Within the great Olmec city of La Venta, which existed from around 1000 to 400 B.C., have been found many extraordinary offerings including one composed of 16 different figurines carved out of various stones, found in 1951 and now displayed in Mexico City’s National Museum. Recent investigation has proven that it is possible to identify the type and various sources of the green stones from which the figurines were carved, and in doing so, has confirmed that the ancient Olmec civilization had a wide territorial and commercial reach, maintaining contact with Guatemala, Guerrero and Oaxaca. Twenty-two elements were analyzed with stereoscopic microscopy, Raman spectrometry and Infrared, with X-ray diffraction, and were matched to a mineral deposit map of Mesoamerica to identify probable locations. It was found that the green stones came from the Motagua River in Guatemala and streams in Guerrero and Oaxaca, which suggests evidence of trading alliances with these far flung locations. Travel to the Olmec World with Far Horizons!
