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Vital and Creative: The Art and Architecture of Mexico

Early Mexican cultures showed appreciation to their gods by creating on a grand scale. This giant head made by the Olmecs was found in the ruins of La Venta, an important ceremonial center of that ancient civilization.

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100 feet tall. Pillars of basalt (a very dark, hard rock) surround the pyramid, and the basalt was apparently dug out of the ground over 60 miles away. Archaeologists have not been able to solve the mystery of how the heavy rock was carried such a long distance. At La Venta, Archaeologists

also found the remains of a ball court, where games using rubber balls were once played. Other structures that have given Archaeologists clues to the Olmec culture are enormous stone altars covered with carvings. Around A . D . 300, some time after the Olmecs, the culture of the Maya emerged on the Yucatán Peninsula. Like the Olmecs’ architecture, the great structures of the Maya were stages set for their ceremonial culture. The buildings for everyday use, built of reeds, mud, and wood, have not survived, while the beautiful cities where religious and political ceremonies took place still stand. The buildings in these complexes included limestone ball courts, gateways, plazas , and water reservoirs. Although the Maya built pyramids like the Olmecs, the Mayan structures were even more impressive. The Mayan pyramids were built of rubble but