USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Olmec colossal heads are stone representations of human heads sculpted from large basalt boulders. They range in height from 1.17 to 3.4 metres (3.8 to 11.2 ft). The heads date from at least 900 BC and are a distinctive feature of the Olmec civilization of ancient Mesoamerica .

Detailed explanation-2: -The Olmec colossal heads are the most famous artifacts left behind by the Olmec civilization. The Olmec people are believed to have occupied a large part of modern-day Southern Mexico.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Olmec are probably best known for the statues they carved: 20 ton stone heads, quarried and carved to commemorate their rulers. The name Olmec is an Aztec word meaning the rubber people; the Olmec made and traded rubber throughout Mesoamerica.

Detailed explanation-4: -Given that the extremely large slabs of stone used in their production were transported over large distances, requiring a great deal of human effort and resources, it is thought that the monuments represent portraits of powerful individual Olmec rulers. Each of the known examples has a distinctive headdress.

Detailed explanation-5: -Despite replicas existing in diverse locations around the globe, all seventeen of the original Olmec heads are still found in Mexico. San Lorenzo Heads 2 and 6 are at Mexico City’s National Anthropology Museum, and Head 10 is at the San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán Community Museum.