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Michael CarricoMichael Carrico
Updated:Apr 23, 2026
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Olmec colossal heads: production, placement, and later discovery (c. 1200–400 BCE)

Olmec colossal heads: production, placement, and later discovery (c. 1200–400 BCE)

  1. Olmec florescence wanes by about 400 BCE

    Labels: Olmec heartland, Colossal heads

  2. Later colossal-head production continues into 1000–400 BCE

    Labels: Tres Zapotes, La Cobata

  3. La Venta Monument 4 context dated 1000–600 BCE

    Labels: La Venta, Monument 4

  4. Tres Zapotes emerges amid Olmec regional shifts

    Labels: Tres Zapotes, Regional shift

  5. San Lorenzo destroyed; heads buried by ~900 BCE

    Labels: San Lorenzo, Colossal heads

  6. La Venta develops as a major Olmec center

    Labels: La Venta, Ceremonial complex

  7. San Lorenzo colossal heads produced and displayed

    Labels: San Lorenzo, Early Preclassic

  8. Transport of head-stones to major centers

    Labels: Transport, San Lorenzo

  9. Basalt boulders sourced in Sierra de los Tuxtlas

    Labels: Sierra de, Cerro Cintepec

  10. San Lorenzo emerges as an Olmec center

    Labels: San Lorenzo, Veracruz

  11. First recorded discovery: Tres Zapotes head (Melgar)

    Labels: Tres Zapotes, Jos Mar

  12. La Venta Monument 1 found during 1925 expedition

    Labels: La Venta, Monument 1

  13. Stirling’s 1939 work begins with Tres Zapotes head

    Labels: Smithsonian, Tres Zapotes

  14. Parque-Museo La Venta inaugurated in Villahermosa

    Labels: Parque-Museo La, Carlos Pellicer