The first known Olmec colossal head was discovered in 1862 in the fields of Tres Zapotes, Veracruz, by Mexican explorer and writer José María Melgar y Serrano. He published his account in 1869, describing the face as African and the represented type as 'Ethiopian'. It lay half-buried and untouched for roughly seven decades. 📜
1862: Melgar y Serrano discovers the first known Olmec colossal head at Tres Zapotes
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Site mentioned
Key facts
- José María Melgar y Serrano discovered the colossal basalt head now called Tres Zapotes Monument A in 1862 in fields near Tres Zapotes, Veracruz; the exact date is unknown.
- Melgar published his account in 1869—not 1862—describing the head's facial features as African and the represented type as 'Ethiopian'.
- The head lay half uncovered and untouched in the fields for roughly seven decades and was not reported to institutions in Mexico City, New York, or London.
- Tres Zapotes was a late Olmec centre with occupation around 200 BC, near the end of the broader Olmec sequence.
Sources
Tres Zapotesen.wikipedia.org
Tres Zapotes is a Mesoamerican archaeological site located in the south-central Gulf Lowlands of Mexico in the Papaloapan River plain.
Tres Zapotes: monument A - Fordham Art History Image ...library.fordham.edu
Item Description ; Title. Tres Zapotes: monument A ; Type. Still image ; Work type. Sculpture · Monuments ; Culture. Olmec ; Associated locations. Mesoamerica
Digging Their Past: Archaeological Labor in Tres Zapotes, ...archaeologybulletin.org
by A Ortiz Brito · 2024 · Cited by 4 — Tres Zapotes Monument C.27. Tres Zapotes Monument C, which the elder guide actually believed contained treasures.29
THE EARLY HORIZON AT TRES ZAPOTEScambridge.org
by CA Pool · 2010 · Cited by 43 — We compare pottery, figurines, and obsidian assemblages from a recently isolated Early Formative component at Tres Zapotes with contemporary ...
Tres Zapotesstorymaps.arcgis.com
Stela C: This monument at Tres Zapotes is an important piece of Meso-American art. This monument piece is better known as the "Colossal Heads" ...
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