La Venta's decline and Epi-Olmec culture with earliest Mesoamerican writing

July 24, 2026MexicoGeneralShare

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Key facts

• La Venta and its hinterland were abandoned by 400 BCE, possibly due to river course changes hampering trade
• The Olmec deliberately buried Complex A under a 30 cm thick cap of red clay before abandonment
• Izapa continued and developed the Olmec-inspired monumental tradition with almost 90 stelae and three colossal thrones in a detailed baroque style focusing on mythological scenes
• Tres Zapotes expanded from 80 to 500 hectares after 400 BCE following La Venta's fall, likely due to immigration
• Monument A at Tres Zapotes was the first colossal head ever discovered
• Tres Zapotes Stela C, excavated in 1939 by Matthew and Marian Sterling, bears a Long Count date of 7.16.6.16.18, equivalent to September 3, 32 BCE
• La Mojarra Stela, discovered in 1986, is 2 m tall and bears two Long Count dates of 143 and 156 CE with a long inscription
• The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar counts days from a mythological creation date of August 11, 3114 BCE
• Chalchijapan Stela 2 bears the oldest Long Count date outside the Olmec heartland: 7.16.3.2.13, or December 6, 36 BCE
• Epi-Olmec culture transitioned into Classic Veracruz culture around 200 CE, and Olmec ideology of rulership expressed in monumental art left a durable legacy influencing later Maya and Zapotec cultures

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