OLMEC SCULPTURE

In the hot and humid lowlands of southern Veracruz, the Olmec culture developed and flourished >3000 years ago. Among their accomplishments, they sculpted monolithic stone sculptures in many forms, such as colossal heads, thrones, and human and animal figures. At the Loma del Zapote site, in the hinterland of the early Olmec center of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan, 4 Olmec sculptures were deliberately arrayed in an ensemble representing an ancient myth or event. Two nearly identical human sculptures and 2 felines were positioned on monumental architecture in a scenic display and left there. The display's significance combines cosmological and ceremonial messages with the power implicit in the pageantry of the setting.