Archeologists discover ancient Olmec-influenced city near Mexico City

By: MARK STEVENSON - Associated Press | Wednesday, January 24, 2007 7:25 PM PST ∞

MEXICO CITY -- Archeologists announced on Wednesday they have discovered the remains of a 1,500-year-old city influenced by the Olmecs, often referred to as the "mother culture" of MesoAmerica, hundreds of miles away from the Olmecs' Gulf coast territory.

The discovery at the Zazacatla archaeological site just 25 miles (40 kms) south of Mexico City provides an insight both into the early arrival of advanced civilizations in central Mexico, and the risks posed by modern development.

Archaeologist Giselle Canto said that two statues and architectural details discovered at the site indicate that inhabitants of Zazacatla adopted Olmec styles when they changed from a simple, egalitarian society to a more complex, hierarchical one.

"When their society became stratified, the new rulers needed emblems ... to justify their rule over people who used to be their equals," Canto said of the inhabitants, who may not have been ethnically Olmec, but looked up to them as the most prestigious culture around.

The city of Zazacatla covered about two square kilometers between 800 and 500 B.C., but much has been covered by modern housing and commercial development extending outward from Cuernavaca, a city popular with tourists just 7 miles (12 kms) to the north.

"There are ten housing development, a gas station, a highway and a commercial building on the site now," she noted. Of a 9,000-square-meter area near the heart of the city, all remains have been destroyed in about two-thirds of the space.

In a race against time, authorities are looking to excavate and preserve such pre-Hispanic sites before they are forgotten or covered over.

Since excavation began in 2006, archaeologists have unearthed six buildings, and two sculptures of what appear to be Olmec-style priests found in niches in one of the temples.

The sculptures appear to be wearing headdresses imitating the jaguar, an animal revered by the Olmecs, and other symbols of status or authority.

The Olmecs dominated areas around the Gulf coast state of Veracruz and Tabasco from 1,200 to about 400 B.C..

In the past, some had speculated that the signs of Olmec influence discovered at this and other sites far from the Gulf coast might suggest Olmec settlements, conquests, or missionary sites.

But Canto said the distance -- the Olmecs' most famous ceremonial center lies about 250 miles (400 kms) to the east -- was too far for such direct contacts, though trade links may have existed.

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