Olmec colossal heads the monuments with ropes. Two heads from San Lorenzo have traces of niches that are characteristic of monumental Olmec thrones and so were definitely reworked from earlier monuments. Seventeen confirmed examples are known. An additional monument, at Takalik Abaj in Guatemala, is a throne that may have been carved from a colossal head. This is the only known example outside of the Olmec heartland on the Gulf Coast of Mexico. Possible fragments of additional colossal heads have been recovered at San Lorenzo and at San Fernando in Tabasco. Crude colossal stone heads are also known in the Southern Maya area
Olmec colossal heads where they are associated with the potbelly style of sculpture. Although some arguments have been made that they are pre-Olmec, these latter monuments are generally believed to be influenced by the Olmec style of sculpture. The ten colossal heads from San Lorenzo originally formed two roughly parallel lines running north-south across the site. Although some were recovered from ravines, they were found close to their original placements and had been buried by local erosion. These heads, together with a number of monumental stone thrones, probably formed a processional route across the site, powerfully displaying its dynastic history. Two of the