Their heights range from 1.17 m to 3.4 m (3.8 to 11.2 ft). Most of these heads date back to the early Pre-Classical period (1500–1000 BC) and some date back to the middle of the Pre-Classical Period (1000–400 BC) and are a distinguishing feature of the ancient Mesoameric civilization. All the portraits were mature individuals with plump cheeks, flat noses, and slightly squinting eyes; their physical features corresponded to a type still common among the inhabitants of Tabasco and Veracruz, the backs of the monuments were usually flat, and the Olmec heads consisted of 17 huge heads.
The heads were found at four sites in the heart of Olmec in the Gulf of Mexico, where the boulders came from the Takstras Mountains of Veracruz. Since the huge slate used in the production process had to be transported over long distances (more than 150 kilometers), requiring a lot of manpower and resources, and paying so much to carve, some people believe that the reason for doing so was to represent the powerful Olmec rulers. Each known head has a unique headdress. The heads were arranged or grouped in different ways in the main centers of the Olmecs, but the method and logistics of transporting the stones to these locations are unclear.
They all wore distinctive helmets, one view is that these helmets were worn as protective helmets, possibly during war or when participating in ceremonial Mesoamerican ball games. In 1862, José María Melgar y Serrano discovered the first giant head in Tres Zapotes, but it was not well documented and reported outside of Mexico until the giant head excavated by Matthew Stirling in 1938, triggering the first archaeological investigation of the Olmec culture.
At four sites in the heart of Olmec on the Gulf Coast, 17 heads have been found, most of which were carved from spherical boulders, but two of San Lorenzo's Tenochtitlán were re-carved from huge stone thrones. In Takalik Abay, Guatemala, there is also an additional monument, a throne that may have been carved from a huge human head, the only known record of relevance outside the heart of Olmec.
Dating these monuments is still difficult, because before archaeological surveys, many people migrated from their original environment, most of them can be traced back to the early Pre-Classical period (1500 BC 1000 BC), some can be traced back to the middle of the Pre-Classical Period (1000 BC 400 BC), the smallest weighs 6 tons, while the largest is estimated to weigh 40 to 50 tons, although they were abandoned, in our eyes this is the Olmec people to develop the earliest civilization in Central America, The heartland of the Olmecs has also become one of the cradles of the world's six civilizations. +1