9781422286814

Spirit of a Nation: The People of Mexico

14

The stone remains of a tomb stand among other ruins at Villahermosa, the site of an ancient Olmec city.

Around 800 B . C ., the Olmecs built the Great Pyramid at La Venta. It is only 100 feet tall, and compared to other Mesoamerican pyramids, it is actually quite small. The Mayans built much larger pyramids. Olmec cultural centers seem to have been built in a very organized manner that was based on the people’s spiritual beliefs. For instance, all the mounds at La Venta were built facing exactly eight degrees west of north. This may have been so that the Olmecs were always facing a certain star.