“The Olmecs and the Cultures of the Gulf of Mexico” opens Friday, October 9 at the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac in Paris. With this international exhibition, the Parisian museum continues the tradition of its major archaeology exhibitions such as “Teotihuacan” and “Maya, Revelation of an Endless Time”.
For the occasion, more than 300 pieces created by pre-Hispanic civilizations can be admired until July 25, 2021.
The Olmec civilization is Mexico’s first great civilization. The Maya, Aztec, Zapotec, and Toltec civilizations are its heirs. The exhibition opens with the colossal head of San Lorenzo, 1.80 m tall and yet the smallest of the ten monumental heads found at the Olmec site of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán (Veracruz). We won’t say any more — see for yourself at the Quai Branly!
Recommended reading to prepare for your visit:
– Les Olmèques by ethnologist Jacques Soustelle
– Les Olmèques, des origines au mythe by Caterina Magni
© Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac
