San Lorenzo (archaeological site)
San Lorenzo is an archaeological site located in southern Veracruz, Mexico, and is recognized as one of the earliest and largest centers of the Olmec civilization. The site features remarkable constructions including massive stone heads, an intricate stone drainage system, and numerous fine stone sculptures, reflecting the significant role San Lorenzo played in Olmec society during the Early and Middle Preclassic periods (approximately 1800 to 500 BCE). Archaeological interest in San Lorenzo was notably heightened in the 1930s and 1940s through the explorations of Matthew Stirling and later detailed excavations directed by Michael Coe.
The earliest known occupation of San Lorenzo dates back to around 1500 BCE, when it was a settlement of agriculturalists engaged in cultivating staple crops and producing pottery. As the population grew, extensive construction projects were undertaken, including ceremonial platforms and artificial reservoirs lined with stone. The peak of activity, known as the San Lorenzo phase, occurred between 1150 and 900 BCE, marked by the production of distinctive Olmec artifacts. Among the most iconic features of the site are at least eight colossal stone heads, believed to represent rulers or elite figures, and large altars intricately carved and weighing several tons.
However, around 900 BCE, San Lorenzo experienced significant decline, evidenced by the defacement of its stone heads and the burial of many monuments, suggesting a possible military defeat or cultural shift as competing centers emerged. The site remains a crucial point of study for understanding early Mesoamerican civilizations and their complex social dynamics.
San Lorenzo (archaeological site)
Category: Archaeological site
Date: 1500-400 b.c.e.
Location: Veracruz, Mexico
Culture affected: Olmec
The site of San Lorenzo, situated in the hot, swampy lowlands of the Coatzacoalcos River drainage in southern Veracruz, Mexico, represents one of the earliest and largest centers of Olmec civilization. Massive earthmoving projects, monumental stone heads, an extensive stone drainage system, and a wide variety of fine stone sculptures and elaborate pottery vessels signal this center’s central role in the flourishing of Olmec society during the Early Preclassic (1800 to 1000 b.c.e.) and early Middle Preclassic (1000 to 500 b.c.e.) periods.
San Lorenzo first came to the attention of archaeologists through the work of Matthew Stirling, of the National Geographic Society, in the 1930’s and 1940’s. He reported the existence of colossal stone heads carved of basalt. Detailed mapping and excavations at the site were undertaken between 1966 and 1968 under the direction of Michael Coe, from Yale University.
The earliest occupations of the site date to approximately 1500 b.c.e., at which time it was inhabited by village agriculturalists who cultivated maize, beans, and squash and produced gourd-shaped tecomate vessels similar to those being used on the Pacific Coast of southern Mexico at the time. As population density increased, the residents of San Lorenzo undertook large-scale construction activities motivated by ceremonial practices and presumably directed by centralized leadership. These included the erection of a massive platform built of different colors and textures of clay, the surface of which was covered with mounds arranged around courtyards and studded with numerous lagunas, artificial reservoirs that were waterproofed by lining them with stone blocks. A complex system of drains made of U-shaped basalt troughs capped with flat slabs carried water away from these lagunas.
The chief phase of activity is known as San Lorenzo (1150 to 900 b.c.e.), during which time a wide variety of carved ceramic vessels with esoteric motifs were produced. Their designs, hallmarks of the Olmec style, have been found at the sites of Mesoamerican civilizations and signal a period during which there was a widespread participation in belief systems that appear to have had their most elaborate expression in the Gulf Coast region. Other characteristic artifacts included polished convex mirrors made of iron ore and thousands of obsidian blades imported from sources in the volcanic highlands of central Mexico and Guatemala.
Among the most impressive objects at San Lorenzo are a series of at least eight monumental stone heads, carved from basalt whose sources lay in the Tuxtla Mountains, some 50 miles distant. Each represents a distinct individual wearing unique caplike headgear and a stern expression. Other sculptures included flat-topped “altars,” some weighing up to 40 tons, decorated with representations of elite individuals seated in niches and holding infants that are part human, part jaguar. One hypothesis is that the colossal heads were portraits of a succession of rulers or lineage heads and that both they and the altars were utilized as thrones by powerful members of the site’s elite.
Around 900 b.c.e., San Lorenzo suffered a severe setback. Most of the stone heads were intentionally defaced, and a large number of monuments were thrown into a ditch and buried. Changes in pottery suggest the site’s occupation by a different cultural group. One interpretation is that the residents of San Lorenzo suffered a military defeat, perhaps connected with the rise of competing ceremonial centers such as La Venta.