Our first glimpse of the colossal heads!

Here we are in Villahermosa, Tabasco, the site of the La Venta Archaeology Park, which is, of course, the site of the Olmec head that kicked off our soon-to-be-famous integrated unit! 

Before I tell you about that experience, however, let me begin by saying that Villahermosa is HOT, HOT, HOT!!!  Much of this city sits about 10 meters above sea level in the Gulf of Mexico, so it is prone to flooding and extremely humid weather.  I, Nichole, am already nursing several mosquito bites from working on my computer in the Palenque hotel lobby (malaria medicine, please work your magic!), so I was less than excited to see our second Wisconsin state bird making its presence known in Tabasco as well.   Covered in Deet-filled mosquito repellant and sunscreen, Kris and I embarked on the ruins of Comalcalco, just outside of Villahermosa.

As is the case with each new site we visit, the archaeology has similarities and differences.  Of course, we saw some jaguar imagery, pyramids, a city center, and stucco, but what made this location different was the type of building materials used to create these things.  The Maya in this area used red bricks with mortar made of ground oyster shells (from the Gulf of Mexico).  Their bricks were also very rectangular, and resemble modern bricks and mortar.  Because these bricks were not as durable as the large stones used at other sites, parts of the site had to be reconstructed to show what the buildings probably looked like.

Thankfully, this site was small, and we were able to get back on the road in the air-conditioned car, and on our way back to Villahermosa.  During the drive I couldn’t help but jot down all of the different American businesses found in this city (kind of like playing the “count the different state license plates” game on a cross-country trip).  Large oil deposits in Tabasco have brought all kinds of rigs, enterprises, and other American corporations to this part of Mexico.  It was almost hard for me to believe that I hadn’t somehow ended up back home! 

Mexican oil has been nationalized since the 1930’s, when the government negotiated terms with the United States to remove America’s direct involvement in oil resources in the country.  From there, the actual timeline of events and history of American drilling and involvement in Mexican oil gets complicated and confusing—as does modern political history and the de-unionization of PemEx (Mexico’s major oil company).  Suffice to say, there is no shortage of Shell signs in this area, and plenty of foreign oil workers to go with them.

Ok...back to La Venta.  It turns out that because of drilling in this region, the actual archaeological site of La Venta has endured many changes.  In the 1930’s and 40’s, artifacts began to appear at the site.  Drilling and blasting at the site ruined several pieces, but archaeologists were able to salvage some important artifacts by moving them to other locations.  Some ended up at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City and other archaeology museums around the country.  Eventually, some pieces were placed in the La Venta Archaology Park, where we went to see them.

The Olmec heads are even more impressive in person than they are in photographs!  They weigh several tons and are carved out of basalt, a type of volcanic rock.  Of course, the big mystery surrounding the heads at La Venta is that the nearest source of this rock is at least a hundred miles away, so nobody really knows how they got these massive pieces all the way to the site using the technology of the time.  Incidentally, there is a great BBC documentary that shows modern archaeologists attempting to recreate the process of moving a giant piece of basalt and carving it into a face using the tools and technology of the time period.  I’ll let you watch it to see what they find.

At the park, we were able to shoot the video footage of the picture I had in my head when we kicked off this unit a year and a half ago. 

It is also the narrative with which we began our grant proposal… 

Imagine trudging through the Mexican rainforest in search of artifacts left behind by ancient Mesoamerican civilizations. The sun is hot, the forest humid, and just when you think you cannot go any further, you come upon a monolithic stone head. What is this? Where did it come from? Why is it significant? You put on your best “archaeologist’s hat” and begin investigating. Soon you learn that this artifact is only the beginning. You find a scientist who can analyze the type of rock from which it is carved, and you discover that the nearest source for this enormous boulder is hundreds of miles away. This leads you further down a line of questioning. How did it get here?  Who put it here? Are there more? Most importantly, what does it teach us about ancient Mesoamerican civilizations, and how does it connect to our lives today?

 Till next time, Friends!  Enjoy! J