Complex A was La Venta's elite ceremonial core, enclosed with basalt columns 💎. Tombs held jadeite, stingray spines (implying bloodletting rituals), magnetite mirrors, and a sandstone sarcophagus with a were-jaguar face. One massive offering had 1,000 tons of serpentine blocks in 28 layers with a were-jaguar mosaic.
Complex A tombs and massive offerings at La Venta showcase elite wealth
MexicoGeneral
Key facts
- Complex A was the elite ceremonial core where rulers and families were buried, enclosed with large basalt columns as a privacy barrier
- Tomb A was constructed with walls and a roof made from large basalt columns and contained carved jadeite objects, stingray spines, shell artifacts, beads, a polished magnetite mirror, and a seated female figure with a pendant mirror
- Stingray spines in the tombs imply bloodletting rituals were practiced in Olmec religion
- Tomb B contained a massive sarcophagus carved from sandstone with a were-jaguar face
- A famous massive offering contained 1,000 tons of serpentine blocks in 28 layers with a mosaic floor depicting a were-jaguar, Olmec dragon, or Olmec cosmos
- Offering 4 contained 16 figures standing upright in a circle with carved jade celts, with 10 figures observing 4 approaching a central polished jade character, possibly depicting an ancestor ceremony
- Offering 4 was remembered and revisited about a century after burial, when a precise shaft was dug to expose its top before reburying it
Site mentioned
Sources
docs.google.com
Linked in video description
Was this story useful?
Keep exploring
Every site on this page sits on the globe, and the people who research them are on the Discord.
3D Globe · Sites by country · Story Archive · Research Library · Weekly Journal · Search
AI-generated text · images from the original sources · always verify with the sources.