Colossal Head Monument

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This colossal head, unlike its counterparts at La Venta, does not display parted lips in a distinctive way. The individual it represents presents a harsh facial gesture, carved with a prominent frown and furrowed brow that is very noticeable. He wears a helmet displaying the common Olmec "U" element directly above his forehead, from which three petal-shaped appendages emerge. Discovered by Frans Blom and Oliver La Farge in 1925, this colossal head was positioned facing southward at the base of the large pyramid C-1 at La Venta. Several large stelae were found behind it, also facing southward— their iconographic narratives associated with the justification of power among the rulers of the site. These monuments, together with the colossal head, appear to bound and protect the sacred precinct of the political/religious center of the site in a significant way. They leave no doubt that a primary mechanism for the legitimation of political power among the inhabitants of the site was through the representation of rulers in monumental stone sculptures. This massive statue weighs 24 tons in weight.