La Venta was founded ~1400 BCE on a salt dome island in the Tonala River drainage, ~13 km from the coast 🌽. By 800 BCE, it spanned 150-200 hectares and ranked among Mesoamerica's premier cities. Robert Heizer estimated ~18,000 people. Maize farming scaled up after 1150 BCE as the staple crop.
La Venta founded c. 1400 BCE as major Olmec city in the Tonala drainage
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Key facts
- La Venta was founded around 1400 BCE on a small salt dome island in the Tonala River drainage, about 13 km from the coast
- By 1150 BCE, emerging elites used pottery inspired by San Lorenzo styles
- By 800 BCE, La Venta covered 150 to 200 hectares and was among the premier cities in Mesoamerica
- Robert Heizer estimated La Venta and its hinterland had a population of around 18,000 people
- Maize farming scaled up after 1150 BCE and became the staple crop of the city and its hinterlands
- San Lorenzo's decline was related to changes in subsistence, rising political turmoil, and changes in natural river systems, with the Coatzacoalcos and San Juan basins largely abandoned around 1000 BCE
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Sources
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