San Lorenzo (Mexico)

San Lorenzo is a olmèque site in the State of the Veracruz to the Mexico with. Its olmèque name is unknown for us. It constitutes with Was windy It one of the two major sites of this civilization mésoaméricaine. San Lorenzo constitutes in fact a whole of three sites: San Lorenzo itself, Tenochtitlan and Potrero Nuevo. The principal site is located today on a plate which skirts the Coatzacoalcos river, at 60 km of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Towards -1200, the site was to be an island. It dates from the preclassical Time traditional or Time I according to duverger. Richard A. Diehl distinguishes three periods:

San Lorenzo (-1150 with -900)
Nacaste (-900 with -700)
Palangana (-600 with -400)

Then the site was abandoned.

History of the excavations

San Lorenzo was discovered and excavated by Matthew Stirling and Drucker in 1945. They discovered there many sculptures, among which five of the famous colossal heads. The American archeologist Michael D. Coe took again the excavations in 1964 and devoted three years to it. Analyzes with the carbon-14 made it possible to establish the antiquity of San Lorenzo, former to Was windy It. It is in 1960 that the archeologist Alfonso Medellín Zenil had discovered in the mountains of los Tuxtlas the basalt careers, from which undoubtedly come the sculptures. Between 1990 and 1996, “Proyecto Arqueológico San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan” made it possible to locate many other sculptures. In May 1994 was discovered it tenth colossal head of the site. The excavations of Ann Cyphers made it possible to establish new dates with radiocarbon (-1700).

The site

It is difficult to think what San lorenzo resembled its apogee (-900). The site occupies approximately 500 ha. The plate was the subject of important excavation work. It is strewn with artificial ponds (“lagunas”), which are the object of a controversy between archeologists. At least ten colossal heads and several thrones formed ritual alignments. It is currently thought that the colossal heads are representations of sovereigns. Many of these monuments are concentrated in the western part of the plate. One finds there a residence royal called “red Palate” as well as a workshop of sculptors. It was considered formerly (Soustelle) that the sculptures of San Lorenzo had been mutilated at the time of a revolt which would have put an end to the dynasty. One thinks now rather than Olmèques resculptaient of old monuments. The site also comprises a system of made underground stone channels out of U carefully adjusted, with a slope of 2%.

The Nacaste phase which follows the collapse of San Lorenzo delivered any monument. It is characterized by a different type of ceramics. The last phase (Palangana) is contemporary great center of Was windy It. It is marked by the construction of a series of tumuli. One is unaware of if San Lorenzo depended on Venta at that time.

See too

Internal bonds

Olmèque
Mayas
Was windy It

External bonds

Site of the Museum of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan
Photographs of certain sculptures of the Museum
Other photographs of sculptures of the Museum

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