A large serpentine block discovered in a gravel quarry in the state of Veracruz, Mexico is carved with 62 glyphic signs and appears to be the oldest form of a written language discovered in the Americas. The block weighs 12 kilograms and is 36 centimeters long, 21 centimeters wide and 13 centimeters thick, and it is made of native serpentine. The object is pillow-shaped in cross-section, with five planes roughly convex and the sixth purposefully ground flat.
The Cascajal Block, as it is called, is reported in Science for 15 September 2006 by a research team led by Ma. Del Carmen Rodriguez Martinez, and is thought to represent an example of writing by the Early to Middle Formative period Olmec civilization, circa 900 BC.
The Cascajal Block, as it is called, is reported in Science for 15 September 2006 by a research team led by Ma. Del Carmen Rodriguez Martinez, and is thought to represent an example of writing by the Early to Middle Formative period Olmec civilization, circa 900 BC.
- More information on The Cascajal Block
- Study Guide to the Olmec Civilization
- Rodriguez Martinez, Ma. del et al. 2006. Oldest writing in the New World. Science 313:1610-1614.
