Сан-Лоренсо: Олмек цивилизациясының орталығы

Collective name for three related archaeological sites in Veracruz, Mexico

San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán or San Lorenzo is the collective name for three related archaeological sites—San Lorenzo, Tenochtitlán and Potrero Nuevo—located in the southeast portion of the Mexican state of Veracruz. Along with La Venta and Tres Zapotes, it was one of the three major cities of the Olmec, and the major center of Olmec culture from 1400 BCE to 900 BCE. San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán is best known today for the colossal stone heads unearthed there, the greatest of which weigh or more and are high. The site should not be confused with Tenochtitlan, the Aztec site in Mexico City. Administrative names were translated into Aztec/Nahuatl and spread alongside Catholic names during the European conquest, replacing any original locality names, as the original Olmec name was lost.

The earliest evidence for Olmec culture is found at nearby El Manatí, a sacrificial bog with artifacts dating to 1600 BCE or earlier. Sedentary agriculturalists had lived in the area for centuries before San Lorenzo developed into a regional center. San Lorenzo was the first Olmec site that demonstrates state level complexity. The site dominated the gulf coast lowlands, creating Olmec cultural diffusion throughout the rest of Mesoamerica. The iconic finds at the site are the famous colossal heads. The colossal heads stand up to tall. According to archaeological finds, archaeologists have divided the Olmec history into four stages: Formation stage (1700–1300 BCE), Integration stage (1300–900 BCE) Expansion stage (900–300 BCE) and Disintegration stage (300 BCE – 200 CE). Another term archaeologists use is for categorizing the Olmecs is the Formative Period, meaning the pivotal years that laid the ground work for state level complex societies. Formative Mesoamerica can be divided into three periods: Early Formative (1800–900 BCE), Middle Formative (900–400 BCE) and Late Formative (400 BCE – 200 CE). San Lorenzo was the largest city in Mesoamerica from roughly 1200 BCE until 900 BCE, at which time it had begun to be overtaken by the Olmec center of La Venta. By 800 BCE, there was little or no population, although there was an important recolonization of the San Lorenzo plateau from 600 to 400 BCE and again from circa 800 to 1000 CE. In contrast to La Venta's swamp like environs, San Lorenzo was situated in the midst of a large agricultural area. San Lorenzo seems to have been largely a ceremonial site, a town without city walls, centered in the midst of a widespread medium to large agricultural population. The ceremonial center and attendant buildings could have housed 5,500 while the entire area, including hinterlands, could have reached 13,000. It is thought that while San Lorenzo controlled much or all of the Coatzacoalcos basin, areas to the east (such as the area where La Venta would rise to prominence) and north northwest (such as the Tuxtla Mountains) were home to independent polities. Built on some of high ground between then active tributaries, the core of San Lorenzo covers that were further modified through extensive filling and leveling; by one estimate of earthen fill were needed, moved by the basketload. The rulers of San Lorenzo played a crucial role in integrating a population that changed the natural environment into sacred and secular landscapes for the glorification of the San Lorenzo polity. Archaeologists Michael Coe and Richard Diehl calculated that the area of San Lorenzo that they studied could produce approximately of maize annually, enough to feed 5,556 people, more than the estimated population at the time. Residents of San Lorenzo also consumed domestic dog, snook, tarpon, mojarra, catfish, and turtles. Although some claim that manioc was cultivated here, no evidence for this has been found. San Lorenzo also boasted an elaborate drainage system which used buried, covered, channeled stones as a type of "pipe". Fresh spring water was available on the elevated lands, but not as available in the lowlands. Long lines of U shaped drain stones directed water to the edges of the plateau, which reflected how the rulers directed and controlled this precious resource. Some researchers have inferred that the purpose of this system was not only to provide drinking water for the population but for ritual purposes as well, and that the rulership was "intimately linked to the figure of a patron water supernatural". Between 1946 and 1970, four archaeological projects were undertaken, including one Yale University study headed by Michael Coe and Richard Diehl conducted between 1966 and 1968, followed by a lull until 1990. Coe's research faced criticism from ecologically minded archaeologists, although his ecological study of San Lorenzo in the second volume of his book silenced his critics. The archaeological work recommenced in 1990, putting emphasis on the establishment pattern of community and regional levels ("en el patrón de asentamiento en los niveles de comunidad y de región". The original Olmec name of the area, like all of the Olmec language, is unknown. The name "San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán" was coined by Stirling in 1955, taken from the nearby present day villages, and refers to the entire complex of sites. Matthew Stirling gave the name San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan to a cluster of three settlements on an island in the swamps and marshes west of the Coatzacoalcos. San Lorenzo proper occupies the slopes and summit of a plateau that rises 50 m above the floodplain of the Coatzacoalcos River. The archaeological site of Tenochtitlán lies within the modern village of the same name at the northern end of the island, and Potero Nuevo occupies a hill east of the plateau. Another large site occupies the Loma del Zapote, a long ridge extending southward from the plateau, which includes the locality known as El Azuzul at its southern tip. Landscape modifications to the landscape around San Lorenzo also include causeways or dikes. The two largest ones bordered ancient river courses at Potrero Nuevo and El Azuzul, respectively. These may have provided some measure of flood control and possible served as wharfs for loading and unloading canoes. When people abandon a house, they usually leave refuse that is out of mind: behind large furniture, in corners, or outside on the periphery. Using this information, Wendt determined the likely architectural organization of the site. The data suggested that the architectural organization most likely followed the solar pattern of highland Maya house lots. The solar pattern is unrestricted in space and has separate areas designated for separate activities, i. e. sleeping, cooking, etc. All these detached structures are built around a central patio area.

The cause of San Lorenzo's demise and later replacement with La Venta is unknown, although it most certainly occurred in the 10th century BCE. Coe and Diehl originally suggested internal revolt or external conquest, but Diehl has since changed his mind. He now believes that the monuments were frequently recarved and reused before the collapse and the "mutilation" was simply the middle of that process. Warfare, environmental changes, economic decline, and the emergence of rival centers have all been suggested as possible causes for the decline, although multiple causes were likely. Evidence shows that the rivers of the region did change course at the time; that may have initiated or exacerbated other problems at the site of San Lorenzo.