The Almost Twice Weekly Newspaper for the Jaltemba Coast
La Venta Olmec Museum Villahermosa,
Mexico Photographs by Bill and Dot Bell
There are 28 Olmec carvings at this outdoor museum with its interesting zoo,
lake, and indoor museum. Parque LaVenta is named after the coastal site where
these incredible Olmec pieces were found. Discovered in an area rich with oil
fields, the carvings were moved here for protection. There is evidence that the
Olmec people were on the North American continent more than 10,000 years ago.
The first documentation of shamanistic practices in Mesoamerica occur during the
Formative period of the Olmec. The first depictions show the shaman being
transformed into the deified form of the jaguar. Their highest civilization
dates from 1,200 B.C., although they were at their peak in this area from 800 to
300 B.C. Many believe the Olmec were the cradle civilization for the gene pool of
Mesoamerica, even calling the Olmecs ¨the mother culture of Mesoamerica.¨
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