In 1938, Matthew and Marion Stirling first visited Tres Zapotes, where Matthew found a colossal head partly buried in a field. José María Melgar y Serrano had seen the same head in 1862. A Smithsonian and National Geographic expedition began in December 1938; by spring 1939, it had mapped the site and its pyramids, located the first head’s original position and found a second nearby. The team also found a stela fragment bearing bar-and-dot Long Count notation. With no proper roads, they reached Tres Zapotes along muddy horseback paths.
Matthew Stirling rediscovers a Tres Zapotes colossal head in 1938
MexicoExcavation
Site mentioned
Key facts
- Matthew W. Stirling and his wife Marion Stirling first visited Tres Zapotes in 1938.
- Stirling found a colossal head partly buried in a field; José María Melgar y Serrano had seen it in 1862.
- The Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic Society backed the expedition, which began in December 1938.
- By spring 1939, the expedition had mapped the ancient city and its pyramids.
- The team located the first head's original position and found a second colossal head nearby.
- They found a stela fragment bearing bar-and-dot Long Count notation.
- The expedition reached Tres Zapotes along muddy horseback paths because there were no proper roads.
Sources
[PDF] Untitled - Smithsonian Institutionrepository.si.edu
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Digging Their Past: Archaeological Labor in Tres Zapotes, Veracruz ...archaeologybulletin.org
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Why the Olmec Colossal Heads Are One of Archaeology's Greatest ...earthlymission.com
While the first Olmec colossal head was discovered at Tres Zapotes in 1862 by José María Melgar y Serrano, it was Matthew Stirling's 1938 ... buried ...
Matthew Stirlingen.wikipedia.org
Matthew and Marion Stirling first visited Tres Zapotes in 1938. They travelled to the western margin and concentrated on the Tres Zapotes site. He ...
Stone Monuments of Southern Mexicomesoweb.com
MATTHEW W. STIRLING UNITED STATES. Matthew W. Stirling, STIRLING, Chief. Realistic forms would be represented by Stela D, Tres Zapotes; decorative motive on ...
Boulder sculpture and petroglyphs reported by Matthew ...researchgate.net
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