Colossal Head 4 (replica)
Olmec Culture
This portrait of an Olmec ruler is among 17 colossal heads known from one of the world’s great ancient civilizations. Without wheels or iron tools, the Olmec created spectacular monumental sculptures and ceremonial centers on Mexico’s Gulf Coast.
In 1946, Smithsonian archaeologist Matthew W. Stirling excavated the 6-ton basalt original of this head, which is on display at the Museum of Anthropology in Xalapa, Veracruz.
[Map of the Gulf of Mexico region, locating the “Olmec Culture.”]
Replica carved from welded volcanic ash by Ignacio Perez Solano and presented to the Smithsonian Institution by the government of the state of Veracruz, Mexico, and the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars, October 2001.
Marker is on Constitution Avenue, NW (U.S. 1/50) east of 12th Street, NW, on the right when traveling east.
Courtesy hmdb.org
