The colossal Olmec heads are monolithic sculptures representing large-sized human heads in the round. Carved in basalt rocks, they date at least 900 BC.
has a distinctive headdress. The rear of the monuments is often flat. The rocks come from the mountains of the Sierra de los Tuxtlas of Veracruz; as the stones used for the production of the statues were transported over great distances, requiring a lot of resources and human efforts, it is thought that these monuments are the portraits of powerful Olmec rulers. The heads are arranged in lines or groups on major Olmec centers, but the method and the logistics of their transport on these sites remain unclear.
