Little to nothing is known about the civilization that chiseled these mysterious sculptures from volcanic rocks about 5.000 years ago, making it one the oldest cultures in the Americas.
Unfortunately, as so many ancient civilizations in the Americas, it had no writing and had disappeared before the Spanish arrived. So scientists provide this or that hypothesis to explain the statues large and small. Nevertheless, the true meaning of them might very well remain a mystery forever.
First excavations began in 1913 and 1914, and several sites have only been discovered as recently as 1993. Local farmers were the first to discover the stone slabs, but they were only interested in the offerings inside the tombs next to the sculpture. Beside there was no way for the “campesinos” to carry these huge blocks away, sometimes they even tumbled them down the slope which caused considerable damage to them.
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