Tres Zapotes

Tres Zapotes is a major Mesoamerican archaeological site in the Gulf Lowlands of Veracruz, Mexico, occupied from approximately 1200 BC to 1200 AD. One of three great Olmec capitals alongside San Lorenzo and La Venta, it is notable for Stela C, discovered in 1939, which bears one of the earliest Long Count calendar dates, predating known Maya inscriptions by three centuries. The first colossal Olmec head was found nearby in 1862. Research suggests the city adopted a decentralized form of shared governance, which may explain its exceptional longevity of nearly two millennia.