The Olmec Civilization flourished in the Yucatan but then just disappeared, there are plenty of theories about what happened to them but only their giant basalt carvings remain.
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.I was really taken with this museo, not all of the explanations for the carvings rang true for me but then maybe that's why much of the Olmec Civilization is a mystery.
Surfpirate
Level 9
Aug 21, 2018
2
I've spent a lot of time in Mexico and participated in 2 archeological projects including one dealing with the Olmecs. I even wrote a few papers on them.
SkotlandSkye
Level 8
Aug 21, 2018
3
LB67:
@ScotlandSkye you are fortunate to have participated on such an interesting site. I worked on an archaeological dig many years ago on the site of Fort Calgary. These projects are fascinating. It would be amazing to participate on one with these types of artwork. We found post holes and small artifacts were able to prove the layout of the old fort.
I see we have a lot of the same pics, it is a beautiful garden setting as well. Did they ever come up with a reasonable explanation for how they moved the huge blocks of basalt from the quarries 100 km distant?
@Surfpirate If you look at the map I posted, I believe they still hold to the idea that the heads were floated down rivers and then moved under a rolling log sled
@SkotlandSkye If I recall correctly the closest quarries were 70 miles away on the other side of the swamp in the upper left of your map and the sculpting was done on the site where the heads were found which makes the original block of stone even larger than the head. It must have been quite the engineering feat to accomplish this 500 BCE
@Surfpirate I think there were various theories about water levels and missing technology, as there always is in the case of massive building projects in pre-history and with "lost" cultures. I was doing cultural/comparative research...not the technological side of their civilization. My Prof and I were working on comparisons to Polynesian art and culture.
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