The sophisticated sculptures of the Olmecs

[Still Waters]

Long overshadowed by traditions that loom larger in the public imagination such as the Maya and the Aztecs, artists of the Gulf Coast region of Mexico produced some of the most striking sculptures known from the ancient Americas. It was here that the first truly monumental stone sculptures were produced in the Americas – the so-called colossal heads of around 1200 BC – and it was here that Hernán Cortés and his men first made landfall in 1519 in the territory that is now the modern nation of Mexico.

The dominant culture of this region between 1600 BC and 100 AD is generally designated as Olmec, and it exerted a lasting influence over its successor states. This area was home to some of the earliest urban centres and public architecture and towards the latter part of the Olmec period it was where distinctive writing systems were developed.

The Olmecs also sculpted wood, although far fewer examples have survived to the present day.

https://www.apollo-magazine.com/stone-cold-masterpieces-the-art-of-the-olmecs/