La Venta's decline and Epi-Olmec culture with earliest Mesoamerican writing. 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
La Venta was abandoned by 400 BCE, possibly due to river changes disrupting trade 🏛️. The Olmec deliberately buried Complex A under 30cm of red clay. Izapa continued the tradition with ~90 stelae. Tres Zapotes expanded after 400 BCE. Stela C, excavated by the Sterlings in 1939, bears a Long Count date of September 3, 32 BCE.
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
Related site: Tres Zapotes — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.
Source: The Olmec Golden Age by Ancient Americas