COLOSSAL HEAD
OLMEC CULTURE
LA VENTA SITE
TABASCO, MEXICO
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COPYRIGHT JANUARY 31, 2013 PETER A. BOSTROM

    Designated as monument 1 this is the largest of four colossal heads that were found on the La Venta site. It's also described as the best preserved. This colossal head was first described in 1925 by Franz Blom and Oliver La Farge while it was still half buried and later fully excavated in 1940 by Matthew Stirling. The front of the "helmet" is decorated with three designs that may be either claws or fangs of an animal. Straps extend down both sides in front of the ears and both ears have large ornaments that hang down from the earlobes. This colossal statue is made of basalt and has an estimated size of 8 feet 1 inch (2.46 m) high and weighs 24 tons.
    Stirling describes his rediscovery of this colossal head in 1940: "Lo and behold, here was Blom's colossal head that we had almost given up hope of locating! The eyes were completely covered (with vines) and it was unrecognizable as part of a head---. The colossal head exceeded our best expectations. It proved to be a good two feet higher than the colossal head of Tres Zapotes, which is about six feet in height."

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