The 17 Olmec colossal heads - where can you see them?

Until today, only 17 colossal Olmec head sculptures have been found in Mexico. They are huge stone representations of human heads sculpted from large boulders. They range in height from 2 to 3.5 meters, or 7 to 11 feet, and weigh between 6 and 40 tons. The Olmec civilization is considered to be the first major Mesoamerican culture, believed to have thrived between 1200 and 400 BC. It existed along Mexico's Gulf Coast in what is now Tabasco and Veracruz states. The Olmecs were adept traders and artisans and built the cities of San Lorenzo, La Venta, and Tres Sapotes. All head sculptures portray mature individuals with fleshy cheeks, flat noses, and slightly crossed eyes. Some theories had suggested that the heads depicted an early Black civilization because the faces appear to have African features. However, it is now thought that the facial features are not African but rather represent the indigenous people who reside in the Mexican Gulf Coast. The statues' physical characteristics correspond to a type that is still common among the inhabitants of Tabasco and Veracruz. The boulders were brought from the Sierra de Las Tuxtlas mountains of Veracruz. Given that the extremely large slabs of stone used in their production were transported over large distances, over 150 kilometers or 93 miles, requiring a great deal of human effort and resources, it is thought that the monuments represent portraits of powerful individual Olmec rulers. They all display distinctive helmets, may be worn as a protective headgear for war or to take part in a ceremonial Mesoamerican ball game. The discovery of the first colossal head was in 1862 by José María Melgar y Serrano but it was not well documented nor reported outside of Mexico. The excavation of the same colossal head at Tres Sapotes by Matthew Sterling in 1938 spurred the first archaeological investigations of Olmec culture. Today the 17 heads are displayed in the following locations. Mexico City, National Anthropology Museum, two heads from San Lorenzo. Jalapa, Anthropology Museum, seven heads from San Lorenzo. Villahermosa, La Venta Park Museum, three heads from La Venta. Villahermosa, State Museum of Tabasco, one head from La Venta. San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan, Community Museum, one head from San Lorenzo. Tres Sapotes, Community Museum, one head from Tres Sapotes. Santiago Tuxtla, Regional Museum, one head from Tres Sapotes. Santiago Tuxtla, Central Plaza, one head from La Cobada.