Long-Lost "Earth Monster" Olmec Head Found in Denver, Now Destined for Mexico

It's a story straight out of an Indiana Jones movie: A one-ton stone carving made by the Olmecs — one of the first civilizations to appear in Latin America — will be returned to Mexico from its current location in Denver after being recovered by an "Antiquities Trafficking Unit" based in Manhattan, New York.

Much like the people who built it, the date for when the "Monstruo de la Tierra," aka Earth Monster, will be sent home remains a mystery, with Mexican officials promising to provide details on May 19.

Marcelo Ebrard, the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs, "will discuss that on Friday," says Mary López, spokesperson for the Mexican Consulate here in Denver.

Information surrounding the stone carving's location is being kept under wraps to ensure that it's kept safe and sound before the move. Ebrard and other consulate members will visit Denver to oversee the repatriation of the relic, which landed in the Mile High City after it was stolen from its home in Chalcatzingo, in the Mexican state of Morelos south of Mexico City.

The date it was stolen and how it was taken are also mysteries, according to the Mexican government. But officials suspect it's been in the U.S. since the early twentieth century; its disappearance was first made public in 1968.

"This monument is an archaeological piece of great historical and cultural importance for Mexico," says the Mexican Consulate in a statement. "That's why its return represents a milestone in our efforts to preserve our national heritage."

In a March 31 tweet confirming its recovery, Ebrard referred to the massive stone carving as "the Olmec piece most sought after by Mexico. ... It's about to return to its home, from where it should never have been stolen."

Mexican officials found out earlier this year that the Manhattan District Attorney's Antiquity Trafficking Unit had recovered the piece, which is roughly five feet wide, six feet tall and carved out of a slab of stone weighing nearly one ton.

The DA's office formed the unit in 2017 to deal with the nonstop trade of stolen antiquities from historic sites around the globe. A 2021 article in The Atlantic referred to the unit as the "Tomb Raiders of the Upper East Side."

The Olmecs likely made the Earth Monster sculpture sometime between 800 B.C. and 400 A.D. Credited as the first major civilization in today's Mexico, the Olmecs reportedly thrived from 1200 B.C. to 400 A.D., but details about their history and what happened to them remain unknown.

According to the Mexican government, the Earth Monster's "importance is comparable to that of the iconic colossal heads" of the Olmecs, which are round, eight-foot-tall sculptures made from basalt boulders.

The piece is also known as the Chalcatzingo Monument 9 from Morelos, because of other carvings and sculptures found in the area. The colossal Olmec heads were found farther away, closer to the Gulf of Mexico.

The Earth Monster monument is thought to represent a creature from Olmec mythology about the creation of the cosmos. It "appears frequently in Olmec iconography," according to the Mexican government, and has an open, rectangular-shaped mouth that could depict the entrance to an underworld — as it has three concentric circles carved around the opening.

Archaeologists also point out that four plants sprouting from the corners of the monster's mouth look like the branches of bromeliads, which are found in the Chalcatzingo Mountains. They suggest that this symbolizes the original inhabitants of the area, based on Olmec iconography in general.

Ebrard will reveal more details on May 19 in Denver.