Finding such grooves and pits on Olmec stone monuments may indicate that people started treating freestanding sculptures conceptually similar to rock art. Although not entirely clear, ...

All Olmec sculpture was created for a purpose, whether it be religious or political. In the case of Monument 9, it clearly pertains to the Earth, which in Mesoamerica was considered a sacred ...

Nonetheless, Monument 9 portrays the same cave as two other sculptures at the site, which are carved directly into the rock surface of the mountain. Monument 9 is significant, as it denotes the ...

Olmec colossal heads, such as this one unearthed in the 19th century at the site of Tres Zapotes, are thought to be portraits of all-powerful kings.(De Agostini Picture Library/Getty Images) On a ...

The Olmec heads are among the largest non-architectural monuments ever discovered in Mexico, ranging between roughly 3.5 and 11.5 feet in height and weighing up to eight tons, with the largest of ...

Ojo de Agua Monument 3: A New Olmec-Style Sculpture from Ojo de Agua, Chiapas, Mexico. Mexicon , Volume XXXII, No. 6, December 2010 [ abstract ] Cite This Page : ...

The Olmec flourished in south-central Mexico for more than 1,000 years before they mysteriously disappeared, ... and not a public monument. [email protected]. More to Read .

It may be that these monuments were ritually killed to neutralize the powers of rulers after their deaths. Or it may be that incoming rulers defaced the heads of their predecessors to help justify ...

The article, titled "Ojo de Agua Monument 3: A New Olmec-Style Sculpture from Ojo de Agua, Chiapas, Mexico," is co-authored with John E. Clark, of Brigham Young University, and Emiliano Gallaga ...