Luke Caverns

He's fascinated with how were the Olmecs moving these huge heads up and down these rivers. So they live in, like, the rivers, swamps. They have to cross some mountain ranges. How are you getting these heads 90 miles away from the Sierra de la Tuxla volcanic belt? That's where they're pulling the basalt from. Because we found unfinished heads, like, at the base of these big basalt quarries.

And they're transporting them 90 kilometers away through, you know, like I was saying, rivers and valleys. 90 miles or kilometers? Yeah. I think it's kilometers. It's kilometers as the crow flies, I'm pretty sure. And so much further when you're actually dealing with the complications of the terrain. And so he was fascinated, like, okay, how do they get them to the river?

And they're transporting them 90 kilometers away through, you know, like I was saying, rivers and valleys. 90 miles or kilometers? Yeah. I think it's kilometers. It's kilometers as the crow flies, I'm pretty sure. And so much further when you're actually dealing with the complications of the terrain. And so he was fascinated, like, okay, how do they get them to the river?

And they're transporting them 90 kilometers away through, you know, like I was saying, rivers and valleys. 90 miles or kilometers? Yeah. I think it's kilometers. It's kilometers as the crow flies, I'm pretty sure. And so much further when you're actually dealing with the complications of the terrain. And so he was fascinated, like, okay, how do they get them to the river?

And then how do they get them on the boat? And when it's on the boat, how exactly does this work if they're transporting it by boat? And kind of the same mystery in Egypt too, right? Like how do the nuances of these things work?

And then how do they get them on the boat? And when it's on the boat, how exactly does this work if they're transporting it by boat? And kind of the same mystery in Egypt too, right? Like how do the nuances of these things work?

And then how do they get them on the boat? And when it's on the boat, how exactly does this work if they're transporting it by boat? And kind of the same mystery in Egypt too, right? Like how do the nuances of these things work?

So he devised this algorithm or whatever where you could put in the hypothetical size of your Olmec raft and put in the hypothetical size of an Olmec head into this database or whatever. And when you made a raft that was too big to go down the narrow stretches of the Coetzcalcos River, which is like the Olmec's Nile River…

So he devised this algorithm or whatever where you could put in the hypothetical size of your Olmec raft and put in the hypothetical size of an Olmec head into this database or whatever. And when you made a raft that was too big to go down the narrow stretches of the Coetzcalcos River, which is like the Olmec's Nile River…

So he devised this algorithm or whatever where you could put in the hypothetical size of your Olmec raft and put in the hypothetical size of an Olmec head into this database or whatever. And when you made a raft that was too big to go down the narrow stretches of the Coetzcalcos River, which is like the Olmec's Nile River…

When the raft was too big and too wide to actually go down the river and you put a five-ton Olmec head on it, it would sink that raft. But the smallest Olmec head is six tons, and the largest one is 52 tons. So how are they doing it? And this is something that all archaeologists have quietly known, this idea of they're just being transported on these simple balsa rafts must be wrong.

When the raft was too big and too wide to actually go down the river and you put a five-ton Olmec head on it, it would sink that raft. But the smallest Olmec head is six tons, and the largest one is 52 tons. So how are they doing it? And this is something that all archaeologists have quietly known, this idea of they're just being transported on these simple balsa rafts must be wrong.

When the raft was too big and too wide to actually go down the river and you put a five-ton Olmec head on it, it would sink that raft. But the smallest Olmec head is six tons, and the largest one is 52 tons. So how are they doing it? And this is something that all archaeologists have quietly known, this idea of they're just being transported on these simple balsa rafts must be wrong.

It's unexplained. How are these things being done? And I just find this realm really fascinating.

It's unexplained. How are these things being done? And I just find this realm really fascinating.

It's unexplained. How are these things being done? And I just find this realm really fascinating.

And do they even know what language they spoke? No, we don't know what language they spoke. We don't even know what they called themselves. The only reason we call them the Olmecs is because Cortes, 1519 to 1521, he's moving through Mexico to conquer Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital.

And do they even know what language they spoke? No, we don't know what language they spoke. We don't even know what they called themselves. The only reason we call them the Olmecs is because Cortes, 1519 to 1521, he's moving through Mexico to conquer Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital.

And do they even know what language they spoke? No, we don't know what language they spoke. We don't even know what they called themselves. The only reason we call them the Olmecs is because Cortes, 1519 to 1521, he's moving through Mexico to conquer Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital.

During this time, you have these Spanish chroniclers that are taking in information, taking in information but not at the rate that everything's being destroyed. All these people are dying from this disease and influenza. And there's a record of what the people who lived in the Olmec region are called at that time in 1520, let's say.