Olmec Head

Rancho La Corbata head, at 3.4 m high

Artifacts from the culture later termed Olmec turned up at widespread sites in Mexico and adjacent Central America. The colossal heads are commanding portraits of individual Olmec rulers, and the large symbol displayed on the 'helmet' of each colossal head appears to be an identification motif for that person. Colossal heads glorified the rulers while they were alive, and commemorated them as revered ancestors after their death.