Olmec Civilization

Mesoamerica’s "mother culture", carvers of colossal stone heads and pioneers of its ritual calendar.

Core Principles & Analysis

• Seventeen colossal basalt heads, up to three metres tall, portray individual rulers.
• Later Maya and Aztec ballgames, calendars, and iconography carry Olmec fingerprints.
• The Cascajal block, if accepted, would be the earliest writing in the Americas.

Specifications & Metrics

• ERA: ~1200 – 400 BC
• REGION: Gulf Coast Mexico