Olmec religion. Legendary civilization

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.

The geographical region on the American continent, within which a unique civilization flourished in pre-Columbian times, is designated by the term “ Mesoamerica"("middle America"). It was here that the Olmec, Mayan, Aztec, and Incas cultures arose, flourished, and declined. The heyday of these civilizations is the 1st-2nd millennium AD, their level of development is the Bronze Age (although the use of metals begins in the very last period of their existence), which brings them closer to the civilizations of Sumer and Ancient Egypt.

Arriving in Mesoamerica, Europeans found four main cultural centers: the Olmec and Aztec cultures formed and developed in Mexico, Guatemala and Yucatan were inhabited by the Mayans, the Chibcha-Muisca culture existed in Colombia, and the Inca culture existed in Peru. Scientists believe that the oldest culture, which gave rise to all the others, was the Olmec. Therefore, all the peoples of pre-Columbian America are characterized by a number of common features: hieroglyphic writing, illustrated books, a calendar, human sacrifices, a ritual ball game, belief in life after death, step pyramids. At the same time, the peoples of Mesoamerica did not know the wheel and did not have draft animals (in America there were simply no animals like a horse or a bull that could be domesticated).

Olmec culture

The earliest culture in pre-Columbian America was created by the Olmecs, whose territory of residence included a significant part of Mexico, all of Guatemala and all of Belize. The Olmec civilization reached its peak after 1200 BC. For their time, the Olmecs were the most culturally developed people, therefore they were able to spread their cultural influence over the vast region of Mesoamerica, becoming the mother culture for subsequent cultures of other tribes and peoples. The cultural achievements of the Olmecs include well-developed architecture. The city of La Venta was built according to a clear plan and oriented to the cardinal points. In the center of the city, a Great Pyramid with a height of 33 m was erected, which served as a watchtower, since all surroundings were perfectly visible from it. The architectural achievements of the Olmecs include a water supply system made of vertically placed basalt slabs, tightly adjacent to each other.

The Olmecs were excellent stone workers. They achieved perfection in jade carving. Using numerous tools - cutters, drills, grinding devices, as well as appropriate stone processing techniques, craftsmen created beautiful products from basalt, quartz, and diorite. The most famous monuments of Olmec material culture are the giant stone heads made of black basalt found in San Lorenzo, La Venta and Tres Zapotes. The heads are striking in their size: their height is from 1.5 to 3 m, and they weigh from 5 to 40 tons. Because of their facial features, they are called “Negroid” or “African” type heads. These heads were located at a distance of up to 100 km from the quarries where the basalt was mined.

It still remains a mystery what the giant heads represented. One can only assume that this was an attempt to immortalize the heads of defeated enemies in accordance with the ancient American tradition. In addition, there is a hypothesis that the heads were created in honor of young men who were sacrificed to the gods. The best young man was selected for sacrifice by the priests from among the ball players and became the personification of the god of maize. Among the Olmecs, the game of ball was of a religious and ceremonial nature, and the game was preceded by a complex ritual. The Olmecs believed that the act of self-sacrifice would ensure immortality and all the blessings of eternal life. According to scientists, the most beautiful girls of the settlement, as well as the best young men playing ball, who were selected by the priests for sacrifice, went to their death with joy and pride.

During the era of the Olmec civilization, the idea of ​​four sides of the universe arose, the symbol of which was the St. Andrew's cross inscribed in a rectangle. There is a legend about four eras and a prediction according to which in the fifth era, along with the discovery of maize, civilization will perish from the old god of fire and earthquake. The symbol of the fifth era was considered to be a god presenting maize to people, on whose shoulders and knees lie the heads of four other gods - the patrons of the previous four eras.

Period VIII to IV centuries. BC. considered the heyday of Olmec culture. In cities there were stone monuments with calendar dates. Rich ritual centers with a clear orientation and layout had complex dedicatory treasures and hiding places, polished stone mirrors, steles and altars. The latter give some idea of ​​the clothing of those times, jewelry and other cultural elements.

Unfortunately, the Olmecs did not create lasting monuments of their culture and therefore our ideas about it are fragmentary and fragmentary. Questions remain open about its origins and development processes.

After excavations and discoveries in the 30s and 40s of the 20th century, it became clear that in the first millennium AD, an unusually high culture existed in the swampy and humid jungles of the Gulf Coast, created by the Olmec people. They built tall pyramids and magnificent tombs, carved massive ten-ton heads of their rulers from stone, and many times depicted the figure of a ferocious jaguar god on huge basalt steles and elegant jade objects.

We still don’t know where the Olmecs came from to Veracruz and Tabasco, whether they were the original inhabitants of these places.

No less mysterious is the death of the Olmec culture, the creators of which suddenly disappeared without a trace from the historical arena seven centuries before Columbus saw the shores of the New World.

Later, in the mid-50s, when archaeologists began to widely use the radiocarbon method in their work to determine the age of ancient things, the Olmec civilization suddenly received a completely new light.

The fact is that, judging by a series of radiocarbon dates obtained during the excavations of La Venta in 1955, this most important center of the Olmec kingdom existed implausibly early - in 800-400 BC. e., that is, in an era when the cultures of early farmers still dominated in other areas of Mexico.

Based on this data, a group of Mexican scientists hypothesized that the Olmecs were the creators of the oldest civilization in the Americas and had a decisive influence on the origin and development of other civilizations in this area.

In turn, other archaeologists, citing the unreliability of radiocarbon dates, which have often failed archeology in the recent past, defend the idea that the Olmecs as a whole developed in parallel with the other peoples of Central America - the Mayans, Nahuas, Zapotecs, and so on. The future will show which of them is right.

Thus, the problem of the origin and death of a large people who at one time inhabited vast territories of Southern Mexico still remains the main problem for all archaeologists, for all scientists involved in the ancient history of the New World. There are more than enough bold theories here. But any truly scientific research is based on painstaking work. The work of a scientist is also impossible without elements of fantasy, but the main thing in it is a solid foundation of real facts and evidence.

The beginning of excavations in Mexico.

In the late autumn of 1938, from the port town of Alvarado, which stands on the ocean shore, near the mouth of the large Papaloapan River, an antediluvian paddle steamer set off up the river on its next voyage. On board, in addition to the usual passengers - Mexican peasants, merchants and minor officials - there was a group of people whose clothing and appearance identified them as foreigners. American explorer Matthew Stirling, the head of a joint archaeological expedition of the Smithsonian Institution and the US National Geographic Society, and his few employees, crowded along the side, eagerly examined the rapidly changing exotic landscapes of the tropics. The steamer passed emerald meadows with tall grass and entered an endless green tunnel formed by the spreading crowns of giant trees, closing their branches over the middle of the river. Jungle, endless jungle for hundreds of kilometers around. Sometimes they are cheerful, strewn with scarlet and white flowers, with the chirping of birds and the perky cries of monkeys, sometimes, on the contrary, they are dark and gloomy, immersed up to their shoulders in the viscous mud of bottomless swamps, where only snakes and huge iguana lizards patiently wait in the cool twilight for unwary prey.

Finally, after several days of travel, the misty peaks of the volcanic mountain ranges of Tuxtla appeared far on the horizon, at the foot of which were the ruins of unknown ancient cities. It was these that archaeologists had to study. There, on the fertile lands of the foothills and adjacent plains, many centuries ago a large and industrious people lived and flourished. An impregnable wall of mountain ranges protected this area from fierce hurricanes and winds from the Gulf of Mexico. And the fertile soil, even with minimal labor, produced incredible harvests, and twice a year.

History of the Olmec region.

What did we know until recently about the past of this region? The notes of the Spanish soldier Bernal Diaz, an eyewitness and direct participant in all the vicissitudes of the bloody epic of the Conquista, say that the Papaloapan River was discovered in 1518 by the brave hidalgo Pedro de Alvarado, the future associate of Cortes. At that time, the country was inhabited by warlike Indian tribes that came from somewhere in the west. The formidable legions of Indian warriors, lined up on the river bank in strict battle formation, were so impressive that the Spaniards (it was an exploration expedition under the command of Grijalva) hastened to leave.

From ancient Indian legends we also know that even before the arrival of the conquistadors, the entire coast of the Gulf of Mexico was under the rule of the great Aztec ruler Montezuma. One of the many duties of the local residents was that they had to deliver fresh fish daily to the court of the formidable emperor.

To cover this enormous distance of several hundred kilometers, along the entire route - both in the jungle and on mountain passes - fleet-footed and hardy messengers were stationed, who, like a relay race, passed baskets of fish from one post to another. In one day they managed to run from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.

According to other legends, the first inhabitants of these places were the Olmecs (the word “Olmec” literally means “inhabitants of the land of rubber”) - the creators of the most ancient civilization of Central America. “Their houses were beautiful,” says the legend, “houses with mosaic inlays of turquoise, elegantly plastered , were wonderful. Artists, sculptors, stone carvers, feather craftsmen, gongers and spinners, weavers, skilled in everything, they made discoveries and became capable of finishing green stones, turquoise ... "
But this prosperity did not last long. Unknown enemies who came from the west poured into the flourishing cities and villages of farmers in a black stream. The high Olmec civilization was destroyed, and the green jungle absorbed what the foreigners had not managed to destroy.

It fell to the lot of Matthew Stirling and his comrades to open the first page in the study of the mysterious Olmec culture, which was forcibly erased from human memory by the swords of the conquerors and the onslaught of the merciless jungle. In 1939, excavations began on the ancient Olmec city near the already familiar village of Tres Zapotes, in the state of Veracruz.

Olmec civilization. A city lost in the jungle

At first everything was mysterious and unclear. Dozens of artificial hills-pyramids that once served as the foundations for palace and temple buildings, countless stone monuments with bizarre faces of rulers and gods, fragments of painted pottery. And one hint as to who owned this abandoned city. The words spoken by the famous American traveler Stephens involuntarily came to mind about another ancient city lying in the jungles of Honduras, three hundred miles to the south:
“Architecture, sculpture and painting, all types of art that decorate life, once flourished in this virgin forest. Orators, warriors and statesmen; beauty, ambition and fame lived and died here, and no one knew of their existence or could tell about their past. The city was uninhabited. Among the ancient ruins there are no traces of the disappeared people with their traditions passed on from father to son and from generation to generation. He lay before us, like a ship wrecked in the middle of the ocean. Its masts were broken, its name was erased, and its crew died. And no one can say where he came from, who he belonged to, how long his journey lasted, or what caused his death.”

The mystery of stone sculptures

Nevertheless, archaeologists stubbornly continued their painstaking work, bringing to the surface more and more traces of the lost culture. First of all, the famous stone head was excavated, which, as it turned out, lay only 100 meters from the expedition camp. Twenty workers spent the whole day working around the fallen giant, trying to free him from a deep forest grave. Finally it was all over. The head, cleared of earth, seemed to come from some fantastic, otherworldly world. Despite its impressive dimensions (height - 1.8 meters, circumference - 5.4 meters, weight - 10 tons), it was carved from a single stone monolith. Like the Egyptian sphinx, she silently looked with her empty eye sockets to the north, to where magnificent barbarian ceremonies were once performed in the wide city square, and the priests made bloody sacrifices in honor of the ugly pagan gods. Oh, if the stone mouth of the image could open and it could speak, many of the most interesting pages of American history would become as well known to us as the history of Egypt, Greece and Rome.

But how did the ancient inhabitants of Tres Zapotes deliver this huge block of basalt to their hometown, if the nearest stone deposit is located several tens of kilometers away? Such a task would baffle even modern engineers. And 15-20 centuries ago, all this was done by the Olmecs without the help of wheeled transport and draft animals (they, like the rest of the American Indians, simply did not have either one or the other), only with the muscular power of man. And yet, a giant monolith, delivered by some miracle - and not by air, but by land, through the jungle, rivers, swamps and ravines - now proudly stands in the central square of the city as a majestic monument to the perseverance and work of unknown masters of antiquity.

Did the Olmecs invent the Mayan calendar? Sensation

On January 16, 1939, an event occurred in the life of the expedition that eclipsed in its significance all previous discoveries and finds. On this day, Matthew Stirling and a group of Indian workers went to look at the newly found stone stele, the edge of which barely protruded from the ground.

They had to tinker a lot before they managed to pull the heavy monument to the surface. “The Indians, on their knees,” recalls Stirling, “began to clear the surface of the monument from viscous clay. And suddenly one of them shouted to me in Spanish: “Señor, there are some numbers here!”

These were indeed numbers. I don’t know how my illiterate workers figured this out, but there, on the smooth surface of the stele, were clearly carved perfectly preserved columns of dashes and dots - signs of the ancient calendar.

Choking from the unbearable heat, covered in sticky sweat, Stirling began feverishly copying the mysterious inscription. A few hours later, all the expedition members eagerly crowded around the table in their leader’s tent. Complex calculations and calculations followed, and now the full text of the inscription is ready: 6 Etsiab 1 Io. According to the European calendar, this corresponded to November 4, 31 BC.

No one dared to dream of such a sensational discovery. On the newly discovered stele (later called “Stele C”), a date was carved according to the Mayan calendar system, which was more than three centuries older than any other dated monument from the Mayan region!

And there could be only one conclusion from here: the proud Mayan priests borrowed their amazingly accurate calendar from their western neighbors - the unknown Olmecs.

La Venta is the capital of the Olmecs.

On 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 kilometers long and 4 kilometers across. Here, next to a remote Mexican village, from which the entire island took its name, the remains of another Olmec city were discovered.
The ancient builders of La Venta knew the laws of geometry well. All the most important buildings of the city, standing on the tops of high pyramidal foundations, were oriented strictly to the cardinal points. The abundance of palace and temple ensembles, elaborate sculptures, steles and altars, numerous giant heads carved from basalt, the luxurious decoration of the tombs found here indicated that La Venta was once the largest center of Olmec culture, and perhaps the capital of the entire countries. Using calendar dates found on many stone sculptures, as well as the results of art historical analysis, scientists have established that the city’s greatest prosperity occurred in the 1st-7th centuries AD.

Then, like Tres Zapotes, he becomes a victim of an enemy invasion and perishes in the flames of fires amid the jubilant cries of the victors. Everything that could be destroyed was destroyed. Everything that could be robbed and carried away was carried away. The uninvited aliens sought to destroy literally everything that reminded them of the culture and religion of the defeated people. But the huge stone heads, columns and statues, sculpted from basalt as hard as steel, were not so easy to destroy. And then, in helpless rage, the ancient vandals smashed small sculptures, and deliberately disfigured and damaged the beautiful and expressive faces of large statues. Nevertheless, most of the amazing creations of the artists and sculptors of La Venta survived the centuries, and they were rediscovered for humanity in the middle of the 20th century by the skillful hands of archaeologists.

In the very center of the city, from the foot of the high pyramid and further to the north, there is a wide, flat square, bordered on all sides by vertically standing basalt columns. In the middle of it, above the thick grass and bushes, rose some strange structure in the form of a platform made of the same basalt columns. When the platform was completely cleared, a kind of basalt house, half buried in the ground, appeared before the archaeologists. Its long wall consisted of nine vertically placed stone pillars, and the short one - of five. From above this rectangular room was covered with a ramp of the same basalt pillars. The house had no door or windows. The ancient builders fit the giant stone columns together so skillfully that not even a mouse could slip between them. But each of them weighed almost two, or even three tons!

Using a hand winch and strong ropes, workers began to pull away the roof of the mysterious building. After removing the four columns, the hole in the roof became so wide that one could venture downstairs to where the thick black shadows hid the inside of a spacious room walled up by the priests of La Venta 15 centuries ago.

“First,” writes Matthew Stirling, “we came across an elegant little pendant in the shape of a jaguar’s fang, carved from green jade ... Then an oval mirror appeared from a carefully polished piece of obsidian. And further, in the back of the room, rose some kind of platform made of clay and lined with stone. A large spot of bright purple paint stood out clearly on its surface. Inside it we found the remains of human bones belonging to at least three of those buried.”

Next to the skeletons lay in a pile all sorts of items made of precious jade in green and bluish tones: funny little figurines in the form of sitting men with childish faces, dwarfs and freaks, frogs, snails, jaguars, strange flowers and beads.

In the southwestern corner of the burial platform, a strange headdress was discovered, more reminiscent of a “crown of thorns” than a symbol of the power and high position of its owner. Six long sea urchin needles were strung on a strong cord, separated from each other by elaborate jade decorations in the form of outlandish flowers and plants. There were also two large jade spools - ear decorations and the remains of a wooden funeral mask inlaid with jade and shells. Not far from the platform, workers came across a cache hidden in the ground, which contained 37 polished jade and serpentine axes.

According to a legend still prevalent among the residents of La Vepta, the last Aztec emperor Montezuma was buried here, among the ruins of the ancient city. And when night falls on the earth, he leaves his tomb to dance in the ghostly rays of the moonlight with his entourage in the wide squares and deserted streets of the forever asleep capital of the Olmecs.

And although all this is just a figment of popular imagination, a wonderful legend, the scientific significance of the basalt tomb is in no way diminished by the fact that instead of Montezuma, some other powerful ruler was buried in it, who lived 9-10 centuries before the Aztecs appeared in the Valley of Mexico.

Olmec civilization. The Mystery of Sixteen Men.

In 1955, after a long break, excavations continued in the Olmec capital, La Venta. One after another, amazing finds were born: reliefs, mosaics, magnificent sculptures, steles and altars. And suddenly the worker’s shovel, having broken through the hard layer of cement covering the surface of the clay platform, fell down into the emptiness of a narrow and deep pit. When archaeologists finally got to its bottom, green spots of polished jade shone brightly in the sun’s rays against the background of yellow clay. Sixteen little stone men - participants in some unknown dramatic performance - solemnly froze in front of a fence of six vertically placed jade axes. Who are they? And why were they hidden at the bottom of a deep hole, arranged in a certain order, but incomprehensible to us?

It is possible that the key to solving this archaeological puzzle can be provided by the sixteenth participant in the ancient pagan ritual.
His solitary figure, carved from granite unlike the others, stands with his back to the flat surface of the fence. The remaining fifteen figures are made of jade and have a purely Olmec appearance. All of them, turning their heads in one direction, look intently at the person opposing them. From the right, a procession of four gloomy figures with frozen masked faces is approaching him. Who is this lonely man? The high priest presiding over a solemn pagan rite, or a victim who will be thrown down in a moment on the bloody altar of an unknown god?

And here the description of a terrible custom that was once widespread among many peoples of antiquity involuntarily comes to mind. According to their ideas, the king was considered the focus of magical forces that controlled the life of nature. He is responsible for a good crop harvest, for the abundant offspring of livestock, for the fertility of women of the entire tribe. He receives almost divine honors. He tastes all the blessings of life, enjoying luxury and peace. But one day the day comes when the king must pay a hundredfold for both his wealth and his exorbitant power. And the only payment that he is obliged to give to his people is his own life! According to ancient customs, the people cannot tolerate a weakened, sick or aging king for a minute, since the well-being of the entire country depends on his health. A tragic ending comes. The old ruler is killed. A. in his place they choose a young, full of strength successor. And this terrible cycle of murder and coronation continued in many countries for hundreds of years.
Who knows, maybe by chance we also managed to see in all its tragic completeness this terrible ritual performed by sixteen stone men from La Venta?

Olmec. Gold and jade

Among the civilized peoples of pre-Columbian America, unlike the Egyptians, Assyrians, Greeks, Romans and other inhabitants of the Old World, the main symbol of wealth was not gold, but jade. This fact so struck the imagination of the first Europeans, who made their way through the ocean barrier to the unknown shores of the New World at the beginning of the 16th century, that they repeatedly returned to it in their historical narratives and chronicles.

When in 1519 Cortez landed on the desert coast of Mexico, near the modern city of Veracruz, the local Indian ruler hastened to send a message about this extraordinary event to his supreme ruler, Emperor Montezuma. And a few days later, a magnificent procession of ambassadors and nobles from the Aztec emperor appeared in front of Cortez’s camp tent. Silently spreading several mats at the entrance to the tent, they laid out many expensive gifts on them.

“The first was a round dish,” recalls Berial Diaz, “the size of a cart wheel, with the image of the sun, all made of pure gold. According to the people who weighed it, it was worth 20,000 gold pesos. The second was a round dish, even larger than the first, made of solid silver, with the image of the moon; very valuable thing. The third was a helmet filled to the brim with gold sand worth no less than 3,000 pesos. There were many golden figurines of birds, animals and gods, 30 bales of thin cotton fabrics, beautiful feather cloaks, and in addition, four green stones, which are valued more among them than emerald among us. And they told Cortes that these stones were intended for our emperor, since each of them was worth a whole load of gold.”

If it is true that jade was valued more than gold among the Indians, then it is also true that the largest number of jade products is found in the Olmec country. And this is all the more amazing because there were no jade deposits on the marshy shores of the Gulf of Mexico, where the main Olmec cities are located. It was mined either
in the south, in the mountains of Guatemala, or in the west, in Oaxaca. Be that as it may, a large amount of this precious and unusually hard mineral found its way into the Olmec country, where rough pieces of stone were transformed under the hands of skilled Olmec jewelers into elegant statuettes of gods, intricate jewelry, beads and ritual axes. And from there, from the Olmec centers of La Venta, Tres Zapotes, Cerro de las Mesas, these magnificent jade items dispersed throughout Central America, from the northernmost regions of Mexico to Costa Rica.

Olmec - Fans of the Jaguar.

If all the works of ancient Olmec art were exhibited in the halls of one large museum, then its visitors would immediately pay attention to one strange detail. Of every two or three sculptures, one would necessarily depict either a jaguar or a creature combining the features of a human and a jaguar.

When you find yourself in the mysterious green twilight of the Mexican jungle, it is easy to understand why the Olmec masters tried with such fanatical persistence to capture the image of this ferocious beast.

One of the most powerful predators of the Western Hemisphere, the formidable ruler of the tropical forest, the jaguar was for the ancient Indians not just a dangerous beast, but also a symbol of supernatural powers, a revered ancestor and god. In the religion of various tribes of ancient Mexico, the jaguar is usually considered the god of rain and fertility, the personification of the fruit-bearing forces of the earth. Is it any wonder that the Olmecs, whose economy was based on agriculture, revered the jaguar god with special zeal, forever capturing him in their monumental art.

Even today, four centuries after the Spanish conquest and a thousand years after the destruction of the Olmec civilization, the image of the jaguar still evokes superstitious horror among the Indians, and ritual dances in its honor are widespread among the inhabitants of the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Veracruz. What tricks did the ancient Olmecs resort to so that the formidable ruler of the forests and heavenly waters would provide them with a good harvest. They built magnificent temples in his honor, carved his image on reliefs and steles, and gave him the most precious gift on earth - human lives.

During excavations of the main square of La Venta, almost six meters deep, archaeologists found a perfectly preserved mosaic in the form of a stylized jaguar's face. The total dimensions of the mosaic are about five square meters. It consists of 486 carefully hewn, polished blocks of bright green serpentine, 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 skull was decorated with stylized diamond-shaped feathers.
Exactly the same mosaic was subsequently discovered at the other end of the city’s sacred square. But there, in addition to the image of the predator himself, in the depths of the stone platform, they managed to find the richest gifts in his honor: a pile of precious Things and jewelry made of jade and serpentine.

The earthly rulers, wanting to somehow strengthen the already extensive royal power, considered the jaguar their divine ancestor and patron. On reliefs, frescoes and steles they are constantly depicted wearing clothes made of jaguar skin or sitting on thrones made in the form of a figure of this beast. Jaguar fangs and claws are constantly found in the richest and most magnificent burials, not only among the Olmecs, but also among most other cultural peoples of pre-Columbian Mexico.

“The Olmecs are rightfully considered the most ancient and little-studied Indian people of Central America. According to most scientists, they are the ancestors of the following peoples of Mesoamerica. A few finds confirm that the first habitat of the Olmecs was most likely the Gulf Coast. As a single people, they were formed 4-3 thousand years ago. The finds discovered by archaeologists confirm the reality of the existence of this ancient Indian people, but cannot tell about the origin of the Olmecs and their sudden disappearance from the map of Central America.”

The exact reason for the sudden death of the great ancient civilization is still unknown. The most realistic version is the invasion of new tribes from the west and further mixing with the conquerors. Another version is a sharp jump in population growth and the onset of famine, which led to the death of the population. After themselves, the Olmecs left a rich cultural heritage, which was adopted by the following civilizations of Mesoamerica. In their written sources, the Aztecs and Mayans repeatedly mentioned their ancestor. Translated from the Mayan language, Olmec means “inhabitant of the rubber country.” From the Aztec language it is translated as “rubber man”.

About the social system, life and activities of this ancient Indian people Central America there is rather scant information. Most scientists agree that Olmec, settling on the south coast Gulf of Mexico, in a short period of time made a sharp leap in development and by 1500 BC. created on the territory of 3 states of modern Mexico (Veracruz, Tabasco and Guerrero) a state with its capital in La Vente. Other major cities were Tres Zapotes (now a village) and San Lorenzo. All future archaeological finds related to the era Olmec, were found on the territory of these 3 cities. By 800 B.C. it's their peak culture. The end of the great civilization came in 400 BC.

Advantageous location Olmec power on important trade routes contributed to its even greater prosperity. There was a clear class ladder, starting with the high leader and ending with the slave. Each representative of this stepped hierarchy accepted his fate. Therefore, contradictions and clashes between Olmecs didn't happen. The main occupations of the population were farming and fishing, growing corn, cassava pumpkin beans sweet potatoes and peppers. However, the most consumed food product was maize. Beekeeping and breeding of livestock and birds were also developed. The house was guarded by dogs. Already, Olmec Today's children's favorite drink was made from cocoa beans. True, instead of sugar, ground pepper and other spices were added. The drink was especially valuable because of its foam. It is believed that the word “cocoa” itself (“ kakava") is of Olmec origin. Like subsequent civilizations, Olmecs the potter's wheel, wheel and plow farming were not familiar. However, even without these inventions of mankind, they made magnificent products from ceramics and clay, and were excellent stone carvers. Among them were excellent architects and sculptors. Confirmation of the latter is discovered in 1862 by H. Melgar near the village Tres Zapotes(Veracruz state) large sculpture stone head. This accidental discovery gave rise to further study of the great civilization Central America. Beginning in 1930, an archaeological team led by American explorer Matthew Stirling began excavations in the Mexican states of Veracruz, Tabasco and Guerrero. Local Indians joined them as workers. Excavations continued until the early 1960s. Today there are 16 more copies of these miracles of Olmec art: 10 of them in San Lorenzo, 4 in La Venta, 2 in Tres Zapotes and one from Cobata Ranch. All stone heads are engraved from large pieces of basalt. The faces and headdress of each specimen are different from each other. Eyes near the head Rancho Kobata are closed, the rest are open. The smallest find is 1.5 m high, and the largest is more than 3 meters. Depending on the size of the sculptures, the weight varies from 10 to 35 tons. All stone heads have faces African features, which led some scientists to hypothesize that those who moved to New World blacks. However, this assumption had no evidence and quickly disappeared. The exact age of the finds is also not determined, but it is certain that each head was engraved and brought to the place of public display in a separate period of time. A mystery there remains a way by which Olmec transported multi-ton sculptures. After all, these Indian people were not familiar with the wheel. Some scientists believe that huge chunks of basalt were mined from the mountain range Las Tuxtlas, were loaded onto carts, delivered to the river, and from there on large rafts they were sent to their destination. The rest of the work was left to the stone carvers. Discovered in 1967 in San Lorenzo, underground U-shaped basalt pipes, from which water was still flowing, allowed Matthew Stirling's expedition to make a unique opening. Even then, 3 thousand years ago Olmec masters The first water supply system was created.

Another miracle Olmec art are steles - vertically installed basalt slabs depicting a certain scene and characters. Most of them were found in La Vente And Tres Zapotes. The personalities depicted on the plates are richly dressed. Most likely, these were representatives of the highest stratum of the Olmecs. Some steles are located at a great distance, others in groups at the foot pyramids. Pyramids have been discovered in every city, but the most interesting is the large pyramid in the center of La Venta. This structure, about 33 meters high, is built of clay and covered with lime mortar on top. From a distance it resembles a small volcano. At the top there was a platform where there most likely was a sacrificial temple. For the nobility, a mosaic courtyard was made with the image of a sacred animal - jaguar. Among the smaller finds, various figurines, masks, beads and necklaces, made mainly of jadeite, stand out. A symbol of nobility Olmec, and then among other civilizations of Central America, jade appeared. Jewelry made from this mineral was placed in the tombs of leaders and his relatives.

About religious ideas Olmec there is very little information available. What is certain is that they were the first Indian people to worship the jaguar. Almost all deities were depicted with the head of this predator. The image of this representative of felines is found on some steles. Olmec considered themselves the fruit of the love of a mortal woman and jaguar. This predator was for them a symbol of masculinity and strength. The jaguar was revered as the patron of agriculture and protector of the entire territory of their state. Sacrifice rituals were performed by shamans who also had healing abilities. According to the population, the true priests could transform into a jaguar.

About language and writing, as well as about ethnic origin Olmec, even less is known. Found in the 40s. 20th century slabs with signs reminiscent of the hieroglyphs of the ancient Egyptians prove the presence of writing among this Indian people. It is believed that Mayan could use some elements to create their own writing. Some signs resemble insects and plants in their shape. As a material for application hieroglyphs the most commonly used were wood and stone, with the latter being used mainly during ceremonial occasions. The decipherment of writing continues to this day. Important dates were indicated by dashes and dots. Unfortunately, no information about the language has been preserved Olmec. What is known is that it was significantly different from the communication styles of other Indian peoples of both American continents. American linguist Terrence Kaufman, who studies Mesoamerican Indian dialects, suggested in 1993 that Olmec spoke a language close to the Mihe-Sok group. However, this hypothesis did not meet with supporters and the question of the origin of their language continues to remain open.

Indian shamans had extensive knowledge of mathematics and astronomy. Carrying out numerous calculations, Olmec priests invented another masterpiece - the famous lunar calendar, which served as the basis for the Mayan calendar. It was built based on data from shamans about the cyclical nature of the universe. Each era lasted 5,000 years, and then a new era began. Particular attention was paid to the study of the moon and the location stars.

Thus found in Tres Zapotes, La Venta, San Lorenzo archaeological finds confirm greatness Olmec civilization, as the most ancient people of Central America. Their rich heritage (calendar, writing, rituals and customs) was taken advantage of by their successors in the person of the Mayans and Aztecs. Despite the discovered exhibits, the Olmecs continue to be a mystery civilization and some sections still require careful study by scientists. The main problem is the decipherment of writing, which can provide answers to many questions, primarily about their ethnic origin and secrets their sudden disappearance.

Decline of the Olmecs

The exact cause of the decline of the Olmec civilization is not clear. Perhaps this was due to military defeat, cultural exhaustion, or perhaps due to environmental disaster. However, the evidence points more to a violent end. It is known that the Olmec culture and their technology were borrowed by peoples in Mesoamerica and South America. The most famous Olmec technology that others adopted was the construction of buildings and structures, especially the pyramids. Pyramids were built by all later major American Indian American civilizations (southern USA). Ceramics and metallurgy are also important contributions of the Olmecs to the development of the peoples of America.

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 of 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 score. 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.