The biggest mystery of the Olmec civilization is the stone heads. These artifacts amaze everyone: from their size to the way they are made
The dates of the discovery of the first such artifact vary. To be precise, the archaeological study of stone heads began in the 20th century, but the first such find was made in 1862 in La Venta (the cult center of the Olmec culture on an island at the mouth of the Tonala River in the state of Tobasco (Mexico). The study of the artifact was not then continued and the Olmec civilization was not yet open.
The second find happened in the 30s of the XX century. It was made by the American archaeologist Matthew Stirling, who wrote the following in his diary: “The head was carved from a separate massive basalt block. She rested on a foundation of rough boulders. When cleared from the ground, the head had a rather frightening appearance. Despite its considerable size, it is crafted very carefully and confidently, its proportions are perfect. A unique phenomenon among American Aboriginal sculptures, it is notable for its realism. Her features are distinct and clearly of the Negro type."
At the same time, the American archaeologist made another interesting discovery - children's toys in the form of dogs on wheels were found. It would seem an ordinary toy, but until that time archaeologists believed that the civilizations of Mesoamerica did not know the wheel. True, in the end it turned out that the Olmecs did not use the wheel in their economic practice.
But back to our main artifacts. To date, 17 heads have been found. All of them are made of solid blocks of basalt: their average height is 2-2.5 meters (the largest is 3.4 meters), and their weight ranges from 10 to 35 tons. As the stone heads were found, scientists came to the conclusion that they were all made in the same stylistic manner, but depict different people. At the same time, helmets were worn on all heads, and their ears were pierced. But the main mystery of the appearance of the stone heads of the Olmecs is the fact that all 17 artifacts have pronounced negroid features - large plump lips, wide flattened noses with twisted nostrils and large eyes.
This fact gave rise to a lot of controversy and hypothesis in the archaeological environment. Some researchers believe that such traits are characteristic of the inhabitants of Polynesia and Southeast Asia. Others adhere to the hypothesis of migration of immigrants from Africa.
Another important question - who was portrayed in such a peculiar way by the ancient Olmecs? Modern researchers believe that the Olmec heads depicted local rulers and were made and installed after the death of the latter to perpetuate the memory. In the Olmec culture, other stone heads are also known, depicting faces characteristic of the Indian population of Mexico and not having any Negroid features. Can we conclude from this that the rulers of the Olmecs differed in appearance or that power was inherited within one family? Hardly. In this regard, the Olmecs were not developed.
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Also, scientists are still tormented by the issue of transporting huge basalt blocks. Geologists have established that the basalt from which one of the heads at La Venta was made was taken from quarries in the Tuxtla mountains. The distance between these two points is exactly 90 kilometers. How were the huge boulders transported? And here there is no common opinion among researchers. The most common version is that basalt was transported by water. In particular, American archaeologists suggest that the Olmecs used reed rafts for this, which they floated down the river to the Gulf of Mexico and transported blocks along the coast to their city centers.
Until now, the method of processing basalt remains unclear. As you know, this material is one of the hardest volcanic rocks, and the Olmecs did not have at their disposal metal tools. At the same time, the fact that no traces of tools that were used to create the stone heads have been found indicates the high skill of their manufacturer (or manufacturers).
Questions, questions, questions and the almost complete absence of the Olmecs. As you can see, the Olmec mission really turned out to be more mysterious than the Maya. Will the stone heads, which most of all resemble the head from Pushkin's "Ruslan and Lyudmila", reveal their secrets? Perhaps they will open it, but that's a completely different story.
Finally, a few interesting artifacts of the Olmec civilization. One of the figures depicts a participant in tluttley, a ritual ball game reminiscent of modern basketball. The ball was played in a courtyard in the form of a Roman numeral I. On both sides, the rod of the numeral-courtyard was bordered by the walls, and in the middle of each of them (at a height of three or four human heights) a stone (or wooden) ring with a diameter of even less than ten centimeters was vertically installed. Players had to throw a hard rubber ball through it, which, according to the rules of the game, could only be pushed with their elbows, hips or legs. Previously, it was believed that the losers in this game were killed. Now scientists are not so categorical in their judgments.
Figurine of a seated woman with a mirror, dating back to 1000-600. BC, was found during one of the archaeological expeditions to Mesoamerica. It is believed that the mirror was a necessary tool when communicating with the other world.