Tres Zapotes facts for kids
Tres Zapotes is an ancient place in Mexico where people lived a long time ago. It's an archaeological site, which means scientists study old things found there. It was a big center for different cultures, especially the Olmec people.
Some people call Tres Zapotes the third main Olmec capital. It came after other important Olmec cities like San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán and La Venta. But the Olmec people were only part of its long story. Other cultures, like the Epi-Olmec and Classic Veracruz, also lived there. Tres Zapotes was a busy place for about 2,000 years!
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Where is Tres Zapotes Located?
Tres Zapotes is in the country of Mexico. It is near a modern village also called Tres Zapotes. This ancient city sits on the edge of the Los Tuxtlas Mountains. It is also close to the Papaloapan River.
This location was great for the people living there. They could use resources from the mountains, like forests. They also had access to the flatlands with swamps and streams. A volcano called Cerro el Vigía was nearby. It provided important stones like basalt for building and art.
A Look Back: The History of Tres Zapotes
Tres Zapotes has a very long and interesting history. Different groups of people lived there over many centuries. They built impressive structures and created unique art.
The Olmec People at Tres Zapotes
Tres Zapotes was founded a long time ago, even before 1000 BCE. It became an important regional center around 900 to 800 BCE. This was about the time when the city of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan started to decline. The oldest buildings found here date back to about 500 BCE.
Two giant stone heads, called colossal heads, were found here. These heads were carved by the Olmec people. The first one was found in 1862. The heads at Tres Zapotes are smaller than those at San Lorenzo. They are about 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall. These heads show a special local style of art.
Unlike the Olmec city of La Venta, Tres Zapotes was not abandoned. It continued to be an important place. Over hundreds of years, the Olmec culture here slowly changed. It became what we now call the Epi-Olmec culture.
The Epi-Olmec Culture
Most of the large stone sculptures at Tres Zapotes are from the Epi-Olmec period. This was during the Late Formative period. These sculptures and the pottery show that the culture was changing. It was still connected to the Olmec, but it was also developing new styles.
One important stone carving is called Tres Zapotes Stela D. It shows a scene framed by a monster's mouth. This is similar to an older Olmec carving from La Venta. But Stela D tells a story about real historical events. The Olmec altar, however, was about a mythical event.
Some experts think that the art style of Izapa influenced Tres Zapotes. But newer studies suggest they both came from the same Olmec roots. They shared ideas and techniques as their cultures grew.
Even with similarities, Epi-Olmec art at Tres Zapotes looks different. It doesn't have the same fine details as older Olmec art. This might be partly because they used a rougher type of stone.
During this time, a new writing system appeared at Tres Zapotes. It is called the Isthmian script or Epi-Olmec script. Some of the earliest dates using the Long Count calendar were also found here.
Tres Zapotes in the Classic Era
The Classic era started around 300 CE. Tres Zapotes continued to build mounds and stay a regional center. However, its importance slowly went down. New cities of the Classic Veracruz culture started to become bigger and more powerful.
Tres Zapotes might have been left empty by 900 CE. But some people did live there again for a short time later on.
The Famous Stela C
In 1939, an archaeologist named Matthew Stirling found the bottom half of Stela C at Tres Zapotes. A stela is a tall, carved stone slab. This one was made from basalt stone. One side of the stela has an Olmec-style carving. It looks like an abstract jaguar-human or a ruler on a throne.
The other side of Stela C has the oldest date ever found from the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. This date is 7.16.6.16.18. In our calendar, this is September 3, 32 BCE. For a while, people weren't sure about the first number of the date. But in 1969, the top half of the stela was found. This proved that the first number was indeed '7'.
Only one older Long Count date has been found since then. It is from Stela 2 in Chiapa de Corzo, dated to 36 BCE. The back of Stela C also has some of the few remaining examples of Epi-Olmec writing.
How Tres Zapotes was Organized
More than 160 mounds and platforms have been found at Tres Zapotes. Most of these were low platforms where people lived. The main structures from the Epi-Olmec period are called Groups 1, 2, 3, and the Nestepe Group (also known as Group 4). Group 2 is in the middle of the living area. The other three groups are about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) away from Group 2 and from each other.
This spread-out arrangement might mean that Tres Zapotes had a decentralized government. Each mound group might have been built by a different group of people. This is different from La Venta, where the buildings were very centralized. That suggests a single, strong ruler. At La Venta, the giant heads were all together near the main area. But at Tres Zapotes, the two heads were in different groups.
The four mound groups at Tres Zapotes are similar in design. Each has a large open area (plaza) surrounded by several mounds. There was usually a pyramid-shaped mound on one side and a long mound on another. The longer mounds probably held important buildings or homes for leaders. Smaller mounds were for less important leaders or temples.
The mound groups were different sizes. The Nestepe group was simpler, with mounds less than 3 meters (10 feet) tall. Its plaza was about 1.5 hectares (3.7 acres). But Groups 2 and 3 had mounds up to 12 meters (39 feet) high. Their plazas covered 4 hectares (10 acres). These differences likely show that some groups had more workers or were powerful for longer.
Tres Zapotes Museum
There is a museum in the village of Tres Zapotes. Visitors can see the Olmec heads there. They can also see half of Stela C. The other half of Stela C is in a museum in Mexico City.
See also
In Spanish: Tres Zapotes para niños
