In 1987 near Idal Gautlán, Veracruz, a waterlogged spring at Cerro Manatí preserved ~1600 BC Olmec offerings. Found: ~20 wooden busts (oldest in Mexico) and rubber balls from Castilla elastica (oldest anywhere). Beneath lay bones of babies who didn't survive birth 🌿
El Manatí spring yielded oldest wooden objects and rubber balls in Mexico
MexicoGeneral
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Key facts
- In 1987, villagers near Idal Gautlán in Veracruz dug a spring at the foot of Cerro Manatí, about 15 km from San Lorenzo
- The waterlogged, oxygen-starved spring preserved organic offerings made since around 1600 BC
- Around 37 wooden busts carved in Olmec style were recovered, the oldest wooden objects found in Mexico
- A dozen or more rubber balls (5 cm to over 30 cm) made from Castilla elastica sap, the oldest rubber objects found anywhere
- Also recovered: carved wooden staffs, jade celts, greenstone bead strings, and unused obsidian blades
- Underneath the busts lay the bones of babies who had not survived birth or lived long after
- In nearly a century of Gulf Coast excavation, this single spring is essentially the only source of preserved organic Olmec material
Sources
allthatsinteresting.com
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mayaztequemexique.fr
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education.nationalgeographic.org
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archive.archaeology.org
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worldhistory.org
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Introduction: The Origin and Development of Olmec ...doaks.org
The archaeological evidence argues for an entirely Indigenous development, Cerro Manatí. Cerro Manatí. have provided crucial insights into the Early Formative ...
El Manatí Wooden Olmec Buststraffickingculture.org
El Manatí was a sacrificial bog utilized by the Olmec culture from around 1600 to 1200 BC. The twenty wooden busts recovered by villagers and ...
El Manatíen.wikipedia.org
El Manatí was the site of a sacred Olmec sacrificial bog from roughly 1600 BCE until 1200 BCE. located at the foot of Cerro Manatí, Many artifacts have been ...
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