La Venta

a cultic center of the Olmec culture on an island in the mouth of the Tonalá River in the state of Tabasco, Mexico. La Venta flourished between the eighth and fourth centuries B.C. It includes several pyramids (up to 35 m high), numerous earth mounds, ceremonial platforms paved with valuable rocks, burial vaults, ceremonial hiding places, altars, and stelae. Particularly unique are the five colossal sculptures of human heads made of basalt, each head weighing 10 to 13 tons. Many small sculptures made of jade, jadeite, and clay have also been found. Many of La Venta’s finds have been transferred to an open-air museum in the city of Villahermosa, Mexico.