Parque La Venta

travel wonder in Mexico

Why

Parque La Venta

is special

Parque La Venta is a remarkable outdoor archaeological museum. It features colossal stone heads (see photo) sculpted nearly 3,000 years ago by the Olmecs. They are exhibited in a lush tropical botanical garden.

Tips & insights

on Parque La Venta

in Mexico

Parque La Venta (pahr-kay la vehn-tah) exhibits several of the 17 known Olmec basalt stone heads.

The four were originally in La Venta, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) west of Villahermosa, where the Parque La Venta is located. They were transferred to their new home in the 20th century for preservation's sake.

What the faces depict is open to debate. Theories include "half man, half infant" and "half man, half deified jaguar". Some see negroid features, which would suggest that the Olmecs or their ancestors came from Africa.

The body-less heads are over 2 meters (6 feet) tall.  If they had a body, the statues would be as high as a modern 3-story building.

The heads at Parque La Venta are basalt rock. Each weighs over 2000 kilograms (20 tons) and was chiseled with relatively primitive tools.

The Olmec artisans did more than carve enormous craniums. They created an array of artistic treasures including jaded figurines.

The Olmec civilization is the oldest in Mexico. It was at its peak from around 800 to 300 BC.

Subsequent mesoamerican civilizations, including that of the Mayans, were clearly influenced by the Olmec culture.

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