Cascajal Block facts for kids

The 62 symbols on the Olmec Cascajal Block

The Cascajal Block is an ancient stone tablet found in Mexico. It's made of a rock called serpentinite. Experts believe it dates back to around 900 BCE. This block has many unknown symbols carved into it. These symbols might be the earliest writing system ever found in the New World (North and South America).

Archaeologist Stephen D. Houston from Brown University said this discovery helps connect the ancient Olmec civilization to writing. It shows they had a complex society.

The Cascajal Block was found in the late 1990s. Road builders discovered it in a pile of dirt in a village called Lomas de Tacamichapan. This area is in the Veracruz lowlands, which was the heartland of the ancient Olmec people. The block was found with old pottery pieces and clay figures. Based on these items, the block is thought to be from the Olmec's San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán period, which ended around 900 BCE. This means it's older than the oldest Zapotec writing, which dates to about 500 BCE.

Archaeologists Carmen Rodriguez and Ponciano Ortiz from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History studied the block. It weighs about 11.5 kilograms (25 pounds). It measures 36 centimeters (14 inches) long, 21 centimeters (8 inches) wide, and 13 centimeters (5 inches) thick. Details about this amazing find were shared in the Science journal in September 2006.

What is Olmec Writing?

The Olmec civilization was very important in the Gulf Coast region of Mexico. They lived there from about 1250 BCE to 400 BCE. The idea of a Cascajal writing system comes only from the symbols on this one block. However, even before this block was found, some experts thought the Olmecs might have had writing. This was based on a few individual symbols found elsewhere. It's not clear how those symbols relate to the Cascajal Block.

The Cascajal Block has 62 different symbols. Some of these symbols look like plants, such as maize (corn) and pineapple. Others look like animals, like insects and fish. Many symbols are more abstract, like boxes or blobs.

The symbols on the Cascajal Block are different from any other writing system found in Mesoamerica. For example, they don't look like Mayan writing or Isthmian script. The Cascajal Block is also unusual because its symbols seem to be arranged in horizontal rows. Most other known Mesoamerican writing systems use vertical rows. Also, the symbols on the Cascajal Block don't seem to follow a strong overall pattern. Each sequence appears to be its own piece of information.

What Do Experts Think?

Many archaeologists and specialists have shared their thoughts on the Cascajal Block.

Experts Who Support the Discovery

• Stephen D. Houston, one of the researchers, believes that if the text can be understood, it will reveal the "earliest voices" of Mesoamerican civilization. He noticed that some picture-like signs, like an insect or a lizard, were repeated often. He thought these might be signs that tell the reader about words that sound similar but have different meanings. He concluded, "the linear sequencing, the regularity of signs, the clear patterns of ordering, they tell me this is writing."
• Archaeologist Karl Taube from the University of California, Riverside was also part of the team. He said, "This is extremely important because we never recognized this writing system, until this discovery." He added that while they knew the Olmecs had amazing art, this was the first strong sign they had a way to write down speech.
• For Richard Diehl from the University of Alabama, the discovery was solid proof that the Olmecs had a form of writing. He had always felt that the Olmecs could write, and this stone confirmed his belief.

Experts Who Are Skeptical

Some archaeologists are not so sure about the tablet:

• David Grove, an archaeologist at the University of Florida, thought the tablet "looked like a fake." He said this because the symbols are in horizontal rows, which is different from other writing systems in the region.
• Archaeologist Christopher Pool from the University of Kentucky said in 2010 that he was "a little skeptical of it." He pointed out that it's unique, meaning no other similar blocks have been found. Another concern for Pool is that when the tablet was found, it was already out of the ground. This means it wasn't found in its original archaeological spot, which makes it harder to be sure about its age and context.
• Max Schvoerer, a professor from Bordeaux Montaigne University, noted that the researchers figured out the block's age indirectly. They studied pottery pieces found nearby, but there wasn't a clear, dated layer of occupation where the block was found.

Main Criticisms

A detailed criticism was published in the Science journal in March 2007. Archaeologists Karen Bruhns and Nancy Kelker raised five main points:

• The block was found in a pile of bulldozer debris, so its age cannot be known for sure.
• The block is one-of-a-kind. No other Olmec writing or drawings have been found on a serpentine stone like this.
• Most other Mesoamerican writing systems are written vertically or in straight lines. The symbols on the Cascajal Block are not arranged this way; they seem to be "randomly bunched."
• Some symbols on the block appear on other Olmec artifacts. However, they were always seen as decorations, not writing.
• One specific symbol (called the 'cootie' glyph) doesn't fit any known Mesoamerican symbol. This, along with how it was found, made them think it might be a joke.

The original researchers responded to these criticisms:

• They pointed out that other important language finds, like the Rosetta Stone, were also found without clear original locations.
• They suggested that similar carvings might exist on other stones but are very faint and haven't been noticed yet.
• They argued that the signs are in a "purposeful" pattern.
• They explained that all known writing systems in the world use symbols that were already part of their culture's art. So, it's not strange that the Cascajal symbols appear as decorations elsewhere.
• They showed that the 'cootie' glyph can be found in a 3D form on San Lorenzo Monument 43.

See also

In Spanish: Bloque de Cascajal para niños