The Olmec Royal Compound at La Venta

The Olmec Royal Compound at La Venta The Olmec Royal Compound at La Venta: La Venta was a great Olmec city which thrived in the present-day Mexican State of Tabasco from around 1000 to 400 B.C. The city was built on a ridge, and on top of that ridge are several important buildings and complexes. Taken together, these make up the â€Å"Royal Compound† of La Venta, an extremely important ceremonial site. The Olmec Civilization: The Olmec culture is the earliest of the great Mesoamerican civilizations and is considered by many to be the mother culture of later peoples such as the Maya and the Aztecs. The Olmecs are associated with several archaeological sites, but two of their cities are considered more important than the others: San Lorenzo and La Venta. Both of these city names are modern, as the original names of these cities have been lost. The Olmecs had a complex cosmos and religion.a including a pantheon of several gods. They also had long-distance trade routes and were extremely talented artists and sculptors. With the fall of La Venta around 400 B.C. the Olmec culture collapsed, succeeded by the epi-Olmec. La Venta: La Venta was the greatest city of its day. Although there were other cultures in Mesoamerica at the time La Venta was at its apex, no other city could compare in size, influence or grandeur. A powerful ruling class could command thousands of workers for public works tasks, such as bringing huge blocks of stone many miles to be carved at Olmec workshops in the city. Priests managed the communications between this world and the supernatural planes of the gods and many thousands of common people labored in the farms and rivers to feed the growing empire. At its height, La Venta was home to thousands of people and directly controlled an area of around 200 hectares – its influence reached much further. The Great Pyramid – Complex C: La Venta is dominated by Complex C, also called the Great Pyramid. Complex C is a conical construction, made of clay, which was once a more clearly defined pyramid. It stands about 30 meters (100 feet) high and has a diameter of about 120 meters (400 feet) It is man-made of nearly 100,000 cubic meters (3.5 million cubic feet) of earth, which must have taken thousands of man-hours to accomplish, and it is the highest point of La Venta. Unfortunately, part of the top of the mound was destroyed by nearby oil operations in the 1960’s. The Olmec considered mountains sacred, and since there are no mountains nearby, it is thought by some researchers that Complex C was created to stand-in for a sacred mountain in religious ceremonies. Four stelae located at the base of the mound, with â€Å"mountain faces† on them, seem to bear out this theory (Grove). Complex A: Complex A, located at the base of the Great Pyramid to the north, is one of the most important Olmec sites ever discovered. Complex A was a religious and ceremonial complex and served as a royal necropolis as well. Complex A is home to a series of small mounds and walls, but it is what is underground that is most interesting. Five massive offerings have been found in Complex A: these are large pits which were dug out and then filled with stones, colored clay and mosaics. Many smaller offerings have been found as well, including figurines, celts, masks, jewelry and other Olmec treasures given to the gods. Five tombs have been found in the complex, and although the bodies of the occupants decomposed long ago, important objects have been found there. To the north, Complex A was guarded by three colossal heads, and several sculptures and stelae of note have been found in the complex. Complex B: To the south of the Great Pyramid, Complex B is a large plaza (referred to as Plaza B) and a series of four smaller mounds. This airy, open area was most likely a place for the Olmec people to gather to witness ceremonies that took place on or near the pyramid. Several noteworthy sculptures were found in Complex B, including a colossal head and three Olmec-style sculpted thrones. The Stirling Acropolis: The Stirling Acropolis is a massive earthen platform which dominates the eastern side of Complex B. On top are two small, circular mounds and two long, parallel mounds that some believe may be an early ballcourt. Many fragments of broken statues and monuments as well as a drainage system and basalt columns have been found in the acropolis, leading to speculation that it may have once been the royal palace where the ruler of La Venta and his family resided. It is named for American archaeologist Matthew Stirling (1896-1975) who did a great deal of important work at La Venta. Importance of the La Venta Royal Compound: The Royal Compound of La Venta is the most important section of one of the four most important Olmec sites located and excavated to date. The discoveries made there - in particular at Complex A - have changed the way we see the Ancient Olmec culture. The Olmec civilization, in turn, is very important to the study of Mesoamerican cultures. The Olmec civilization is important in that it developed independently: in the region, there are no major cultures that came before them to influence their religion, culture, etc. Societies like the Olmec, which developed on their own, are referred to as pristine civilizations and there are very few of them. There may yet be even more discoveries to make in the royal compound. Magnetometer readings of Complex C indicate there is something in there, but it has not yet been excavated. Other digs in the area may reveal more sculptures or offerings. The royal compound may yet have secrets to divulge. Sources: Coe, Michael D and Rex Koontz. Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs. 6th Edition. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2008 Diehl, Richard A. The Olmecs: Americas First Civilization. London: Thames and Hudson, 2004. Grove, David C. Cerros Sagradas Olmecas. Trans. Elisa Ramirez. Arqueologà ­a Mexicana Vol XV - Num. 87 (Sept-Oct 2007). P. 30-35. Miller, Mary and Karl Taube. An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. New York: Thames Hudson, 1993. Gonzalez Tauck, Rebecca B. El Complejo A: La Venta, Tabasco Arqueologà ­a Mexicana Vol XV - Num. 87 (Sept-Oct 2007). p. 49-54.