Olmec colossal heads
Stone heads of up to 40 tonnes, hauled 150 km
The Olmecs carved giant heads up to 3.4 m tall and weighing from 5 to over 40 tonnes out of basalt boulders. The stone was hauled more than 150 km from the Tuxtla mountains, and each head has its own face and helmet: probably portraits of rulers.
Wikipedia (Russian) · Wikipedia (English) · 10th century BC
Did you know
'Olmec' means 'rubber people', a name given by the Aztecs. On the Gulf coast, rubber balls for the ritual ballgame were made as early as 1600 BC. What the Olmecs called themselves is unknown. Share →