An Unexplored Realm in the Heartland of the Southern Gulf ... - Famsi

phenomenon (Arnold 2000; Santley 1992; VanDerwarker 2006). If this is the case, the
Tuxtlas would not be part of the Heartland. This situation leaves the La Venta area as the
only major Formative period site that may have been occupied within the Olmeca-
Huixtotin lands. Finally, an estimated 80 percent of the area defined as the “Olmec
Heartland” has not been surveyed and remains terra incognita; therefore, its classification
as Olmec is speculation.
The earliest interpretation of the Southern Gulf Lowland archaeological record
contained a subjective, unsubstantiated opinion that was delivered with presumptuous
certitude. In 1862, at the Hacienda de Hueyapan in Tres Zapotes, Veracruz, José María
Melgar y Serrano observed the first Olmec colossal head. Massive stone heads and
thrones sculpted from imported basalt have become the hallmark of the Olmec presence
on the Southern Gulf Lowlands. When Melgar y Serrano published his findings, he
unequivocally attributed the sculpture to Ethiopians and cited it as proof of the
prehispanic presence of Africans in the New World (Serrano 1869). Under scientific
scrutiny, this case of erroneous assumption remains completely unproven and devoid of
evidence (see Arnaiz-Villena et al. 2000; Haslip-Viera et al. 1997). Nevertheless, this
unsubstantiated hypothesis has been, and continues to be, used by numerous individuals
to promote political agendas (Chavero 1883; Jefferies 1953; Van Sertima 1976; Winters
1984).
Thus, the initial use of the term “Olmec” and the first description of monumental
sculpture that has become synonymous with the Formative period Southern Gulf
Lowlands were based on supposition. Both of these introductory events created
misinterpretations and inaccuracies that researchers continually need to overcome more
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