The documentary Lost Kingdoms of Central America from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) discusses the various cities of the Olmec, one of the first civilizations in Central America. These cities include San Lorenzo and La Venta, the second of which is discussed in an article by Rebecca Gonzalez Lauck entitled “La Venta.”
In both the article and documentary, the collection of stones is discussed (basalt, limestone, serpentine, etc.). We do not know how the Olmec transported stone to their cities, but we do know that the nearest quarries were very far from them, ranging from “60 kilometers to more than 400 kilometers” (Gonzalez Lauck 12). This intensive process indicates that the cost of using stone would have been costly and likely a show of wealth, especially when it came to serpentine, which was acquired from “Oaxaca, which is on the western coast of Mexico” (Lost 36:11-36:21).
Serpentine tended to be used more as a show of wealth and ceremony rather than an architectural asset like basalt or limestone. The above video explains the significance of serpentine (jade), as well as the meaning of the mask.
The map to the left shows the major Olmec cities and gives a better visual of how far these cities had to travel to harvest stone. Basalt was typically harvested from the Tuxtla mountains, roughly 60 kilometers from San Lorenzo. Oaxaca is not pictured on the map, but it is even farther from San Lorenzo- roughly 300 kilometers.
San Lorenzo was built on a plateau, and at the heights of the plateau is a building with “stone foundations and massive columns,” very different from the more perishable homes of the Olmecs, built with wooden posts and thatched roofs (Lost 9:40-10:14). Archaeologists call this structure the Red Palace, and it was located at the tallest area of the city. Below the Red Palace lies the artisans and then the farmers, indicating a physically stratified city. Having the elites at the top meant that they could literally look down on those below them. The use of stone foundations and columns also indicates the level of importance of the building, due to the intensive labor needed to transport stone to San Lorenzo.
La Venta is “one of the earliest examples of planned monumental architecture in ancient Mexico,” with 8 different complexes in the city (Gonzalez Lauck 5). In Complex A, the ceremonial precinct, there are basalt column fences on the east and west perimeters of the courtyard, as well as a basalt column funerary chamber. In the funerary chamber were jade (serpentine) and cinnabar carvings, two precious stones that indicate that those that were buried in the chamber were elites.
Map of La Venta from Rebecca Gonzalez Lauck's article "La Venta"
In the same complex, there were offering mounds containing over 400 serpentine stones and blocks that were covered by sand and clay, likely as an offering to the Earth. The presence of these various stones suggests “that they had contact with a wide spectrum of distant neighbors” (Gonzalez Lauck 14). It also indicates that La Venta was a prosperous city with surplus crops and a rich economy, as they were able to advance as a society.
The BBC documentary discusses the significance of these stone buildings within the Olmec cities, however it does not provide us with the specific examples given by Gonzalez-Lauck due to the wide lens they take on. The more specific examples of the architecture at La Venta helps us understand how stone was used in a more cultural sense, especially in ceremony or religion.
In the lecture given by Dr. Sara Ladron, the director of the Museum of Anthropology in Xalapa, Mexico, at the City College of San Francisco, I learned about the colossal monuments at La Venta, specifically the altars/thrones and the colossal heads, most of which were carved out of large blocks of basalt. Dr. Ladron explained that these blocks of basalt were transported and then sculpted on site, likely by rivers.
However, in BBC’s documentary, I learned that oftentimes, the laborers would “begin the process of shaping” the boulder into a “square shape” leaving behind sharp corners in the quarry (Lost 20:02-20:23). This made it easier to visualize how the process of collecting these stones may have gone, and how it has left these quarries looking today.
The level of organization and trade displayed in the creation of Olmec cities leaves us wondering how they did it. How did the Olmec transported 30 ton blocks of stone 60-300 kilometers? Unlike the Egyptians, we don't have evidence of boats or devices that would float these blocks down the river. It's likely that these methods of transportation were destroyed by the tropical environment of the Olmec heartland.
Despite our lack of knowledge on their methods, there is no diminishing the level of sophistication that Olmec society achieved so long ago. Their government's ability to maintain legitimacy for thousands of years, organize mass architectural projects, and to grow their population to the size they did is awe-inspiring. The architectural structures at La Venta and San Lorenzo are just the beginning of the greatness of the Olmec civilization.
Works Cited
California Community Colleges. (2009, December 23). Colossal Olmecs. YouTube. Retrieved February 11, 2022, from https://youtu.be/zdBRvvjKHmg
FiveDigitCreature. (2017, June 29). BBC Lost Kingdoms of Central America. YouTube. Retrieved February 22, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTuab0SNuPA
Gonzalez Lauck, R. (n.d.). La Venta. Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia.
Madman2001. (2007). Olmec Heartland Overview. Wikipedia. Retrieved February 22, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Olmec_Heartland_Overview_4.svg.
Mask. Metmuseum.org. (n.d.). Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/310279
Pillsbury, J. (2013, December 12). This 3,000-year-old Olmec face was made to last. What can we learn from it? | Art, Explained. YouTube. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A00qfA9bE84
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