The Olmec World - San Lorenzo and La Venta

Beneath the swamps and jungles of Mexico's Gulf Coast, more than three thousand years ago, the first great civilization of the Americas rose and flourished. Known today as the Olmecs, these ancient people carved colossal stone heads from volcanic basalt, raised vast earthen pyramids from the floodplains, and shaped a symbolic world of jaguars, serpents, and sacred rulers who stood as mediators between gods and humankind. Their influence rippled outward across Mesoamerica, setting the stage ...