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12/26/2025
Mesoamerica is a name used to refer to central Mexico down through Guatemala and beyond. The Olmec predated the Maya, who predated the Aztecs, meaning the Olmec lived a really long time ago, supposedly 1500-400 B.C. In that time, they created something unique and timeless we can still see today, literally thousands of years later: the Olmec colossal heads.
The Olmec are said to be the first major “civilization” in Mexico. No doubt, humans existed before that, but “civilized” humans are first documented in this time period in Mexico and called the “Olmec”. They are called the “Olmec” because the Aztecs decided they should be. The Aztecs considered them “people of the rubber country,” basing their name off of the Aztec word, Olmecati. They apparently utilized the latex from rubber trees to enjoy making rubber balls.
At some point, the Olmec made stone heads, chin up to the helmet, double or triple the height of most humans, and reportedly weighing 40 tons each. The heads likely resemble powerful rulers or guardians, but their significance is unclear. Here’s a picture of one:
They are in various museums in Mexico today and there are 17 of them for sure. A possible 18th head was found at Takalik Abaj in Guatemala, but experts debate whether it is an imitation of the original heads. Some think the Guatemalan’s may have modified an original Olmec head to make the head at Takalik Abaj. That could be a reasonable conclusion. Since the Olmec heads are said to represent rulers, or possibly leaders to be worshipped, early Guatemalan’s could very well have modified a facial carving to depict one of their own. I think back to the people I met in Guatemala in Chatián. They were thoughtful and creative. It makes sense. However, here is a photo I found online of the head at Takalik Abaj. Just eyeballing it against the photo above, it is hard to support this conclusion.
Some of my research into the Olmec heads suggests that there were no wheels to move them. But that can’t be right. More of my research reveals the wheel was supposedly invented in about 3500 B.C., so it had been around for a while, and likely even refined for over 2000 years by the time of the supposed creation of the Olmec heads. In this way, the wheel offered the technology to move the Olmec heads, and all of them were not in the same place. This helps drive a suspicion that the head in Takalik Abaj could have originally been an Olmec head and moved a great distance. Again, though, eyeballing this photo shows it is materially smaller, smoother and rounder. Could it have been rolled? Maybe.
My own personal experience is notable but not helpful: it is a backyard memory making a snowman with my brothers and little sister. That bottom snowball is so hard to roll once it hits a certain size, and it is not made of stone, 15 feet tall or 40 tons. This personal experience suggests that direct rolling of an Olmec head by even several strong humans was highly unlikely. If an Olmec head was moved at all, it had to be by wheel.
If you are interested in this, you can find more research about the Olmec heads in a number of places. I’ve looked at a bunch, but here’s a good link with some great photos to learn more about the site of this possible 18th head in Guatemala: https://theonearmedcrab.com/takalik-abaj/
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