Legendary civilization. Olmec

Mysterious disappearances. Mysticism, secrets, clues Dmitrieva Natalia Yurievna

Olmec

The Olmec civilization has undoubted evidence of its existence in the form of archaeological finds. However, the mysteries of its origin and death have not yet been solved by scientists. The name “Olmec” itself is conventionally taken from the historical chronicles of the Aztecs, where one of the tribes of this civilization is mentioned with this name. The word "Olmec" translated from the Mayan language means "inhabitant of the land of rubber."

The Olmecs lived in what is today southern and central Mexico. The most ancient traces of civilization date back to 1400 BC. e. In the city of San Lorenzo, the remains of a large (probably the main) Olmec settlement were discovered. But there were other settlements, the largest of which were in the places of La Venta and Tres Zapotes.

Many researchers consider the Olmecs to be the ancestors of other Meso-American civilizations, which is confirmed by Indian legends. What is certain is that the Olmecs are one of the earliest cultures of Central America.

Based on the discovered artifacts, it can be judged that the Olmecs developed construction, art, and trade. Their pyramids, courtyards (probably intended for some kind of ceremonies), tombs, temples, mounds, water supply systems and huge monuments in the form of stone heads have reached us. The first such head was discovered in 1862 near the settlement of Tres Zapotes, after which a research “boom” began regarding the Indian culture discovered in the forests of Mexico (although immediately after the discovery it was believed that this was the “head of an African,” or, as it is called this day, "the head of an Ethiopian"). This famous head was only completely excavated in 1939–1940. It turned out that the height of the stone head is 1.8 m, and the circumference is 5.4 m, and this huge monument is carved from a single piece of basalt. The question still remains open of how such a large piece of rock was delivered to the place where the statue is now located, if the nearest basalt deposit is located tens of kilometers from this place (the Olmecs, according to archaeologists, did not know wheels and did not have draft animals ). Subsequently, 16 more such heads were found, up to 3 m high and weighing up to 20 tons each. Most scholars are inclined to believe that these heads depicted the leaders of the Olmec tribes. But some modern researchers believe that the giant heads could not have been made by the Olmecs, but by representatives of earlier civilizations: for example, the legendary Atlanteans, while the Olmecs themselves were only the descendants of these civilizations and the “guardians” of huge statues.

In the first half of the 20th century, Mexican archaeologists discovered the city of Sin Cabezas, which means “Headless”. The scientists themselves gave this name to the found city because of the numerous headless statues located in this ancient settlement. However, some stone giants have survived to this day completely intact. In addition to heads and statues, Olmec sculpture is represented in stone altars and carved steles, as well as in small jade and clay (less often granite) figurines depicting people and animals.

Various expeditions that were sent to search for and study artifacts in the first half of the 20th century led to many new discoveries, but some evidence of the existence of the Olmec culture was first erroneously attributed to the Mayan culture due to the similarity of faces.

Archaeologists had to get to the remains of ancient settlements and stone sculptures through impenetrable jungles, tropical rivers and swamps, and climb mountains: by that time, traces of ancient civilization were already quite cut off from modern settlements and roads. This complicated the research, but gradually, based on new information, scientists discovered an increasingly clear picture of the existence of the Olmec civilization. Stylized masks and human figures carved on steles and stone boxes, according to researchers, are images of gods revered by the Olmecs. And in the luxurious tomb found in La Venta, presumably, the Olmec ruler, who lived 9-10 centuries before the Aztecs appeared in these places, is buried. Archaeologists have found jewelry, figurines, and unusual tools in sarcophagi and tombs.

The Olmec pyramids probably served as temple complexes. They were arranged not in the “usual” pyramidal shape, but with a round base, from which several round “petals” “departed.” Scientists explain this shape by its resemblance to volcanic hills preserved after eruptions: the Olmecs believed that fire gods lived in volcanoes, and temple complexes in honor of the same gods were built in the likeness of extinct volcanoes. The pyramids themselves were made of clay and lined with lime mortar.

The appearance of the Olmecs can presumably be reconstructed from the numerous sculptures found: Mongoloid-type eyes, a flattened nose, plump, flattened lips. The sculptures have purposefully deformed heads. More accurate information could be obtained from the remains of the Olmecs discovered in the tombs, but not a single complete skeleton was preserved.

According to Aztec legends, the Olmecs arrived in their habitat by boat from the northern shore. In the place where the city of Panutla is now located, they left the boats and followed the instructions of the gods to the area of ​​Tamoanchan (translated from the Mayan language - “land of rain and fog”), where they founded their civilization. Other Indian legends do not explain the appearance of the Olmec civilization: they only say that the Olmecs lived in those places since ancient times.

According to Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl, the Olmec civilization may have been brought to Central America from the Mediterranean and Ancient Egypt. This is indicated not only by Indian legends, but also by the similarity of Olmec buildings, writing, and the art of mummification with similar evidence of Old World cultures. Such an assumption would explain the fact that during archaeological research no signs of the evolution of the Olmec civilization were found: it seemed to have arisen in an already prosperous form and just as suddenly ended its existence. However, this is also just a guess. Many scientists are still confident that civilizations in different parts of the Earth could have developed in a similar pattern, being in absolute isolation from each other.

The emergence of the Olmec culture dates back to approximately the second millennium BC. e. According to later archaeological research, it may have developed from the early agricultural cultures of Central America, which gradually evolved from nomadic cultures as a result of changing natural conditions. The most ancient nomadic tribes of South and Central America, according to scientists, came from Asia at a time when there was still a land connection between these continents. According to paleoanthropologists, representatives of the Negroid race could also have entered the territory of Central America during the last ice age. This goes some way to explaining the facial features reflected in the giant Olmec heads. Other researchers believe that ancient Australians and Europeans could have entered the Meso-American territory by water. Perhaps the Olmec civilization appeared entirely as a result of the mixing of people from different continents.

In 1200-900 BC e. the main Olmec settlement (at San Lorenzo) was abandoned: probably as a result of internal rebellion. The “capital” of the Olmec kingdom moved to La Venta, located 55 miles to the east, among the swamps near the Tonala River. An Olmec settlement at La Venta existed from 1000-600. BC e. or in 800–400. BC e. (according to various research data).

The Olmecs abandoned the eastern parts of their lands around 400 BC. e. Possible reasons include climate change, volcanic eruptions and the capture of some of the Olmecs by representatives of other civilizations. Archaeologists date the dates carved by the Olmecs on stone steles and figurines to the last centuries BC. These are the oldest written dates found in Central America, older than the writing of the Mayan civilization. When Olmec artifacts with dates were discovered, researchers, after much debate, came to the conclusion that the Mayans borrowed their writing and their calendar from the Olmecs.

Interestingly, many stone statues and giant heads belonging to the Olmec culture were deliberately damaged in ancient times: perhaps by the Olmecs themselves. In addition, some statues at the same ancient time were clearly moved from their original places or were also purposefully covered with earth, after which the “grave” was lined with tiles or multi-colored clay.

Some studies suggest that the Olmec civilization flourished in the 1st century BC. e. - I century AD e. It is from this period that all examples of Olmec writing, as well as the most advanced objects of art, are dated. Thus, the Olmecs and Mayans coexisted next to each other for some time.

Researcher Michael Ko believes that the ancestors of the Mayans once lived in the territory of the Olmecs: when the culture of San Lorenzo and La Venta declined, the bulk of the Olmecs moved to the east and gradually turned into the Mayan civilization. According to other researchers, the Mayans and Olmecs developed simultaneously and, despite the existing family ties between these two civilizations, the Mayans cannot be descendants of the Olmecs. The latter assumption is supported by data from the most recent archaeological research. But in this case, where and for what reason did the Olmecs disappear? Scientists have yet to answer this question.

The Olmec civilization is considered the first, “mother” civilization of Mexico. Like all other first civilizations, it appeared immediately and in a “ready-made form”: with developed hieroglyphic writing, an accurate calendar, canonized art, and developed architecture. According to the ideas of modern researchers, the Olmec civilization arose around the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. and lasted for about a thousand years. The main centers of this culture were located in the coastal zone of the Gulf of Mexico in the territory of the modern states of Tobasco and Veracruz. But the Olmec cultural influence can be traced throughout Central Mexico. Until now, nothing is known about the people who created this first Mexican civilization. The name "Olmec", meaning "people of rubber", was given by modern scientists. But where did this people come from, what language did they speak, where did they disappear centuries later - all these main questions remain unanswered after more than half a century of research into Olmec culture.

The largest Olmec monuments are San Lorenzo, La Venta and Tres Zapotes. These were real urban centers, the first in Mexico. They included large ceremonial complexes with earthen pyramids, an extensive system of irrigation canals, city blocks and numerous necropolises.

The Olmecs achieved real perfection in stone processing, including very hard rocks. Olmec jade products are rightfully considered masterpieces of ancient American art. Olmec monumental sculpture included multi-ton altars made of granite and basalt, carved steles, and human-sized sculptures. But one of the most remarkable and mysterious features of this civilization are the huge stone heads.

The first such head was found back in 1862 in La Venta. To date, 17 such giant human heads have been discovered, ten of them come from San Loresno, four from La Venta, and the rest from two more monuments of Olmec culture. All these heads are carved from solid blocks of basalt. The smallest are 1.5 m high, the largest head, found at the Rancho La Cobata monument, reaches 3.4 m in height. The average height of most Olmec heads is about 2 m. Accordingly, the weight of these huge sculptures ranges from 10 to 35 tons!

All heads are made in the same stylistic manner, but it is obvious that each of them is a portrait of a specific person. Each head is topped with a headdress that most closely resembles an American football player's helmet. But all hats are individual, there is not a single repetition. All heads have carefully detailed ears with decorations in the form of large earrings or ear inserts. Ear piercing was a typical tradition for all ancient cultures of Mexico. One of the heads, the largest one from Rancho La Cobata, depicts a man with his eyes closed; all the other sixteen heads have their eyes wide open.

Those. each one with a characteristic set of individual traits. It can be said that Olmec heads are images of specific people. But despite the individuality of their features, all the giant Olmec heads are united by one common and mysterious feature. The portraits of the people depicted in these sculptures have pronounced Negroid features: a wide flattened nose with large nostrils, full lips and large eyes. Such features do not fit in with the main anthropological type of the ancient population of Mexico. In Olmec art, whether sculpture, relief or small sculptures, in most cases, the typical Indian appearance characteristic of the American race is reflected.

But not on giant heads. Such Negroid features were noted by the first researchers from the very beginning. This led to the emergence of various hypotheses: from assumptions about the migration of people from Africa to claims that such a racial type was characteristic of the ancient inhabitants of Southeast Asia, who were part of the first settlers to America. However, this problem was quickly put to rest by representatives of official science. It was too inconvenient to consider that there could have been any contacts between America and Africa at the very dawn of civilization. The official theory did not imply them.

And if so, then the Olmec heads are images of local rulers, after whose death such original memorial monuments were made. But Olmec heads are truly a unique phenomenon for ancient America. In the Olmec culture itself there are similar analogies, i.e. sculpted human heads. But unlike the 17 “Negro” heads, they depict portraits of people of a typical American race, are smaller in size and made in accordance with a completely different pictorial canon. There is nothing like this in other cultures of ancient Mexico. In addition, one can ask a simple question: if these are images of local rulers, then why are there so few of them, if we speak in relation to the thousand-year history of the Olmec civilization?

And how should we deal with the problem of Negroid traits? Whatever the dominant theories in historical science may claim, in addition to them there are also facts. The Anthropological Museum of the city of Jalapa (Veracruz state) houses an Olmec vessel in the form of a sitting elephant. It is considered proven that elephants in America disappeared with the end of the last glaciation, i.e. approximately 12 thousand years ago. But the Olmec knew the elephant, so much so that it was even depicted in figured ceramics. Either elephants still lived in the Olmec era, which contradicts paleozoological data, or Olmec craftsmen were familiar with African elephants, which contradicts modern historical views.

But the fact remains that you can, if not touch it with your hands, then see it with your own eyes in a museum. Unfortunately, academic science diligently avoids such awkward “trifles.” In addition, in the last century, in different areas of Mexico, at monuments with traces of the influence of the Olmec civilization (Monte Alban, Tlatilco), burials were discovered, the skeletons of which anthropologists identified as belonging to the Negroid race.

Giant Olmec heads pose many paradoxical questions to researchers. One of the heads from San Lorenzo has an internal tube connecting the sculpture's ear and mouth. How could such a complex internal channel be made in a monolithic basalt block 2.7 m high using primitive (not even metal) tools? Geologists who studied the Olmec heads determined that the basalt from which the heads at La Venta were made came from quarries in the Tuxtla Mountains, the distance to which, measured in a straight line, is 90 kilometers.

How did the ancient Indians, who did not even know wheels, transport monolithic stone blocks weighing 10-20 tons over rough terrain? American archaeologists believe that the Olmecs could have used reed rafts, which, along with cargo, were floated down the river into the Gulf of Mexico, and along the shore they delivered basalt blocks to their urban centers. But the distance from the Tuxtla quarries to the nearest river is about 40 km, and it is a dense swampy jungle.

In some myths about the creation of the world, which have survived to this day from various Mexican peoples, the emergence of the first cities is associated with newcomers from the north. According to one version, they sailed by boat from the north and landed at the Panuco River, then walked along the coast to Potonchan at the mouth of Jalisco (the ancient Olmec center of La Venta is located in this area). Here the aliens exterminated the local giants and founded the first Tamoanchan cultural center mentioned in legends.

According to another myth, seven tribes came from the north to the Mexican Highlands. Two peoples already lived here - the Chichimecs and the Giants. Moreover, the giants inhabited the lands east of modern Mexico City - the regions of Puebla and Cholula. Both peoples led a barbaric lifestyle, obtained food by hunting and ate raw meat. The newcomers from the north drove out the Chichemeks and destroyed the giants. Thus, according to the mythology of a number of Mexican peoples, giants were the predecessors of those who created the first civilizations in these territories. But they could not resist the aliens and were destroyed. By the way, a similar situation took place in the Middle East and it is described in sufficient detail in the Old Testament.

Mentions of a race of ancient giants that preceded historical peoples are found in many Mexican myths. So the Aztecs believed that the earth was inhabited by giants in the era of the First Sun. They called the ancient giants “kiname” or “kinametine”. The Spanish chronicler Bernardo de Sahagún identified these ancient giants with the Toltecs and believed that it was they who erected the giant pyramids in Teotehuacan and Cholula.

Bernal Diaz, a member of the Cortez expedition, wrote in his book “The Conquest of New Spain” that after the conquistadors gained a foothold in the city of Tlaxcala (east of Mexico City, Puebla region), local Indians told them that in very ancient times people had settled in this area enormous height and strength. But since they had a bad character and bad customs, the Indians exterminated them. To confirm their words, the residents of Tlaxcala showed the Spaniards the bone of an ancient giant. Diaz writes that it was a femur and its length was equal to the height of Diaz himself. Those. the height of these giants was more than three times the height of an ordinary person.

In addition, from various sources it is clear that the ancient giants inhabited a certain territory, namely the eastern part of central Mexico up to the Gulf Coast. It is quite reasonable to assume that the giant heads of the Olmecs symbolized victory over the race of giants and the victors erected these monuments in the centers of their cities in order to perpetuate the memory of their defeated predecessors. On the other hand, how can such an assumption be reconciled with the fact that all the giant Olmec heads have individual facial features?

Maybe those researchers are right who believe that the giant heads were portraits of rulers? But the study of paradoxical phenomena is always complicated by the fact that such historical phenomena rarely fit into the system of conventional logic. That's why they are paradoxical. Moreover, myths, like any historical source, are subject to influences dictated by the current political situation. Mexican myths were recorded by Spanish chroniclers in the 16th century. Information about events that happened tens of centuries before this time could have been transformed several times. The image of giants could be distorted to please the victors. Why not assume that giants were rulers of the Olmec cities for a time? And why not also assume that this ancient people of giants belonged to the Negroid race?

The ancient Ossetian epic “Tales of the Narts” is entirely imbued with the theme of the struggle of the Narts with the giants. They were called uaigi. But, what is most interesting, they were called black uaigs. And although the epic does not mention the skin color of the Caucasian giants anywhere, the adjective “black”, in relation to the Uaigs, is used in the epic as a qualitative, and not as a figurative concept. Of course, such a comparison of facts relating to the ancient history of peoples so distant from each other may seem too bold. But our knowledge about distant eras is too scanty.

Civilizations of Mesoamerica

Absolutely everyone has heard about the Mayan civilization. Many have heard about the Toltecs. And about their rebellious Aztec mercenaries. But almost no one remembers the Olmecs when it comes to ancient Indian civilizations... But in vain - it was this people who gave culture to the Mayans, Aztecs, and Toltecs. The Olmecs were a people of warriors, priests, and possibly gods for subsequent civilizations. They can be compared to the ancient Egyptians for the civilizations of the Mediterranean - the influence of the Olmecs on the development of Mesoamerican peoples is so strong.

Olmec art

INSTEAD OF A FOREWORD

In the annals of world history, quite often there are peoples whose entire genealogy is exhausted by two or three phrases, seemingly thrown out by some ancient chronicler or conqueror. These are ghost nations. What do we know about them? Perhaps only an outlandish name and a few facts of a semi-legendary nature. Like foggy visions, they wander through the yellowed pages of ancient manuscripts and tomes, robbing many generations of researchers of peace and sleep, teasing them with their impenetrable mystery. In the New World, the dubious honor of being the first among such mysterious peoples of antiquity belongs, of course, to the Olmecs. The history of their study simultaneously serves as a clear illustration of the successes of modern archeology, which has greatly expanded the possibilities of historical search and reconstructions remote in time.

COUNTRY OF TAMOANCHAN

At first there was a legend, and only a legend. “A long time ago,” the Aztec sages said to the Spanish monk Sahagun, “in a time that no one remembers, a powerful people came and founded their kingdom called Tamoanchan.” Legend says that great rulers and priests, skilled craftsmen and keepers of knowledge lived in this kingdom. It was they who laid the foundations of that brilliant civilization, the influence of which was experienced by all the other peoples of ancient Mexico - the Toltecs, Aztecs, Mayans, Zapotecs. But where to look for that mysterious kingdom? The word "Tamoanchan" literally means "Land of Rain and Fog" in the Mayan language. The ancient inhabitants of Mexico usually called the wet tropical plains on the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico (Veracruz and Tabasco) by this name. Before settling in Tamoanchan, its inhabitants wandered for a long time along the seashore (“the edge of the waters”) and even sailed in their fragile boats across the sea, reaching Panuco in the north.

In other ancient Indian legends we find mention that the Olmecs have long lived in this area. "Olmec" in Aztec means "inhabitant of the country of rubber" and comes from the word "Olman" - "Country of Rubber", "Place where rubber is mined." Medieval chroniclers turned out to be absolutely right: the Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco are still famous for their excellent natural rubber. Thus, if you believe the ancient legends of the Indians, the Olmecs - the first civilized people of Central America - have long settled on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

THE BIRTH OF A HYPOTHESIS

Bizarre figurines of jaguar people and jaguar people, dwarfs, freaks with strange, elongated heads, axes with intricate carved patterns, various jewelry (rings, beads, amulets-pendants) - all these ancient objects bear a clear imprint of deep internal kinship. Scattered across many museums around the world and private collections, they were long considered indeterminable, since they could not be associated with any of the cultures of pre-Columbian America known to science at that time. But the creators of all these masterpieces couldn’t have disappeared completely without a trace, leaving no tangible evidence of their former heyday?

These little things are skillfully carved from hard green jade, polished to a shine. Before the arrival of Europeans, this precious mineral was valued more than gold by the natives of the New World. The Aztec ruler Montezuma, giving Cortes gold and jewelry from his storerooms as ransom, said: “To this I will also add several pieces of jade, and each of them is equal in value to two loads of gold.”

If it is true that the Indians valued jade above all else, then another thing is no less true: most of the products made from this precious mineral come from the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico (Veracruz and Tabasco); Moreover, on many of them the ancient master depicted some strange deity or monster, combining the features of a man and a jaguar. It was here that, back in the 19th century, the Mexican traveler Melgar found the amazing head of an “African”, carved from one huge block of black basalt. Associated with the same territory is an equally sensational find—the “figurine from Tuxtla.” In 1902, an Indian farmer accidentally discovered in his corn field an elegant jade figurine depicting a priest wearing a duck-beak mask. The surface of the object was dotted with some incomprehensible symbols and signs. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that this was nothing more than the Mayan calendar date corresponding to 162 AD. e. The shape of the signs and the entire style of the image were generally reminiscent of Mayan writings and sculptures, although they were more archaic. But the nearest ancient Mayan city was no less than 150 miles east of the discovery site! Moreover, the figurine from Tuxtla turned out to be almost 130 years older than any then known dated Mayan monument! A strange picture emerged: a certain mysterious people, who inhabited Veracruz and Tabasco in distant times, invented Mayan writing and the calendar much earlier than the Mayans themselves. But what kind of people are these? What is the shape of its culture? Where and when did he come to the swampy jungles of southern Mexico? It was these questions that the famous American archaeologist George Vaillant took up. Having compared all the facts known to him, he decided to act by the method of elimination. Vaillant knew well the culture of many ancient peoples who once inhabited Mexico: the Aztecs, Toltecs, Totonacs, Zapotecs, Mayans. But none of them had anything to do with the mysterious creators of the style of fine jade products. And then the scientist remembered the words of the ancient legend about the Olmecs - “inhabitants of the country of rubber”: the area of ​​​​distribution of jade figurines of a jaguar man completely coincided with the supposed habitat of the Olmecs - the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Thus, in 1932, thanks to an ingenious hypothesis, another ghost nation acquired quite material features. This was not only a triumph for the scientist, but also a triumph for the ancient Aztec legend.

Figurine from Tuxtla. Nephritis.

EXPEDITIONS GO ON THE WAY

Vaillant carried out the “resurrection” of the Olmecs from oblivion on the basis of just a few scattered things, relying mainly on the logic of his scientific assumptions. But for a deeper study of the newly discovered civilization, these finds alone, despite their unique character and artistic skill, were clearly not enough. Systematic excavations were required in the heart of the supposed Olmec country. The first to go to the jungles of Veracruz and Tabasco were US archaeologists - a joint expedition of the Smithsonian Institution and the National Geographic Society led by Matthew Stirling. Over the course of several years, from 1938 to 1942, the expedition visited at least three major centers of Olmec culture: Tres Zapotes, La Vente and Cerro de Las Mesas.

For the first time, dozens of stone sculptures and sculptures, step pyramids, tombs and houses of the disappeared people were excavated and carefully examined. Interesting discoveries awaited scientists literally at every turn. But perhaps the most precious of them was a modest fragment of a stone slab from Tres Zapotes, which later became widely known as the “C” stele. On the front side of the monument is carved in low relief the mask of a popular Olmec deity - a combination of a jaguar and a human. The other side, facing the ground, is decorated with strange signs and a column of dashes and dots. Experts easily established that they have the date of the Mayan calendar corresponding to 31 BC. e.

The priority of the Olmecs in the invention of writing thus received new serious confirmation. In two Olmec centers - La Venta and Tres Zapotes - six giant stone heads were discovered. Contrary to widespread rumors among the Indians, these stone colossi never had bodies. The ancient masters carefully placed them on special low platforms, at the foot of which there were underground caches with gifts from pilgrims.

All giant heads are carved from blocks of hard black basalt. Their height ranges from 1.5 to 3 meters. Weight - from 5 to 40 tons. The broad and expressive faces of the sculptures are so realistic that there is hardly any doubt that these are portraits of real people, and not pagan gods. Some of them look at the world cheerfully and openly, hiding a sly smile in the corners of their stony lips. Others frown menacingly with their brows furrowed, as if they are trying to scare away an unknown danger with their very appearance. Who do these stone idols represent? Matthew Stirling believes that these are portraits of the most prominent Olmec leaders and rulers, immortalized in stone by their grateful subjects.

Another thing is no less surprising. How could people, who were essentially still living in the Stone Age and had neither carts nor draft animals, deliver huge blocks of basalt, the nearest deposits of which were 50 and even 100 kilometers away, to their cities through disastrous jungles and swamps?

The discoveries of North American archaeologists have excited the entire scientific world. And for a closer look at the Olmec problem, it was decided to convene a special conference

Giant stone head from La Vente

"ICE AND FIRE"

It took place in 1942 in the city of Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of the Mexican state of Chiapas, and attracted many specialists from all over the New World. Giant basalt head from San Lorenzo. Literally from the very first minutes, the conference hall became an arena of fierce disputes and discussions. The struggle was mainly between two irreconcilable camps. Ironically, this time they were divided not only by scientific views, but also by nationality: the Mexican temperament collided here with Anglo-Saxon skepticism.

At first, the North Americans set the tone. Matthew Stirling and Philip Drucker, in restrained tones, presented to the audience the results of their excavations in Tres Zapotes and La Venta and put forward a scheme for the development of Olmec culture, equating it chronologically with the Ancient Mayan Kingdom (300-900 AD). It must be said that at that time the majority of archaeologists, especially in the USA, were entirely in the grip of one tempting theory. They were convinced that all the outstanding achievements of the pre-Columbian Indian civilization in Central America were the merit of only one people - the Mayans. And, obsessed with this idea, Mayan scientists did not skimp on magnificent epithets, calling their favorites “Greeks of the New World,” a unique, chosen people, marked with the stamp of special genius.

And suddenly, like a sudden hurricane, the passionate voices of two Mexican scientists were heard in the hall of a decorous academic meeting. Their names - Alfonso Caso and Miguel Covarrubias - were well known to those present in the hall.

One of them became famous for his discovery of the Zapotec civilization of Monte Albana. Another was considered an unrivaled expert in ancient Mexican art. Having identified the characteristic features and high level of the new artistic style, they declared with all their conviction that the Olmecs should be considered the most ancient civilized people of Mexico. “There, in the jungles and swamps of Southern Veracruz,” said Miguel Covarrubias, “archaeological treasures lie everywhere: funerary mounds and pyramids, giant statues of gods and heroes masterfully carved from basalt, magnificent figurines made of precious jade... Many of these ancient masterpieces belong to to the beginning of the Christian era. Appearing suddenly, out of nowhere, in a fully mature form, they undoubtedly belong to a culture that was, in all likelihood, fundamental, the mother culture for all later civilizations.” A. Caso echoed him: “The Olmec culture... had a significant influence on the development of all subsequent cultures.”

The Mexicans supported their views with very convincing facts. “Aren’t the oldest objects with calendar dates found in Olmec territory? - they said. “And the earliest Mayan temple in Vashaktun is Pyramid E-VII-sub.?” After all, it is decorated with typically Olmec sculpted masks in the form of a jaguar god!” “But, for mercy’s sake,” objected their opponents. “The entire Olmec culture is just a distorted reflection of the influences of the great Mayan civilization. The Olmecs simply borrowed the Mayan calendar system and wrote down their dates incorrectly, making them significantly older. Or maybe the Olmecs used a 400-day cycle calendar or counted time from a different date than the Mayans? However, attempts to present the Olmec culture as a degraded copy of the magnificent Mayan civilization were extremely unconvincing.

Giant basalt head from San Lorenzo

PHYSICISTS HELP ARCHAEOLOGISTS

The conference is over. Its participants dispersed. But the unresolved problems regarding the Olmecs did not diminish after that. Many were worried about one cardinal question, on the solution of which almost everything depended—the exact age of mature Olmec art. But, as a rule, attempts made in this direction have invariably failed. And when it seemed that there was no way out, help suddenly came: in the early 50s, archaeologists adopted a new and very promising method of absolute dating of antiquities - radiocarbon analysis of organic remains.

In 1955, Philip Drucker, at the head of a large expedition of the Smithsonian Institution (USA), again began excavations at La Venta in order to gain a complete understanding of the nature of this ancient city. La Venta is located on a large sandy island (12 km long and 4 km across) rising from the vast mangrove swamps of the state of Tabasco, near the Gulf Coast. The city has a clear layout.

All its most important buildings once stood on the flat tops of the pyramids and were oriented strictly according to the cardinal points. In the very center of La Venta rises a huge thirty-three-meter pyramid made of clay. To the north of it lies a wide, flat area, bordered on all sides by vertically standing basalt columns. And further, as far as the eye can see, hills overgrown with grass and bushes are scattered in separate groups - the remains of the once majestic buildings of the Olmec capital that perished in time immemorial.

16 "men" from La Venta

The findings this time pleased the researchers. During excavations of the main square of La Venta, almost six meters deep, archaeologists discovered a perfectly preserved mosaic in the form of a stylized jaguar head. The total dimensions of the mosaic are about five square meters. It consists of 486 carefully hewn and polished green serpentine blocks, attached with bitumen to the surface of a low stone platform. The beast's empty eye sockets and mouth were filled with orange sand, and the top of its angular head was decorated with diamonds. Here lay the richest gifts in honor of this deity - a pile of precious things and jewelry made of jade and serpentine. When the mosaic was completed, the Olmecs carefully hid it, pouring an almost six-meter layer of yellow clay on top. According to experts, it was at least 500 tons.

On the eastern side of the same square, under a clay platform covered with several layers of bright red pavement, workers unexpectedly came across a group of strange jade figurines. Small stone men with pear-shaped, artificially deformed heads, so characteristic of the Olmec ideal of beauty, are apparently performing some important religious ceremony. Fifteen of them stand opposite a lone character, his back pressed against a fence of six vertically placed axes, and stare at him. Who is he? A high priest performing a solemn ceremony, or a victim whose life will be given over to the almighty pagan god in a moment?

We can only speculate on this matter. Another thing is interesting. Many years later, after these little people were buried underground, someone dug a narrow well above them through all the built-up layers, examined the figures and then again carefully disguised the hole with clay and earth. Thanks to this incomprehensible ritual, we now know for sure that the Olmec priests had very accurate records, drawings and plans of all the religious buildings and shrines of their city.

But the most important discovery was still awaiting researchers. Charcoal samples from La Venta sent to US laboratories for radiocarbon dating yielded a completely unexpected series of dates. According to physicists, it turned out that La Venta flourished in 800-400 BC. e.!

The Mexicans were jubilant. Their arguments in favor of the Olmec ancestor culture were now supported, and in the most solid way! On the other hand, Philip Drucker and many of his US colleagues admitted defeat. The surrender was complete. They had to abandon their previous chronological scheme of Olmec antiquities and completely accept the dates obtained by physicists. The Olmec civilization thus received a new “birth certificate”, the main paragraph of which read: 800-400 BC. e.

Sculptures on the side of the altar from La Vente

SENSATION IN SAN LORENZO

In January 1966, Yale University (USA) sent the famous American archaeologist Michael Ko to the jungles of Southern Veracruz. The purpose of his expedition was to explore as completely as possible the new Olmec center of San Lorenzo, located in the Coatzacoalcos River basin. By this time, the scales in the great dispute between the Maya and the Olmecs about the priority of one or another civilization were already clearly tipping in favor of the latter. However, more convincing evidence was needed to link early forms of Olmec pottery to magnificent stone monuments. This is what Michael Ko wanted to do in the first place. For three years he carried out intensive work in the area of ​​the ancient city. And when the time came to sum up the preliminary results, it became clear: the world was on the threshold of a new scientific sensation. Judging by the rather archaic-looking pottery and an impressive series of radiocarbon dates, most of the typically Olmec sculptures of San Lorenzo were produced between 1200 and 900 BC. e., that is, much earlier than even in La Venta. Yes, there was a lot to puzzle over here. For any specialist, this message would immediately raise a lot of puzzling questions. How did M. Ko manage to establish the relationship between archaic ceramics and Olmec stone sculptures? What is San Lorenzo like? How does it relate to other Olmec centers, most notably Tres Zapotes and La Venta? Moreover, how to explain the strange fact of the unexpected appearance of a fully mature civilization in 1200 BC? e., when in the remaining regions of Mexico only primitive early agricultural tribes lived? It turned out that all the buildings of San Lorenzo, totaling more than two hundred, stand on a steep and steep plateau, rising almost 50 meters above the surrounding flat savannah. The length of this peculiar “island” is approximately 1.2 km. Narrow “tongues” extend in different directions from the plateau in the form of continuous chains of hills and hills.

When excavations began, Michael Ko discovered, to his great surprise, that at least the top seven meters of the plateau at San Lorenzo were man-made! How much labor had to be spent in order to move such a gigantic mountain of earth! Analysis of the finds allowed the researcher to identify two main stages in the life of the city: the earlier one - San Lorenzo (200-900 BC) and the Palangan stage, which generally coincides in time with La Venta (800-400 BC). e.). Thanks to one witty guess, Michael Ko was able to establish an absolutely amazing fact: one fine day, the ancient inhabitants of San Lorenzo broke and damaged most of their stone idols, and then “buried” them in special places, placing them in regular rows, oriented strictly to the cardinal points. From above, this unusual “cemetery” was covered with a multi-meter layer of debris and earth, in which shards of clay vessels only from the San Lorenzo stage are found. Consequently, the burial of the broken statues took place precisely at this time. In any case, this is what Michael Ko himself and the staff of his expedition thought.

Another inevitable conclusion followed from this: the Olmec civilization existed in a fully developed and mature form already at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. e. Michael Ko supports his hypothesis with two arguments: a series of radiocarbon dates for ceramics from the San Lorenzo stage (1200-900 BC) and the fact that only early types of shards are found in the backfill hiding the Olmec stone sculptures.

But the same fact can be interpreted in another way. It is possible that the residents of San Lorenzo took the land and debris for the “burying” of their statues from the territory of an abandoned settlement of an earlier era, located either in the city itself or in its environs. It is known that the so-called “cultural layer” - soft black earth formed in the place of permanent human habitation - is much easier to dig than clean soil. This is especially important considering that the Olmecs only had wood and stone tools.

Along with the soil, the ancient objects contained in it were brought to the “cemetery” of statues: ceramics, clay figurines, etc. As for radiocarbon dates, excessive credulity in them has failed archaeologists more than once in the past.

First of all, it is necessary to clearly understand one undoubted fact: the vast majority of stone sculptures from San Lorenzo are no different from the monuments of La Venta and, therefore, date back to 800-400 BC. e. But this last date was also obtained using the C-14 method and cannot be considered absolutely accurate. On the other hand, we have at our disposal one completely reliable chronological milestone - the stele “C” from Tres Zapotes with a calendar date equal to 31 BC. e. On its front side there is a typical Olmec mask of the jaguar god.

Moreover, the three major Olmec centers (San Lorenzo, Tres Zapotes and La Venta) have, among other impressive sculptures, giant stone heads. The stylistic similarity of the latter is so great that they were undoubtedly made at approximately the same time. The entire complex of archaeological finds from Tres Zapotes (including the “C” stele) dates back to the end of the 1st millennium BC. BC - first centuries AD e. This suggests that at least part of the stone monuments of San Lorenzo and La Venta and, in any case, the giant basalt heads are of the same age.

Stele "C" from Tres Zapotes with a 6m boa jaguar, 31 BC. e.

If we take a look at other areas of ancient Mexico, then upon closer acquaintance with them it will become obvious that at the end of the 1st millennium BC. e. they were not much inferior to the Olmecs in their development. As excavations in Mayan territory have shown, the first examples of writing and calendar also appear here in the 1st century. BC e. Apparently, the Mayans, Olmecs, Nahua (Teotihuacan) and Zapotecs arrived at the threshold of civilization more or less simultaneously - at the end of the 1st millennium BC. e. Under such conditions, there is no longer any room left for the ancestral culture.

The decades-long dispute between opponents and supporters of the priority of the Olmec civilization has not been fully resolved to this day. But the wait is not long now. Numerous teams of archaeologists, fully armed with modern technology, are now storming the swampy jungles of Veracruz and Tabasco.

- Olmec.

Olmec architecture.

The Olmec buildings did not have complex forms, like those of later tribes, but they were massive and original. Several features of the architecture of the first American tribe can be identified. The base of ancient temples was either a square or a rectangle. These structures themselves resembled a pyramid. It is assumed that buildings of this shape are easier to construct than, for example, cubic ones; they turn out taller and more stable. Unlike the Egyptian pyramids, the Mesoamerican ones (and the Olmec architectural style was adopted by all Central American tribes without exception) were built with stairs leading from the base to a temple located at the top (usually with two rooms). If the structure was large, not two, but four stairs went up - on all sides of the pyramid. The second type of buildings are the so-called palaces, which were more likely residential buildings of the nobility. These buildings were also located on small elevations, but inside they were divided into several narrow and elongated rooms. The main totem animal of the Olmecs is the jaguar (according to legend, this tribe originated from the union of a divine jaguar and a mortal woman), which is confirmed by numerous archaeological finds, both sculptural and architectural.

Amazing archaeological finds.

One of the centers of Olmec culture was the city of San Andres, located about 5 km northeast of La Venta (now part of the city of Villahermosa). During excavations, an amazing discovery was discovered that pushed back the date of the appearance of the first writing in Mesoamerica by at least 300 years - it was a fist-sized ceramic cylinder with hieroglyphs depicted on the sides. It was used as a writing instrument. Olmec stone heads, unfortunately, are not as famous as the Easter Island statues, however, they are also striking, primarily for their monumentality (their weight is about 30 tons, in circumference - 7 m, height - 2.5 m) and realism . Several more of the most notable and large Olmec cities can be identified: these are San Lorenzo, Las Limas, Lagunade Los Cerros and Llano de Jicaro (the ruins of a basalt processing workshop were found there). Among other finds, it is worth highlighting sensational children's toys. The fact is that many of them depict various animals on wheels, but for a long time it was believed that the population of pre-Columbian America was not familiar with wheels!

San Lorenzo is one of the first cities in America.

The most famous and first main Olmec city is San Lorenzo (San Lorenzo), which existed for 500 years. Historians have come to the conclusion that 5 thousand inhabitants lived here. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to see one of the first Mesoamerican cities. Almost nothing remains of the once largest settlement in America due to terrible weather conditions, gluttonous time and inaction of the authorities, and tourists are much more interested in the Mayans and Aztecs. However, in the territory of San Lorenzo (now the town of Tenochtitlan) there is the oldest pyramid in America, whose steps are decorated with a carved image of a bogajaguar. Drainage systems, stone heads and a court for the iconic ball game were also discovered here. The last structure consisted of two parallel inclined walls made of stone. The game itself took place below, and the spectators sat on the walls.

La Venta is an open air museum.

The best preserved and richest Olmec city is La Venta. San Lorenzo gradually fell into decay and by 900 BC. e. the center of Olmec culture moves south. This is due to the aggressive raids (relations between the Olmec tribes were by no means peaceful) and changes in the river bed, which played one of the determining roles in those days. Goods were delivered along the river, water was diverted from it to ensure the livelihoods of people, and, among other things, they fished in it, which, along with agriculture, was the main occupation of the Olmecs. In La Venta there is also a large accumulation of the famous Olmec stone sculptures - huge heads of outwardly Negroid origin, which gives rise to certain thoughts about the origin of this ancient people. The abundance of such finds is amazing, because there was not a single quarry nearby.

By the time of the heyday of La Venta (starting from the 9th century BC), complex mosaics began to be created in the city, new monumental sculptures were built - steles and rich burials, created using basalt columns placed close to each other. Sarcophagi, many figurines and decorations were found in these chambers. Most of the finds were transported to the museum of the city of Villahermosa (the capital of the Mexican state of Tabasco), to La Venta Park - to the territory occupied by the ancient city.

Conclusion.

For a long time it was believed that the Olmecs - the first civilization of Mesoamerica - suddenly abandoned their cities and disappeared into in an unknown direction, “like the Baltic water disappeared through the earth.” In fact, unlike the same water, which literally went underground, the Olmecs simply left the area they had inhabited for centuries and began to move north, deep into the continent. The reasons for this could be droughts, volcanic eruptions or other natural disasters, which led to the fact that the territory occupied by the Olmecs became uninhabitable. The reason for this, in turn, could be a change in the direction of river beds or their complete disappearance, because water in those days played a decisive role in the life of the population, especially in such a climatically difficult territory as Central America (however, for the Mayans the lack of water was not an obstacle, but this will be discussed later). It was not difficult for the Olmecs to find new territories suitable for existence, since during their trading campaigns they had already repeatedly visited the settlements of neighboring tribes. The movement of the Olmecs to the north led to the gradual assimilation of this distinctive civilization with other Indian tribes. It should be noted that the history of the Maya lasts almost in parallel with the existence of the Olmecs (the first of the known cities of the tribe - Cueyo (Belize) - dates back to 2000 BC), however, the heyday of the Maya began precisely from the moment of the “disappearance” of the Olmecs. From this we can conclude that the latter, assimilating with other Indians, as if in exchange for the right to live on foreign territory, taught their former neighbors and trading partners the social and political system and enriched their culture with their skills. The principles of building society, writing, astronomy, mathematics - this is only a small part of the knowledge, the appearance of which the Mayans and subsequently other Indian tribes of America owe to the Olmecs.

As new monuments of the past are studied, archeology in Central America is increasingly moving into the depths of centuries. Just some fifty years ago everything seemed simple and clear. In Mexico, thanks to old chronicles, the Aztecs, Chichimecs and Toltecs were known. On the Yucatan Peninsula and in the mountains of Guatemala - Maya. All known antiquities, which were found in abundance both on the surface and in the depths of the earth, were then attributed to them. Later, as experience and knowledge accumulated, scientists increasingly began to encounter the remains of pre-Columbian cultures that did not fit into the Procrustean bed of old schemes and views. The ancestors of modern Mexicans had many predecessors. This is how the vague outlines of the first, classical civilizations of Central America arose from the darkness of oblivion: Teotihuacan, Tajin, Monte Alban, the Mayan city-states. All of them were born and died within one millennium: from the 1st to the 10th century AD. e. Following this, the ancient culture of the Olmecs was discovered - a mysterious people who have inhabited the swampy lowlands of the Gulf Coast since time immemorial. There are still dozens and even hundreds of nameless ruins hidden in the forest - the remains of former cities and villages. The hand of an archaeologist first touched some of them just a few years ago. Thus, it can be said without much exaggeration that Olmec archeology was born almost before our eyes. Despite all the difficulties and omissions, she has now achieved the main thing - she has once again returned to people one of the most brilliant civilizations of pre-Hispanic America. Everything was here: brilliant hypotheses based on two or three scattered facts, the romance of searching and the joy of first field discoveries, serious misconceptions and never-revealed secrets.

In 1869, a small note appeared in the Bulletin of the Mexican Society of Geography and Statistics, signed: H. M. Melgar. Its author, an engineer by profession, claimed that in 1862 he was lucky enough to discover near the village of Tres Zapotes (Veracruz state, Mexico) on a sugar cane plantation an amazing sculpture, unlike all known so far - the head of an “African”, carved from giant stone. The note was accompanied by a fairly accurate drawing of the statue, so that any reader could now judge the merits of this find.

Unfortunately, Melgar subsequently did not use his extraordinary find in the best way. In 1871, without a trace of a smile on his face, he announced, referring to the “clearly Ethiopian” appearance of the sculpture he discovered: “I am absolutely convinced that blacks have visited these parts more than once and this happened in the first era from the creation of the world.” It must be said that such a statement had absolutely no basis, but it fully corresponded to the general spirit of the then dominant theories in science, when any achievement of the American Indians was explained by cultural influences from the Old World. True, something else is indisputable: Melgar’s message contains the first printed mention of a very specific monument to a previously unknown civilization.

Exactly forty years later, an Indian peasant discovered another mysterious object in his field near the town of San Andres Tuxtla. At first he didn’t even pay attention to the greenish pebble that was barely peeking out of the ground, and casually kicked it. And suddenly the stone came to life, sparkling with its polished surface under the rays of the generous tropical sun. Having cleared the object of dirt and dust, the Indian saw that he was holding in his hands a small jade figurine depicting a pagan priest with a shaved head and half-closed laughing eyes. The lower part of his face was covered by a mask in the shape of a duck's beak, and a short cloak of feathers was thrown over his shoulders, imitating the folded wings of a bird. The sides of the figurine were covered with some incomprehensible images and drawings, and under them, just below, there were columns of characters in the form of dashes and dots. The illiterate peasant, of course, had no idea that he was holding in his hands an object that was destined to become one of the most famous archaeological finds in the New World.

After many adventures, passing through dozens of hands, a small jade figurine of a priest from Tuxtla ended up in the US National Museum. American scientists, examining the new museum exhibit, to their unspeakable surprise, discovered that a column of mysterious dashes and dots carved on the figurine represented the Mayan date corresponding to 162 AD. e.! A real storm broke out in scientific circles. One guess followed another. But the dense veil of uncertainty that surrounded everything connected with the jade figurine did not dissipate at all.

The shape of the signs and the entire style of the image were similar to the writings and sculptures of the Mayans, although they were more archaic. But the nearest ancient Mayan city, Comalcalco, was no less than 240 km east of the discovery site! And besides, the figurine from Tuxtla is almost 130 years older than any dated monument from the Mayan territory!

Yes, there was a lot to puzzle over here. A strange picture emerged: a certain mysterious people, who in ancient times inhabited the Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco, invented Mayan writing and the calendar several centuries earlier than the Mayans themselves and marked their products with these hieroglyphs.

But what kind of people are these? What is its culture? Where and when did he come to the rotten swampy lowlands of the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico?

In March 1924, an event occurred in the American city of New Orleans that was directly related to the mystery of the forgotten Olmec cities. A person who wished to remain anonymous deposited a large sum of money into a local Tulane University checking account. According to the will of the mysterious patron of the arts, the interest from this unusual contribution was intended to study the past of the countries of Central America. The management of the university decided not to procrastinate and immediately organized a large ethnographic and archaeological expedition to Southern Mexico. It was headed by famous archaeologists Franz Blom and Oliver La Farge. Two extraordinary men, endowed with an insatiable curiosity and vast knowledge, unite here to brave the trackless Central American wilderness, embarking on a dangerous and adventurous search for forgotten tribes and lost civilizations.

On February 19, 1925, the expedition began. And a few months later, its participants, tanned to blackness, found themselves in the very heart of the swampy jungle, in the south of the Gulf Coast. Their path led to the Tonala River, where, according to rumors, there was an abandoned ancient settlement with stone idols. And now the researchers are almost there. “The guide told us,” recall F. Blom and O. La Farge, “that La Venta, the place where our path lay, was an island surrounded on all sides by swamps... After an hour of fast walking... we finally reached the ancient city : in front of us was the first idol. It was a huge stone block about two meters high. It lay flat on the ground, and on its surface could be seen a human figure, roughly carved in deep relief. This figure is not distinguished by any specific features, although, judging by its general appearance, some faint echo of Mayan influence is felt here. Soon after this, we saw the most striking monument of La Venta - a huge boulder, reminiscent of a church bell in shape... After minor excavations, to our unspeakable surprise, we were convinced that in front of us was the upper part of a giant stone head, similar to that found in Tres- Zapotes..."

Everywhere in the jungle there were massive stone sculptures. Some of them stood upright, others collapsed or were broken. Their surface was covered with relief carvings depicting people and animals or fantastic figures in the form of half-man, half-beast. The pyramidal buildings, once proudly towering with their snow-white ridges above the treetops, were now barely visible under the thick cover of plants. This mysterious city in ancient times was obviously a large and important center, the birthplace of high cultural achievements completely unknown to science.

But time was pressing on the researchers. Having overcome serious natural obstacles, they were able to quickly examine the buildings and monuments they discovered and tried to sketch and map the most important of them as accurately as possible. This was clearly not enough for any broad historical conclusions.

That is why, when leaving the city, Franz Blom was forced to write in his diary: “La Venta is undoubtedly a very mysterious site, where significant research is required in order to know for sure what time this site dates back to.”

But within a few months, this statement, which does credit to any serious scientist, was completely forgotten. Finding himself in the land of the ancient Mayans, Blom could not resist the charm of the elegant architecture and sculpture of their abandoned cities. Ornate hieroglyphs and calendar signs were found here literally at every step. And the scientist, having cast aside all the doubts that tormented him, concludes in his extensive work “Tribes and Temples,” published in 1926: “In La Venta we found a large number of large stone sculptures and at least one high pyramid. Some features of these sculptures are reminiscent of sculpture from the Tuxtla area, others show strong Mayan influence... It is on this basis that we are inclined to attribute the ruins of La Venta to Mayan culture.”

So, ironically, the most striking Olmec monument, which later gave the name to this ancient civilization, unexpectedly found itself on the list of cities of a completely different culture - the Mayans.

History knows many examples of how a seemingly trivial event radically changed the entire course of the further development of human thought. Something similar happened in Olmecology when Blom and his friends made a not too strenuous hike to the top of the extinct volcano San Martin, where, according to rumors, a statue of some pagan deity had stood since time immemorial. The rumor was confirmed. At an altitude of 1211 m, near the very top of the mountain, scientists found a stone idol. The idol was squatting and holding a long piece of wood horizontally in both hands. His body is tilted forward. The face is badly damaged. The total height of the sculpture is 1.35 m.

Only many years later, experts in Mexican archeology will finally figure out the true meaning of everything that happened and loudly call the discovery of the idol from San Martin the “Rosetta Stone of the Olmec culture.”

Meanwhile, in private collections and museum collections in many countries of Europe and America, as a result of continuous predatory excavations, more and more products made of precious jade, mysterious in origin, appeared. There was great demand for them. And the robbers reaped a bountiful harvest in the mountains and jungles of Mexico, mercilessly destroying the priceless treasures of ancient culture.

Bizarre figurines of jaguar-men and jaguar-men, bestial masks of gods, plump dwarfs, naked freaks with strangely elongated heads, huge celt axes with intricate carved patterns, elegant jade jewelry - all these objects bore the clear imprint of a deep inner kinship - undoubted proof of their common origin. Nevertheless, they were long considered vague, mysterious, since they could not be associated with any of the then known pre-Columbian civilizations of the New World.

In 1929, Marshall Savius, director of the Museum of the American Indian in New York, drew attention to a group of strange ritual celt axes from the museum's collection. All of them were made of beautifully polished bluish-green jade, and their surface was usually decorated with carved patterns, masks of people and gods. The general similarity of this group of things did not raise any doubts. But where, from what part of Mexico or Central America do these wonderful mysterious objects come from? Who created them and when? For what purpose?

And here Savius ​​remembered that images exactly the same in style are found not only on jade axes, but also on the headdress of an idol from the peak of the San Martin volcano. The similarity between them, even in the smallest details, is so great that it became clear to the uninitiated: all the mentioned products are the fruits of the efforts of the same people.

The chain of evidence has closed. A heavy basalt monument cannot be dragged hundreds of kilometers. Consequently, the center of this strange and in many ways still incomprehensible ancient art was also probably located somewhere in the area of ​​the San Martin volcano, that is, in Veracruz, on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

The man who was destined to take the decisive step in the direction that Savius ​​guessed rather than saw was named George Clapp Vaillant. One of the best graduates of the respectable Harvard University, he could count on the most brilliant scientific career and literally take the place of a successful professor in a matter of years. But the unexpected happened. As a freshman, Vaillant once and for all determined his plans for the future, going to Mexico in 1919 along with an archaeological expedition. Archeology became a second life for him. There is hardly one more or less interesting ancient monument left in the Valley of Mexico that this energetic American has not visited. His overall contribution to Mexican archeology cannot be overestimated, and the Olmecs were no exception. It is to Vaillant that we owe the birth of one ingenious hypothesis.

In 1909, during the construction of a dam in Necasha (Puebla state, Mexico), an American engineer accidentally found a jade figurine of a sitting jaguar in a destroyed ancient pyramid. An interesting object attracted the attention of scientists and was soon purchased by the Museum of Natural History in New York. It was this jade figurine that later served Vaillant as a kind of starting point in his discussions about the mysteries of the Olmec culture.

“Plastically,” he wrote, “this jaguar belongs to a group of sculptures that demonstrate the same features: a grinning mouth, crowned above by a flat, flattened nose and slanted eyes. Often the head of such figures has a notch or notch at the back. The large jade ax on display in the Mexican Hall of the museum also belongs to this type of image. Geographically, all these jade products are concentrated in Southern Veracruz, Southern Puebla and northern Oaxaca. An equally obvious connection with the named group of objects is demonstrated by the so-called “infant” sculptures from Southern Mexico, combining the features of a child and a jaguar.”

Having compared all the facts known to him, Vaillant decided to act by elimination. He knew well what the material culture of most of the ancient peoples who once inhabited Mexico looked like. None of them had anything to do with the creators of the fine jade figurines style. And then the scientist remembered the words of the ancient legend about the Olmecs - “inhabitants of the country of rubber”: the area of ​​​​distribution of jade figurines of a child-jaguar entirely coincided with the supposed habitat of the Olmecs - the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

“If we get acquainted with the list of peoples from the semi-mythical legends of the Nahua Indians,” Vaillant argued, “then by exclusion we can find out which of them should be associated with the civilization just identified according to material criteria. We know the art styles of the Aztecs, Toltecs and Zapotecs, maybe the Totonacs and certainly the Mayans. The same legends often mention one highly cultured people - the Olmecs, who lived in ancient times in Tlaxcala, but were later pushed back to Veracruz and Tabasco... The Olmecs were famous for their products made of jade and turquoise and were considered the main consumers of rubber throughout Central America. The geographical location of this people approximately coincides with the area of ​​distribution of jade figurines with the faces of baby jaguars.”

So, in 1932, thanks to an ingenious hypothesis, another completely unknown people received very real evidence of existence. This was not only the triumph of the scientist, but also the triumph of the ancient Indian legend.

So, a start has been made. True, Vaillant carried out the “resurrection” of the Olmecs from oblivion only on the basis of several scattered things, relying mainly on the logic of his scientific assumptions. For a deeper study of the newly discovered civilization, these finds, despite their uniqueness and artistic skill, were clearly not enough. Systematic excavations were required in the heart of the supposed Olmec country.

This was wholeheartedly accepted and put into practice by J. Vaillant’s compatriot, archaeologist Matthew Stirling. In 1918, while a student at the University of California, he first saw in a book an image of a jade mask in the form of a “crying child” and since then he was forever “sick” with mysterious sculptures from Southern Mexico. After graduating from university, young Stirling entered the then most famous scientific institution in the country - the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. And although, for various reasons, Stirling had to work mainly in North America, his youthful dream of the Olmec cities never left him. With great excitement he read the report of F. Blom and O. La Farge about the mysterious statues from La Venta. In 1932, Stirling came across the work of a planter from Veracruz, a certain Albert Weierstall. The latter expertly described several new stone sculptures from La Venta and Villahermosa. But most of all, the young scientist was struck by the final words of the article, which said that the idols of La Venta were completely different from the Mayan ones and were much older than them. It was clear to any dedicated person that there could be no more delay. There, in the swampy jungles of Veracruz and Tabasco, countless monuments of a lost civilization are waiting in the wings, which have never been touched by the hand of an archaeologist. But how can we convince the management of interested institutions and our fellow archaeologists that all these by no means small monetary costs will be repaid a hundredfold by the scientific significance of future finds? No, conventional methods were clearly not suitable here. And Stirling decides to take a desperate step. At the beginning of 1938, alone, almost without money or equipment, he went to Veracruz to examine the same giant stone head that was described by Melgar. “I discovered the object of my dreams,” the scientist recalls, “in a square surrounded by four pyramidal hills. Only the top of the huge statue barely peeked out from the ground. I kicked the dirt off his face and took some pictures." When the initial excitement of meeting this messenger of antiquity finally passed, Matthew looked around and froze in surprise. A giant head stood among the ruins of a large abandoned city. Everywhere, the tops of artificial hills rose up from the forest thickets, hiding inside the remains of destroyed palaces and temples. They were oriented strictly to the cardinal points and were grouped in groups of three or four around wide rectangular areas. The contours of mysterious stone sculptures were visible through the dense greenery. Yes, there could be no doubt: the first Olmec city lay at the feet of a tired but happy archaeologist. Now he will be able to convince any skeptic that he is right and will get the funds necessary for excavations!

And so, in the late autumn of 1938, an expedition led by Matthew Sterling began studying the ruins of Tres Zapotes. At first everything was mysterious and unclear. Dozens of artificial pyramid hills, countless stone monuments, fragments of colorful pottery. And not a single hint as to who owned this abandoned city.

Two long and tedious field seasons (1939 and 1943) were spent on excavations at Tres Zapotes. Long ribbons of trenches and clear squares of pits surrounded the green surface of the pyramidal hills. The finds numbered in the thousands: elegant crafts made of bluish jade - the favorite stone of the Olmecs, fragments of ceramics, clay figurines, multi-ton stone sculptures.

During the research, it turned out that in Tres Zapotes there is not one, but three giant heads made of stone. Contrary to widespread rumors among local Indians, these stone colossi never had a body. Ancient sculptors carefully placed them on special low platforms made of stone slabs, at the foot of which there were underground caches with gifts from pilgrims. All these sculptures are carved from large blocks of hard black basalt. Their height ranges from 1.5 to 3 m, and their weight ranges from 5 to 40 tons. The wide and expressive faces of the giants with plump, everted lips and slanted eyes are so realistic that there is hardly any doubt: these are portraits of some historical characters, and not the faces of transcendental gods.

According to Matthew Sterling, these are images of the most prominent Olmec leaders and rulers, immortalized in stone by their contemporaries.

At the base of one of the hills, archaeologists were able to discover a large stone slab, knocked to the ground and broken into two pieces of approximately equal size. The entire earth around it was literally strewn with thousands of sharp fragments of obsidian, brought here in ancient times as a ritual gift. True, the Indian workers had their own special opinion on this matter. They believed that the obsidian fragments were “thunder arrows”, and that the stele itself was broken and knocked to the ground by a lightning strike. Due to the fact that the monument lay with its carved surface facing up, its sculptural images were greatly damaged by time, although the main elements are quite distinguishable. The central part of the stele is occupied by a human figure. On either side of him are two more smaller figures. One of the side characters holds a severed human head in his hand. Above all these figures, some kind of heavenly deity in the form of a huge stylized mask seems to be hovering in the air. The stela found (Stela “A”) turned out to be the largest of all the Tres Zapotes monuments. But new discoveries soon eclipsed everything that came before.

“In the early morning of January 16, 1939,” Stirling recalls, “I went to the farthest part of the archaeological zone, about two miles from our camp. The purpose of this not very pleasant walk was to examine a flat stone, which one of our workers reported a few days ago. According to the descriptions, the stone was very reminiscent of a stele, and I hoped to find some sculptures on its reverse side. It was an unbearably hot day. Twelve workers and I spent an incredible amount of effort before we managed to turn over the heavy slab with the help of wooden poles. But, alas, to my deepest regret, both sides turned out to be absolutely smooth. Then I remembered that some Indian had told me about another stone lying nearby, near the foot of the highest artificial hill, Tres Zapotes. The stone was so inconspicuous in appearance that I remember wondering whether it was worth digging it up at all. But clearing showed that it was actually much larger than I thought, and that one of its sides was covered with some carved drawings, although very damaged by time... Then, deciding to quickly finish the boring work, I asked the Indians to turn over the fragment of the stele and inspect its back. The workers, on their knees, began to clear the surface of the monument from viscous clay. And suddenly one of them shouted to me in Spanish: “Boss!” There are some numbers here!’ And they really were numbers. I don’t know, however, how my illiterate Indians guessed about this, but there, across the back of our stone, perfectly preserved rows of lines and dots were carved in strict accordance with the laws of the Mayan calendar. In front of me lay an object that we all dreamed of finding in our souls, but out of superstitious motives we did not dare to admit it out loud.”

Suffocating from the unbearable heat, covered in sticky sweat, Sterling immediately began feverishly sketching the precious inscription. And a few hours later, all the expedition members eagerly crowded around the table in the cramped tent of their leader. Complex calculations followed - and now the full text of the inscription is ready: “6 Etznab 1 Io.” According to European standards, this date corresponds to November 4, 31 BC. e. The drawing carved on the other side of the stele (later called “Stele “C””) depicts an early version of the jaguar-like rain god. No one dared even dream of such a sensational discovery. The newly discovered stele had a date recorded according to the Mayan calendar system, but on for three whole centuries, surpassing in age any other monument from Mayan territory.The inevitable conclusion followed: the proud Mayans borrowed their amazingly accurate calendar from their western neighbors - the hitherto unknown Olmecs.

Tres Zapotes became, as it were, the touchstone of all Ol-Mec archeology. It was the first Olmec site to be excavated by professional archaeologists. “We have obtained,” wrote Stirling, “a large collection of fragments of ceramics and with its help we hope to establish a detailed chronology of the ancient settlement, which could then be linked to other known archaeological sites in Central America. This was practically the most important scientific result of the expedition.”

The scientific world was excited. The results of excavations in Tres Zapotes fell on fertile ground. Bold new ideas emerged about the role of the Olmecs in the history of Ancient America. But even more unresolved questions remained. Then the idea arose to convene a special conference for a comprehensive consideration of the Olmec problem.

The conference took place in July 1941 in Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of the Mexican state of Chiapas, and attracted many specialists from different countries. Literally from the very first minutes, the conference room became an arena for heated discussions and disputes, since the main topic provided “combustible material” in abundance. All those present were divided into two warring camps, between which there was an irreconcilable war. Ironically, this time they were divided not only by purely scientific views, but also by nationality: the Mexican temperament collided here with Anglo-Saxon skepticism. At one of the first meetings, Drucker outlined the results of his excavations at Tres Zapotes and at the same time presented a general scheme for the development of Olmec culture, equating it chronologically with the “Old Kingdom” of the Maya (300–900 AD). Most North American scientists gave his views unanimous support. It must be said that at that time many researchers of pre-Columbian cultures of the New World, especially in the USA, were entirely in the grip of one tempting theory. They were deeply convinced that all the most outstanding achievements of the ancient Indian civilization in Central America were the merit of only one people: the Mayans. And, obsessed with this obsession, Mayan scientists did not skimp on magnificent epithets for their favorites, calling them “Greeks of the New World,” a chosen people marked with the stamp of special genius, not at all similar to the creators of other civilizations of antiquity.

And suddenly, like a sudden hurricane, the passionate voices of two Mexicans began to sound in the hall of the academic meeting. Their names - Alfonso Caso and Miguel Covarrubias - were well known to everyone present. The first forever glorified himself with the discovery of the Zapotec civilization after many years of excavations in Monte Alban (Oaxaca). The second was rightfully considered an unsurpassed connoisseur of Mexican art. Having identified the characteristic features and high level of the style discovered in Tres Zapotes, they declared with all conviction that the Olmecs should be considered the most ancient civilized people of Mexico. The Mexicans supported their views with very convincing facts. “Aren’t the oldest objects with calendar dates found in Olmec territory (the statuette from Tuxtla - 162 AD and the “Stele “C” from Tres Zapotes - 31 BC)? - they said. - And the earliest Mayan temple in the city of Vashaktun? After all, it is decorated with typically Olmec sculptures in the form of masks of the jaguar god!”

“For mercy’s sake,” their North American opponents objected. - The entire Olmec culture is just a distorted and degraded copy of the great Mayan civilization. The Olmecs simply borrowed the calendar system from their highly developed neighbors, but recorded the dates incorrectly, significantly exaggerating their antiquity. Or maybe the Olmecs used a 400-day cycle calendar or counted time from a different starting date than the Mayans? And since such reasoning came from two of the largest authorities in the field of Central American archeology - Eric Thompson and Sylvanus Morley, many scientists took their side.

The position of Matthew Stirling himself is characteristic in this regard. On the eve of the conference, impressed by his findings at Tres Zapotes, he stated in one of his articles: “The Olmec culture, which in many respects has reached a high level, is indeed very ancient and may well be the founding civilization that gave birth to such high cultures like Mayan, Zapotec, Toltec and Totonac."

The coincidence with the views of the Mexicans A. Caso and M. Covarrubias is obvious here. But when most of his venerable compatriots opposed the early age of Olmec culture, Stirling hesitated. The choice was not easy. On one side stood the masters of American archeology in all the majesty of their long-standing authority, crowned with doctoral robes and professorial diplomas. On the other, there is the fervent enthusiasm of several young Mexican colleagues. And although his mind told Stirling that the latter now had more arguments than before, he could not stand it. In 1943, the “father of Olmec archeology” publicly renounced his previous views, declaring in one of the reputable scientific publications that “the Olmec culture developed simultaneously with the culture of the “Old Kingdom” of the Maya, but differed significantly from the latter in many important features.”

At the end of the conference, literally “at the end”, another Mexican, historian Jimenez Moreno, rose to the podium. And here a scandal broke out. “Excuse me,” said the speaker, “what kind of Olmecs can we be talking about here? The term “Olmec” is absolutely unacceptable in relation to archaeological sites such as La Venta and Tres Zapotes. The true Olmecs from ancient chronicles and legends appeared on the historical arena no earlier than the 9th century AD. e., and the people who created the giant stone sculptures in the jungles of Veracruz and Tabasco lived a good thousand years before that.” The speaker proposed to call the newly discovered archaeological culture after its most important center - “the La Venta culture.” But the old term turned out to be tenacious. The ancient inhabitants of La Venta and Tres Zapotes are still called Olmecs, although this word is often put in quotation marks.

At this moment, the eyes of many scientists turned to La Venta. It was she who was supposed to answer the most burning questions of the history of the Olmecs. But the swampy terrain and humid tropical climate protected the abandoned ancient city more reliably than any castles: the path to it was long and thorny.

What was La Venta really like? Off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, among the vast mangrove swamps of the state of Tabasco, several sandy islands rise, the largest of which, La Venta, is only 12 km long and 4 km across. Here, next to the remote Mexican village from which the entire island takes its name, are the ruins of an ancient Olmec settlement. Its main core occupies a small hill in the central part of the island with an area of ​​only 180 by 800 m. The highest point of the city is the top of the thirty-three-meter “Great Pyramid”. To the north of it there is the so-called “Ritual Courtyard” or “Corral” - a flat rectangular area, fenced with stone columns, and a little further on there is a strange-looking building - “Tomb of basalt pillars”. Precisely along the central axis of these most important structures were all the most impressive tombs, altars, steles and hiding places with ritual gifts. The former inhabitants of La Venta were well aware of the laws of geometry. All the main buildings, standing on top of high pyramidal foundations, were oriented strictly to the cardinal points. The abundance of residential and temple ensembles, elaborate sculptures, steles and altars, mysterious gigantic heads carved from black basalt, the luxurious decoration of the tombs found here indicated that La Venta was once the largest Olmec center, and possibly the capital of the entire country. .

The central group of artificial pyramid hills attracted particular attention from archaeologists. Here, in fact, the main excavations of the 40–50s were carried out. The largest structure of this group, and of the entire city as a whole, was the so-called “Great Pyramid” with a height of about 33 m. From its top there was an amazing view of the surrounding forests, swamps and rivers. The pyramid is built of clay and lined with a layer of lime mortar, as strong as cement. For a long time, one could only guess about the true size and shape of this gigantic structure, since its contours were hidden by dense thickets of evergreen jungle. Previously, scientists believed that the pyramid had the usual outlines for buildings of this kind: a quadrangular base and a flat truncated top. And only in the 60s, the American R. Heiser was surprised to discover that the “Great Pyramid” is a kind of cone with a round base, which, in turn, has several semicircular protrusions - petals.

The reason for such a strange fantasy of the builders of La Venta turned out to be quite understandable. The cones of many extinct volcanoes in the nearby Tusla Mountains looked exactly the same. According to Indian beliefs, it was inside such volcanic peaks that the gods of fire and the bowels of the earth lived. Is it any wonder that the Olmecs built some of their pyramidal temples in honor of formidable deities - lords of the elements - in the image and likeness of volcanoes. This required considerable material costs from society. According to the calculations of the same R. Heizer, the construction of the “Great Pyramid” of La Venta (its volume is 47,000 m 3) required no less, but 800,000 man-days!

Meanwhile, work in La Venta was gaining momentum every day, and magnificent discoveries and finds were not long in coming. Of particular interest to researchers were the numerous stone sculptures discovered at the foot of the ancient pyramids or in the city squares. During the excavations, it was possible to find five more giant stone heads in helmets, very similar to the sculptures from Tres Zapotes, but at the same time, each with its own individual features and characteristics (appearance, helmet shape, ornament). Archaeologists were greatly delighted by the discovery of several carved steles and altars made of basalt, completely covered with complex sculptural images. One of the altars is a huge, smoothly polished block of stone. On the facade of the altar, as if growing out of a deep bowl, an Olmec ruler or priest in magnificent clothes and a high conical hat looks out. Directly in front of him, he holds in his outstretched arms the lifeless body of a child, whose face has been given the features of a formidable predator of a jaguar. On the side faces of the monument there are several more strange characters in long cloaks and high headdresses. Each of them holds a crying baby in his arms, whose appearance again surprisingly merges the features of a child and a jaguar. What does this whole mysterious scene mean? Perhaps we are seeing the supreme ruler of La Venta, his wives and heirs? Or does it depict the act of a solemn sacrifice of infants in honor of the gods of rain and fertility? Only one thing is clear: the image of a child with the features of a jaguar is the most characteristic motif of Olmec art.

A giant granite stele, about 4.5 m high and weighing almost 50 tons, caused a lot of controversy among experts. It is decorated with some kind of complex and incomprehensible scene. Two people in elaborate headdresses stand opposite each other. The character depicted on the right has a distinctly Caucasian type: with a long aquiline nose and a narrow, seemingly glued-on goatee. Many archaeologists jokingly refer to him as "Uncle Sam", as he indeed closely resembles this traditional satirical figure. The face of another character - the opponent of “Uncle Sam” - was deliberately damaged in ancient times, although from some surviving details one can guess that we are again depicting a jaguar man. The unusualness of the entire appearance of “Uncle Sam” often provided food for the most daring hypotheses and judgments. Once he was declared a representative of the white race and on this basis they attributed purely European (or rather Mediterranean) origin to some Olmec rulers. Well, how can we not recall here the “head of an Ethiopian” from Melgar’s old works and the mythical voyages of Africans to America! In my opinion, there are no grounds for such conclusions yet. The Olmecs were undoubtedly American Indians, and not blacks or blond supermen.

In the 50s, the time finally came to draw the first conclusions about the character of La Venta and the Olmec culture as a whole.

“From this sacred, but very small island, located east of the Tonala River,” argued F. Drucker, “the priests ruled the entire area. Tributes flocked here to them from the most remote and remote villages. Here, under the leadership of priests, a huge army of workers, inspired by the canons of their fanatical religion, dug, built and dragged multi-ton loads.” Thus, La Venta appears in his understanding as a kind of “Mexican Mecca,” a sacred island capital inhabited only by a small group of priests and their servants. The surrounding farmers fully provided the city with everything necessary, receiving in return, through the mediation of the clergy, the mercy of the almighty gods. The heyday of La Venta and thus the heyday of the entire Olmec culture falls, according to the calculations of Drucker and Stirling, in the 1st millennium AD. e. and coincides with the flourishing of the Mayan cities of the Classic period. This point of view was dominant in Mesoamerican archeology in the 40s and 50s.

The sensation broke out at a time when no one was expecting it. Drucker's repeated excavations at La Venta in 1955–1957 brought completely unexpected results. Charcoal samples from the cultural layer in the very center of the city, sent to US laboratories for radiocarbon analysis, gave a series of absolute dates that exceeded the wildest expectations. According to physicists, it turned out that the existence of La Venta falls to 800–400 BC. e.

The Mexicans were jubilant. Their arguments for an Olmec ancestor culture were now firmly supported. On the other hand, Philip Drucker and many of his North American colleagues publicly admitted defeat. The surrender was complete. They had to abandon their previous chronological scheme and accept the dates obtained by physicists. The Olmec civilization thus received a new “birth certificate”, the main point of which read: 800–400 BC. e.

Meanwhile, life offered scientists more and more surprises regarding the Olmecs. Thus, on the outskirts of Mexico City, in Tlatilco, hundreds of burials from the Preclassic period were found. Among the products characteristic of the local agricultural culture, some foreign influences clearly stood out, in particular, the influence of the Olmec culture. The fact that objects similar to the Olmec were presented in such an early monument of the Valley of Mexico proved more eloquently than any words the extreme antiquity of the Olmec culture.

Other discoveries by archaeologists in Central Mexico also provided plenty of food for thought. In the east of the tiny state of Morelos, a rather unusual picture appeared to the eyes of researchers. Near the town of Kautla, three high rocky hills with almost sheer basalt slopes rose above the surrounding plain, like mighty heroes in pointed helmets. The central hill, Chalcatzingo, is a mighty cliff whose flat top is strewn with huge boulders and blocks of stone. The path to its top is difficult and long. But the traveler who decides to undertake such a dangerous ascent will ultimately receive a worthy reward. There, far from modern life, strange and mysterious sculptures - figures of unknown gods and heroes - froze in an age-old dream. They are skillfully carved on the surface of the largest boulders. The first relief depicts a sumptuously dressed man, who sits importantly on a throne and clutches a long object in his hands, reminiscent of the signs of power of the rulers of the Mayan city-states. On his head he has a high hairstyle and an intricate hat with figures of birds and signs in the form of large drops of rain falling down. A man sits in some kind of small cave. But upon closer examination, it turns out that this is not a cave at all, but the wide open mouth of some gigantic monster, stylized beyond recognition. Its egg-shaped eye with a pupil of two crossed stripes is clearly visible. Some curls burst out from the mouth-cave, possibly depicting puffs of smoke. Above this entire scene, three stylized signs seem to float in the air - three thunderclouds, from which large drops of rain fall down. Exactly the same stone sculptures are found only in the Olmec country, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

The second relief of Chalcatzingo shows a whole sculptural group. On the right is a bearded naked man with his hands tied. He sits on the ground, leaning his back against the idol of the formidable Olmec deity - the jaguar man. On the left, two Olmec warriors or priests with long pointed clubs in their hands menacingly approach the defenseless captive. Behind him stands another character with a club, from which shoots of some kind of plant are emerging - most likely maize.

But the most interesting of all the reliefs is the fifth, although, unfortunately, it is worse preserved than the others. Here the ancient sculptor depicted a huge snake with a fanged mouth. She devours a half-dead man lying face down on the ground. A short bird-like wing protrudes from the back of the snake's head. However, for many scientists, this one detail was enough: they declared that the Olmecs, long before the beginning of our era, worshiped the most popular deity of pre-Hispanic Mexico - the “Feathered Serpent”, or Quetzalcoatl.

The discoveries in Chalcatzingo excited the scientific world. After all, multi-ton boulders with reliefs are not an elegant jade thing that can be put in your pocket and taken anywhere. It was quite obvious that the reliefs were made right on the spot, in Chalcatzingo, and their creators could only be the Olmecs themselves.

Similar discoveries were then made in other places on the Pacific coast of Mexico (Chiapas), Guatemala (El Sitio), El Salvador (Las Victorias) and Costa Rica (Nicoya Peninsula). But why the Olmecs came to the central regions of Mexico and to the lands that lay south of their ancestral home is still unknown. There are more than enough bold judgments and hasty hypotheses on this matter. However, unfortunately, the facts are still clearly not enough. Miguel Covarrubias considered the Olmecs to be foreign conquerors who came to the Valley of Mexico from the Pacific coast of the state of Guerrero (Mexico). They quickly subjugated the local primitive tribes, imposed heavy tribute on them and formed a ruling caste of aristocrats and priests. In Tlatilco and other early settlements, according to Covarrubias, two heterogeneous cultural traditions are clearly visible: the alien, Olmec (this includes all the most elegant types of ceramics, jade objects and figurines of the “sons of the jaguar”), and the local simple culture of early farmers with a rough kitchen dishes. The Olmecs and the local Indians differed from each other in their physical type, costume and adornment: squat, narrow-hipped and flat-nosed aborigines - vassals, walking half naked, wearing only loincloths, and graceful, tall aristocrats - Olmecs, with thin aquiline noses, in fancy hats, long robes or cloaks. Having planted the sprouts of their high culture among the barbarians, the Olmecs thereby paved the way, according to Covarrubias, for all subsequent civilizations of Mesoamerica.

Other scholars declared the Olmecs to be "holy preachers" and "missionaries" who, with words of peace on their lips and a green branch in their hands, taught the rest of the people about their great and merciful god - the Jaguar Man. They founded their schools and monasteries everywhere. And soon the magnificent cult of the new deity, favorable to the farmer, received universal recognition, and the sacred relics of the Olmecs in the form of elegant amulets and figurines became known in the most remote corners of Mexico and Central America.

Finally, others limited themselves to vague references to trade and cultural connections, noting “distinctly Olmec features” in the art of Monte Alban (Oaxaca), Teotihuacan and Kaminaluyu (Mountain Guatemala), but without giving any specific explanation for this fact.

At the end of the 60s, an archaeologist from Yale University (USA) Michael Ko introduced a new idea to solve this complex scientific problem. First of all, with facts in hand, he refuted the religious, or missionary, background of the Olmec expansion beyond Veracruz and Tabasco. The proud characters of the basalt sculptures of La Venta and Tres Zapotes were neither gods nor priests. These are images of powerful rulers, generals and members of royal dynasties immortalized in stone. True, they did not miss an opportunity to emphasize their connection with the gods or to show the divine origins of their power. But nevertheless, real power in the Olmec country was in the hands of secular rulers, not priests. In the life of the Olmecs, like other ancient peoples of Mesoamerica, the greenish-blue mineral jade played a huge role. It was considered the main symbol of wealth. It was widely used in religious cults. They were paid tribute by the defeated states. But we also know something else: in the jungles of Veracruz and Tabasco there was not a single deposit of this stone. Meanwhile, the number of jade items found during excavations of Olmec settlements amounts to tens of tons! Where did the inhabitants of the Olmec country get their precious mineral? As geological surveys have shown, deposits of magnificent jade are found in the Guerrero mountains, in Oaxaca and Morelos - in Mexico, in the mountainous regions of Guatemala and on the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, i.e. precisely in those places where the influence of the Olmec culture is most strongly felt . From here, Michael Ko concluded that the main directions of Olmec colonization were directly dependent on the presence of jade deposits. In his opinion, the Olmecs created a special organization for this purpose - a powerful caste of merchants who conducted trade operations only with distant lands and had great privileges and rights. Protected by all the authority of the state that sent them, they boldly penetrated into the most remote areas of Mesoamerica. Dead tropical forests, impenetrable swamps, volcanic peaks, wide and fast rivers - everything was conquered by these frantic seekers of precious jade.

Having settled in a new place, the Olmec traders patiently collected valuable information about the local natural resources, climate, life and customs of the natives, their military organization, numbers and the most convenient roads. And when the right moment came, they became guides for the Olmec armies, hurrying from the Atlantic coast to capture new jade developments and mines. At the crossroads of busy trade routes and at strategic points, the Olmecs built their fortresses and outposts with strong garrisons. One chain of such settlements stretched from Veracruz and Tabasco, across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec far to the south, along the entire Pacific coast, all the way to Costa Rica. The other went west and southwest, to Oaxaca, Puebla, Central Mexico, Morelos and Guerrero. “During this expansion,” M. Ko emphasizes, “the Olmecs brought with them something more than their high art and exquisite goods. They generously sowed the seeds of a true civilization in a barbaric field, unknown to anyone here before them. Where they were not there or where their influence was felt too weakly, a civilized way of life never appeared.”

It was a very bold statement, but it was followed by equally bold deeds. Professor Michael Ko decided to go into the jungles of Veracruz and excavate there the largest center of Olmec culture - San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan.

In January 1966, Yale University (USA) finally allocated the necessary funds and M. Ko’s expedition left for the work site.

By that time, the scales in the debate about the priority of one civilization or another were clearly tilted in favor of the Olmecs. However, more convincing evidence was required of a direct connection between the early forms of Olmec pottery and the stone sculptures of La Venta, Tres Zapotes and other centers of the Olmec country. This is exactly what M. Ko wanted to do.

Exploring the ancient pyramids and statues at San Lorenzo proved to be quite a difficult task. It was necessary to lay paths on the territory of the city, clear stone sculptures from thickets and, finally, build a permanent camp for the expedition. It took a lot of time and effort to compile a detailed map of the entire vast archaeological zone of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan.

At the same time, extensive excavations of the ruins of the ancient city began. The archaeologists were immediately incredibly lucky. They found several hearths with large amounts of charcoal. This is an excellent opportunity to obtain an absolute chronology using the radiocarbon method. All collected samples were sent to a laboratory at Yale University.

After some time, the long-awaited answer came. M. Ko realized that he was on the verge of a new scientific sensation. Judging by an impressive series of radiocarbon dates and rather archaic-looking pottery found in trenches and pits, Olmec stone sculptures, and with them the entire Olmec culture at San Lorenzo, appeared approximately between 1200 and 900 BC. e., i.e. several centuries earlier than in the same La Venta.

Yes, there was a lot to puzzle over here. For any specialist, such a message would raise a lot of puzzling questions.

How was Michael Coe able to establish the necessary relationship between the impressive Olmec stone sculptures and early ceramics of the 2nd millennium BC? e.? What is San Lorenzo: an agricultural village, a ritual center or a city in the truest sense of the word? How does it relate in time to other Olmec centers and, above all, to Tres Zapotes and La Venta? And most importantly, how to explain the very fact of the unexpected appearance of a fully mature urban civilization in 1200 BC? e., when in the remaining regions of Mexico only primitive early agricultural tribes lived?

Compared to other (but later) cities of ancient Mexico - Teotihuacan, Monte Alban or the Mayan city of Palenque - San Lorenzo is not very large. It occupies a modest area - about 1.2 km in length and less than 1 km in width. But in terms of its appearance, San Lorenzo is undoubtedly the most unusual of all pre-Columbian cultural centers in the New World. All of its buildings and structures, now hidden inside earthen hills, stood on the flat top of a steep and steep plateau, rising above the savanna to a height of almost 50 m. During the rainy season, the entire surrounding plain was flooded with water, and only the high plateau of San Lorenzo, as if indestructible cliff, stood in splendid isolation in the middle of the raging elements. It’s as if nature has deliberately created a reliable refuge for humans here.

That's what Michael Ko thought at first. But when the first deep cuts were made at the top of the plateau, and an accurate map of the ruins of San Lorenzo lay on the table of the head of the expedition, it became clear that at least the upper 6–7 m of the plateau with all its spurs and ravines was an artificial structure created by human hands . How much labor had to be spent in order to move such a gigantic mountain of earth from place to place, without having any special mechanisms or devices!

Archaeologists have discovered over 200 pyramid hills on the top of this artificial plateau. The central group has a clearly defined north-south layout and is very similar to the architectural structures in the center of La Venta: a relatively high, conical pyramid and two long low hills surround a narrow rectangular area on three sides. According to scientists, most of the small pyramid hills are the remains of residential buildings. And since their total number does not exceed 200, it is possible, using data from modern ethnography, to calculate that the permanent population of San Lorenzo in its heyday consisted of 1000–1200 people.

However, a closer look at the report on the results of work at Saint-Laurenceau revealed one striking fact. Most of the mounds (remains of dwellings) visible on the surface of the plateau appear to date back much later than the heyday of the Olmec culture (1150–900 BC), namely to the Villa Alta stage, dating back to 900– 1100 AD eh.!!! In addition, archaeologist Robert Scherer (USA) drew attention to the fact that out of 200 such dwellings, only one was excavated, and therefore there are no general conclusions about the nature of residential development in San Lorenzo in the 2nd–1st millennia BC. e. there is no need to talk yet.

In addition to earthen hills, on the surface of the plateau every now and then there were some strange depressions and pits of various shapes and sizes, which archaeologists called lagoons, since they were related to water and the water supply of the ancient city. All of them were of artificial origin.

An interesting feature has emerged. When a number of stone statues, found earlier or during ongoing excavations, were mapped, they formed regular long rows oriented along a north-south line. At the same time, each monument from San Lorenzo was deliberately broken or damaged, then laid on a special bed of red gravel and covered with a thick layer of earth and household waste.

In April 1967, an Indian worker led archaeologists to the place where, according to him, spring rains washed out a stone pipe on the slope of a ravine, from which water still flows. “I went down with him into a ravine overgrown with bushes,” recalls Michael Ko, “and what appeared before my eyes there could plunge any researcher of the past into amazement. The drainage system, skillfully built about 3 thousand years ago, has been operating successfully until now!” It turned out that Olmec craftsmen placed U-shaped basalt stones vertically, close to each other, and then covered them with a thin plate on top, like the lid of a school pencil case. This peculiar stone trench was hidden under a thick layer of bulk earth, reaching 4.5 m in places. Excavation of the drainage system in San Lorenzo required the utmost effort from all members of the expedition. When the main work was completed, it could be said with confidence that one main and three auxiliary aqueduct lines with a total length of almost 2 km once operated on the San Lorenzo plateau. All stone “pipes” were laid with a slight slope to the west and were somehow connected to the largest lagoons. When the latter became too full during the rainy season, excess water was carried by gravity using aqueducts beyond the plateau. This is undoubtedly the oldest and most complex drainage system ever built in the New World before the arrival of Europeans. But in order to build it, the Olmecs had to spend almost 30 tons of basalt on U-shaped blocks and covers for them, which were delivered to San Lorenzo from afar, several tens of kilometers away. The Olmecs created, without a doubt, the most vibrant civilization of pre-Columbian America, having a marked influence on the origin of several other high cultures in the New World.

“I also believe,” argued M. Ko, “that the brilliant civilization of San Lorenzo fell into decay due to internal upheavals: a violent coup or rebellion. After 900 BC BC, when San Lorenzo disappeared under the thick cover of the jungle, the torch of Olmec culture passed into the hands of La Venta - the island capital, safely hidden among the swamps of the Tonala River, 55 miles east of San Lorenzo. In 600–300 BC. e. on the ruins of its former splendor, life began to glow again: a group of Olmec colonists appeared on the San Lorenzo plateau, perhaps coming from the same La Venta. In any case, there are striking similarities in the architecture and ceramics of the two cities during this period. True, there are also obvious inconsistencies. Thus, the most spectacular stone sculptures of San Lorenzo, which M. Ko dates back to 1200–900 BC. e. (for example, giant stone "heads") have their exact copies in La Venta, a city that existed in 800-400 BC. e.

Needless to say, excavations in San Lorenzo provided answers to many controversial questions of Olmec culture. But many more such questions are still waiting to be resolved.

According to M. Ko in 1200–400 BC. e. The Olmec culture is characterized by the following features: the predominance of architectural structures made of clay and earth, a highly developed technique of stone carving (especially basalt), circular relief sculpture, giant heads in helmets, a deity in the form of a jaguar man, sophisticated jade processing techniques, clay hollow figurines " babies" with a white surface, ceramics of archaic shapes (spherical pots without a neck, drinking bowls, etc.) and with characteristic ornaments.

The avalanche of arguments in favor of the amazingly early appearance of the Olmec civilization seemed to sweep away in its path all the barriers erected by the once strict criticism. But, strangely, the more words were said in defense of this hypothesis, the less confidence it inspired. Of course, there was no need to argue with some facts. The Olmecs, or rather their ancestors, actually settled quite early on the southern Gulf Coast. According to radiocarbon dates and early pottery finds, this happened around 1300–1000 BC. e. Over time, they built their own cities, not too large in size, but quite comfortable, in the depths of the virgin jungle. But did the appearance of the Olmecs on the plains of Veracruz and Tabasco and the construction of cities really occur simultaneously?

In my opinion, most researchers make one serious mistake: they view Olmec culture as something frozen and unchanging. For them, both the first timid shoots of the art of early farmers and the impressive achievements of the era of civilization merged together. Apparently, the Olmecs had to go through a long and difficult path before they managed to reach the heights of a civilized way of life. But how can this important milestone be distinguished from the previous stages of early agricultural culture? Archaeologists in their daily practice usually define it by two criteria - the presence of writing and cities. Scientists still argue about whether the Olmecs had real cities or only ritual centers. But everything seemed to be in order with the Olmec writing. The whole question is, when exactly did it appear?

Ancient examples of hieroglyphic writing have been found in the Olmec country at least twice: the “Stele “C”” at Tres Zapoges (31 BC) and the figurine from Tuxtla (162 AD). Consequently, one of the two most important signs of civilization, writing, appeared in the Olmec country in the 1st century BC. e.

However, if we turn to other areas of pre-Columbian Mexico, it is easy to see that there, too, the first signs of civilization appeared at about the same time. Among the Mayans from the forest regions of Northern Guatemala, hieroglyphic inscriptions of a calendar nature have been known since the 1st century BC. e. (Stela No. 2 from Chiapa de Corzo: 36 BC). And during excavations at Monte Alban, the fortified capital of the Zapotec Indians, located in the Oaxaca Valley, archaeologists found even earlier examples of writing, similar to both Olmec and Mayan. Their exact dating has not yet been established, but it is no later than the 6th–5th centuries BC. e.

Thus, in two more important centers of the culture of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, the threshold of civilization (if we proceed only from the presence of writing) was reached simultaneously with the Olmecs. “Therefore, let us not imagine,” emphasizes archaeologist T. Proskuryakova (USA), “that the early Olmec monuments were the only centers of high culture of their time. Only on the basis of historical probability alone we must assume that at that time there were other tribes in Mexico capable, if not of creating works of art of equal perfection, then at least of building modest temples, erecting stone sculptures and successfully competing with Olmecs on the battlefield and in trade affairs." And, therefore, it is not yet possible to talk about the Olmecs as the creators of the “ancestral culture” for all subsequent civilizations of Mesoamerica.

M. Ko and his assistant R. Diehl published all the information received in San Lorenzo in the two-volume publication “In the Land of the Olmecs” in 1980. But since the flow of criticism from fellow Americanists against their conclusions about the Olmecs did not subside, these authors came up with a policy article in 1996, “Olmec Archaeology,” where they tried to collect all possible arguments in favor of their point of view - that is, that the Olmecs created the first high civilization in Mesoamerica at the turn of the second and first millennia BC.

Meanwhile, many archaeologists in Mexico and the United States were well aware that a speedy solution to the controversial problem largely depended on new studies of Olmec monuments, both already known and new.

Thus, in 1990–1994, scientists from Mexico and the USA carried out intensive work in and around San Lorenzo, as a result of which many new monumental sculptures were discovered there, including 8 giant stone heads.

In the same 90s of the last century, Mexican researcher R. Gonzalez continued to study another important Olmec center - La Venta. A detailed plan of ancient ruins covering an area of ​​200 hectares was drawn up. As a result, we have a fairly complete understanding of this monument. It includes nine complexes, designated by Latin letters (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I), as well as an ensemble called the “Acropolis of Stirling”. In the explored area, 40 earthen mounds and platforms (including 5 burial structures), 90 stone monuments, steles and sculptures, as well as a number of ritual treasures and hiding places were identified. All complexes are located strictly along the main north-south axis of the ensemble, with a deviation of 8° from the true north.

Important discoveries were also made during the study of the main architectural structure of La Venta - the “Great Pyramid” (building C-1), a huge bulk structure made of soil and clay. The width of the base of the pyramid is 128 x 144 m, the height is about 30 m, and the volume is more than 99,000 m3. A sub-rectangular platform-base is visible from the eastern, southern and, partially, western sides of the structure.

As previously thought (R. Heizer in 1967), the La Venta pyramid is a copy of a volcanic cone, a relief element sacred to the ancient Mesoamericans. However, R. Gonzalez, after laying a series of small excavations from the southern slope of C-1, came to the conclusion that the pyramid was stepped with several wide staircases located strictly in the cardinal directions.

An examination of the interior of the pyramid using a magnetometer revealed the presence of a large basalt structure (possibly a tomb).

In another famous Olmec center, Tres Zapotes, an expedition from the University of Kentucky led by K. Poole conducted research in 1995–1997. It was found that the monument occupied a huge area of ​​450 hectares, existed for 1,500 years and had several settlements on its territory. The Olmec part of the monument (its age is 1200–1000 BC) is covered by thicker layers with materials from the Olmec time.

A total of 160 earthen mounds and platforms were recorded in the study area, concentrated in three large groups (groups 1–3).

According to the authors of the project, several periods of cultural development can be distinguished in the history of Tres Zapotes. The earliest pottery is contemporaneous with the Ojocha and Bajio phases of San Lorenzo and dates from 1500–1250 BC. e. Its quantity is insignificant. An equally small collection consists of fragments of vessels corresponding to pottery from the Chicharras phase of San Lorenzo (1250–900 BC).

The next period (900–400 BC), called the Tres Zapotes phase by K. Poole, can be traced by the concentration of ceramic material at several points. It remains difficult to definitively attribute any embankments or other artificial structures to this period. “Stylistically, part of the monumental sculpture belongs to this period - two colossal stone heads (monuments A and Q), as well as monuments H, I, Y and M. However, there is no evidence that during this period Tres Zapotes was a fairly large center, to depict their rulers in such elite sculptural form or to provide transportation for such large objects.”

The center flourished in the next period - Ueapan (400 BC - 100 AD). Its area reaches 500 hectares, and most of the mounds, stone monuments and steles (including Stela C, 31 BC) probably date back to this time. But this is already a post-Olmec (or Epi-Olmec) monument, and its flourishing, it is possible, is associated with the death of La Venta and the influx of population from the east.

Among the newly discovered and studied Olmec monuments, the most interesting is, of course, El Manatí, a ritual site located 17 km southeast of San Lorenzo. This is a sacred place near a spring at the foot of the hill. Nature has created a very swampy area around, where, due to the lack of oxygen, all organic substances are perfectly preserved. In the 80s of the last century, local peasants, while working on land, accidentally discovered several ancient wooden sculptures here, clearly of the Olmec style. And from 1987 to the present, Mexican archaeologists have regularly conducted their research in El Manati. It turned out that the bottom of the sacred reservoir was once lined with sandstone tiles, on which ritual offerings were then made - clay and stone vessels, jadeite celt axes and beads, as well as rubber balls.

According to scientists, the earliest stage in the functioning of this sanctuary dates back to 1600–1500 BC. e. (stage Manati “A”). The next stage (Manati “B”) dates back to 1500–1200 BC. e. It is represented by stone pavements and rubber balls (perhaps these are balls for a ritual ball game). Finally, the third stage (Makayal "A"), 1200–1000 BC. e. The functioning of the sacred spring is marked by the immersion of about 40 wooden sculptures of anthropophoric appearance (images of gods or deified ancestors) into it. The figures were accompanied by wooden staffs, mats, painted animal bones, fruits and nuts.

Particular attention of archaeologists was attracted by the finds of bones of breasts and even newborn babies, apparently sacrificed to the Olmec deities of water and fertility.

Another ritual site of the Olmec period was discovered 3 km from El Manati - in La Merced (600 celt axes, fragments of mirrors made of hematite and pyrite, a small stele with a typically Olmec mask, etc.) were found.

In 2002, during a study of the Olmec settlement of San Andree (5 km from La Venta), it was possible to discover a small cylindrical seal-stamp made of clay with the image of a bird and several hieroglyphic characters. But the age of this important find (after all, this is one of the first direct evidence of the presence of Olmec writing), unfortunately, remains unknown.

In conclusion, we have to state one obvious fact: today, Olmec archeology gives us more questions than answers. And although the idea of ​​the Olmecs being the creators of the first civilization of Mesoamerica (“Progenitor Cultures”) still has many supporters, there is a significant group of specialists who, with arguments in hand, prove that the Olmecs at the end of the 2nd - middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. were at the level of development of the “chiefdom” and they did not yet have a state, and, consequently, civilization.

The Olmecs at this time were among other rapidly developing Indian peoples of Mesoamerica: the ancestors of the Nahuas in the Valley of Mexico, the Zapotecs in the Oaxaca Valley, the Mayans in mountainous Guatemala, etc.

Recently, well-known researchers from the United States Kent Flannery and Joyce Marcus wrote a large article in defense of this point of view. “The Olmecs,” they emphasize, “could be “first among equals” only in sculpture. Some Olmec chiefdoms(italics mine. - V.G.) could even be “first” in the size of their population. But they were not the first to use mud bricks, masonry and mortar (the main features of the architecture of civilized Mesoamerica) in the construction. V.G.)…».

So, the Olmec problem is still far from its final solution and debates about it in the scientific world continue.