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

appear to characterize it as a “ceremonial center” – a sacred landscape arranged in
accordance with acknowledged tenets of Mesoamerican sacred space (Adams 1997;
Freidel et al. 1993:132-137; González-Lauck 1996a, 1997; Heyden and Gendrop
1980:15; Reilly 1999,2002; Stuart 1993). According to these interpretations, the
underworld is represented by massive buried offerings of stone, adobe blocks, clays, and
sand constructed as giant mosaics and offerings; while pyramids, temples, and
monumental sculptures delineated the heavenly cosmos.
The scale of labor-intensive projects conducted during the Olmec occupation at
La Venta dwarfed any previous undertakings in Mesoamerica. For example, the stone to
produce the 159 monumental sculptures recovered in greater San Lorenzo amounted to
150 m³ with an approximate weight of 525 metric tons (see Cyphers 2004:12). The
acquisition of these materials occurred numerous times over more than a century. At La
Venta, the underlying foundation of the southwest platform in Complex A was apparently
produced in a single construction episode and consisted of 387 m³ of cut serpentine stone,
weighing an estimated 1,000 tons (Drucker et al. 1959:97). This formation was only a
portion of what the excavators referred to as “Massive Offering 1.” There are two
additional Massive Offerings in the same court complex (Drucker et al. 1959:128-133).
Much has been made of the similarities of colossal heads and thrones present at San
Lorenzo and La Venta, but the apparent social perceptions and concepts embodied within
these pieces change dramatically. Recently, Clark (2005) has identified significant
differences in the art and its presentation at both sites. La Venta leaders depicted
themselves as divine-kings, and jade and greenstone, which was practically non-existent
at San Lorenzo, was the stone of choice at La Venta. Monumental sculpture was moved
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