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Article: Tres Zapotes holds the clues.(to decline of Olmecs)
- Article from:
- Calliope
- Article date:
- January 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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What happened to the Olmecs? To answer this question, a team of archaeologists from the United States and Mexico is working at Tres Zapotes. Fieldwork shows that the site grew and declined over a period of 2,000 years, beginning around 1000 B.C., when San Lorenzo was at its height. We still do not know the size of the earliest occupation because it is covered by thick deposits from later times.
The two colossal stone heads found at Tres Zapotes probably date to this early period and suggest that the city was already important. By 400 B.C., Tres Zapotes had expanded to cover an area that measured about 200 acres. Its later rulers had their exploits carved on stone ...