MYSTERIES AND ARTIFACTS OF THE OLMEC CIVILIZATION

Archaeologists have found a monument made by the Olmecs in the Mexican state of Chiapas. It represents a male figure with his hands raised. Experts estimate that the artifact is 3,000 years old. Researchers can not yet answer the question who the monument represents: god, the priest or the head of the tribe.

The man at the plate had a special head-dress, loincloth and all sorts of decorations, including a pair of large comb-like ear ornaments, a necklace and a belt with a buckle in the form of a jaguar head. Also the second, smaller figure can be seen on the plate, as well as asymmetric zig-zags, that may mean the lightning or the mountains.

The monument is a flat plate made of a stone of volcanic origin. It weights about 60 kg, the height of the plate is about 90 cm, its width is 36 cm and the monument is 10 to 18 cm thick.

Reference: The Olmec culture is mysterious and hardly studied. First off all, the origin of this civilization is debated. The most distinctive cultural artifacts the Olmecs left are the giant stone heads. The faces of the heads have features of the Negroid race and look much different from the more recent images of Aztec who have nothing common with the Negroid race. The man represented in the monument also has features of the black race.

According to astronomer John B. Carlson, the Olmecs might have been the first ones who discovered and used compass and that had happened much earlier than the Chinese discovered directional devices for astronomical purposes. The Olmec hematite artifact is a polished bar that has a groove. Now, the 'compass' points 35.5 degrees west of north all the time. Similar artifacts with magnetite features have also been found in Mexico and Guatemala.