that the distinct stylistic distinction of the monument stems from the unfinished state of the final production. The eyes of the monument are closed, the nose is flattened and has no nostrils and its mouth is not engraved in a realistic way. The headdress is in the form of a regular horizontal band.
The original location of the head of La Cobata is not a major archaeological site and it is likely that the head was left at its source or during transport to its intended destination. Various features of the head show that it is not finished, such as lack of symmetry under the mouth and rough stone area above the base. Rock is not removed from around earss like in other heads, and does not narrow to the base. Most of the monuments seem to be destroyed without detail. The right hand earpool also appears incomplete; the front is marked with a sculpted line while the back has been sculpted with relief, it may indicate that the right cheek and eye area is also unfinished. The head of La Cobata is almost certainly carved out of a raw stone rather than carved out of the throne.
Abaj Abaj
The monument of Takalik Abaj 23 dates to the Middle Preclassic period, and is found in Takalik Abaj, an important city in the foothills of Guatemala's coastal Guatemala, in the modern department of Retalhuleu. It seems to be the colossal head of the Olmec-style carved into a niche figure figure. If at first the head was colossal then it would be the only known example from outside the heart of the Olmec.
Monument 23 is carved from andesite and falls in the middle of the size range to confirm the colossal head. It is 1.84 meters (6.0 feet) tall and measures 1.2 meters (3.9 feet) wide by 1.56 meters (5.1 feet) deep. Like examples of the Olmec heart, this monument has a flat back. Lee Parsons questioned John Graham's identification of Monument 23 as a colossal head re-carved; he looked at the side ornaments, which Graham identified as ears, as more as the eyes rolled from the open manned monsters looking up. In response to this, James Porter claims that the colossal facial re-engraving becomes a figure of a clear niche.
Monument 23 was damaged in the mid-20th century by a local builder who tried to break his affected upper part using a steel chisel. As a result, the top is fragmented, although its fragments are found by archaeologists and have been returned to their place.
Collection
All of the 17 confirmed colossal chiefs remain in Mexico. Two heads from San Lorenzo are on permanent displays at Museo Nacional de Antropologa in Mexico City. Seven San Lorenzo heads are on display at the Museo de Antropolog de Xalapa. Five of them are in Sala 1, one in Sala 2, and one in Patio 1. The remaining San Lorenzo head is at the Museo Comunitario de San Lorenzo TenochtitlÃÆ'¡n near Texistepec. The four heads of La Venta are now in Villahermosa, the state capital of Tabasco. Three are at the Parque-Museo La Venta and another at the Museo del Estado de Tabasco. Two heads are on display at Santiago Tuxtla square; one from Tres Zapote and La Cobata Head. The other Tres Zapotes chief is at the Museo Comunitario de Tres Zapotes.
Some colossal heads have been lent to temporary exhibitions abroad; San Lorenzo Colossal Head 6 was lent to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1970. San Lorenzo Colossal heads 4 and 8 were on loan at the Art of of Ancient Mexico exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, which runs from June 30 to October 20, 1996. San Lorenzo Head 4 was loaned again in 2005, this time to de Young Museum in San Francisco. Museum de Young was loaned to San Lorenzo, head of colossal 5 and 9 for its exhibition, which runs from 19 February to 8 May 2011.
Vandalism
On January 12, 2009, at least three people, including two Mexicans and one American, entered the Parque-Museo La Venta in Villahermosa and destroyed just under 30 archaeological pieces, including four colossal chiefs of La Venta. The troublemakers are all members of the evangelical church and seem to have performed a pre-Columbian ritual, in which salt, grape juice, and oil are thrown overhead. An estimated 300,000 pesos (US $ 21,900) is needed to repair the damage, and the recovery process will last for four months. The three vandals were released immediately after their arrest after paying 330,000 pesos each.
Replica
Although not all of the replicas were placed by him, the majority of replicas around the world were placed under the leadership of Miguel AlemÃÆ'¡n Velasco, a former governor of the state of Veracruz. The following is a list of replicas and their locations in the United States:
- Austin, Texas. The replica of San Lorenzo Head 1 was placed at Teresa Lozano's Long Institute of Latin American Studies at the University of Texas in November 2008.
- Chicago, Illinois. Ignacio Perez Solano's replica of San Lorenzo Head 8 was placed at the Field Museum of Natural History in 2000.
- Covina, California. The replica of San Lorenzo Head 5 was donated to Covina in 1989, originally intended to be placed in Jalapa Park. Because of concerns over potential vandalism was instead installed outside the police station. It was removed in 2011 and moved to Jobe's Glen, Jalapa Park in June 2012.
- McAllen, Texas. The replica of San Lorenzo Head 8 is located at the International Museum of Art & amp; Science. This placement was presented by Fidel Herrera BeltrÃÆ'¡n, then the governor of Veracruz. This was done in 2010. Its head is one of 12 made by Ignacio Perez Solano and sent to various cities around the world.
- New York. The replica of San Lorenzo Head 1 is placed next to the main square in the courtyard of Lehman College in the Bronx, New York. It was installed in 2013 to celebrate the first anniversary of the CUNY Institute of Mexican Studies, located on campus. Replica is a gift by the state government of Veracruz, Cumbre TajÃÆ'n and Mexican Trade ; first aired at Dag Hammerskjold Park, outside the United Nations, in 2012.
- San Francisco, California. The replica of San Lorenzo Head 1 made by Ignacio Perez Solano was placed at San Francisco City College, Ocean Campus in October 2004.
- Washington, D.C. The replica of San Lorenzo Head 4 by Ignacio Perez Solano was placed near the entrance of Constitution Avenue at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in October 2001.
- West Valley City, Utah. The replica of San Lorenzo Head 8 was placed at the Utah Cultural Center in May 2004.
Mexico donated a replica of the colossal Olmec resin to Belgium; it is on display at MusÃÆ'Â Â © e du Cinquantenaire in Brussels.
In February 2010, Mexico's SecretarÃÆ' 'de Relaciones Exteriores announced that the Instituto Nacional de Antropologa e Historia will donate a colossal Olmec head replica to Ethiopia, to be placed at Plaza Mexico in Addis Ababa.
In November 2017, Mexican President Enrique PeÃÆ' Â ± a Nieto donated a full-size replica of San Lorenzo Head 8 to residents of Belize. It was installed at Belmopan at a roundabout facing the Mexican Embassy.
See also
- Maya stelae
- Moai
- Monte Alto Culture
- Rock balls in Costa Rica
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References
Further reading
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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