San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán

The Olmec, often called Mesoamerica’s ‘mother culture,’ flourished on the Gulf coast roughly between 1500 and 400 BC. San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, in Veracruz, was their first great center, famous for its colossal carved stone heads; it was later eclipsed by La Venta, in Tabasco.

Despite the similar name, San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán has no connection to Mexico-Tenochtitlan, the much later Mexica capital in the Valley of Mexico.