San Lorenzo basalt drainage channels
Drenaje de canales de basalto de San Lorenzo
- Date
- c. 1150 BCE · confidence medium
- Place
- San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, Texistepec, Veracruz, Mexico
- Credited to
- Olmec culture
- Field
- Tools
What it is
A network of U-shaped, capped basalt stones fitted together like pipes to carry water beneath the plateau of the Olmec capital. It is the oldest stone hydraulic system in Mesoamerica.
What it led to
- water management in ceremonial centres
- the hydraulic traditions of Teotihuacan and the Maya