Archaeology and the Book of Mormon hand, flourished in Mesoamerica during the Preclassic period, dating from 1200 BC to about 400 BC. The Olmec civilization suddenly disintegrated for unknown reasons, although archaeological evidence clearly indicates a definite Olmec influence within the Maya civilization that followed. Although the Olmec civilization ended, there are indications that some of the Olmec people survived and interacted with other cultures. While making allowance for the likelihood that Book of Mormon peoples migrated to Mexico and Central America, Joseph Smith nevertheless placed the arrival of the Jaredites in "the lake country of America", i.e., the region of the Great Lakes). No Central
Olmec colossal heads heads are the earliest known stone monuments from the site. The discovery of one of the Tres Zapotes heads in the nineteenth century led to the first archaeological investigations of Olmec culture, carried out by Matthew Stirling in 1938. Tres Zapotes Monument A (also known as Tres Zapotes Colossal Head 1) was the first colossal head to be found, discovered by accident in the middle of the nineteenth century, to the north of the modern village of Tres Zapotes. After its discovery it remained half-buried until it was excavated by Matthew Stirling in 1939. At some point it was moved