Did the Olmec Civilization originate in Louisiana? - National Architecture & Design

http://www.omec-arkofthecovenantmystery.com/olmec/la-venta-with-david-childress/
Did the Olmec Civilization originate in Louisiana? - National Architecture & Design
When archaeologists uncover an artifact from an ancient culture, they are only finding a tiny piece of a massive puzzle. For every carved tablet and ancient statue, there are millions of other artifacts which never survived the centuries. So there is much more that we just don't know, and people will often be lured to fill in the gaps with imaginative theories. The alternative origin in the Olmecs is one such theory; it's creative, but widely discredited by scientists.

NORTHEASTERN LOUISIANA -- If the name of archaeologist Joseph W. Saunders heard this before, his work was featured in an eight part Examiner series for the Troyville Mounds in Jonesville, LA during 2010. Much of his career has become devoted to the preservation and understanding of Troyville Mounds. The articles described the architecture and cultural practices of Troyville Mounds that were very similar to that of the Chontal Mayas inside coastal areas of Tamaulipas and Veracruz States in Mexico. The series stated that these similarities suggested contacts with Mexico. At the time in the articles' publication, Saunders would not agree with that interpretation. It is not publically known if Saunders still maintains that position. Links to earlier, related Examiner content is at the bottom on this one.

Science likes a great clean story where all of the evidence lines up; new puzzle pieces are continuously added and archaeologists sometimes need to turn to guesswork and modify theories with new additions. The Olmecs are assumed to be the 1st advanced civilization in Mesoamerica, though the Western Mexico shaft tomb tradition contains evidence that there might have been cultures which pre-date them by a few centuries. The most famous theory can nevertheless be wrong, and all sorts of it requires is completely new evidence.

Actually, everything began with a discovery that's been known for decades regarding the culture that invented what is known as the Long Count Calendar. On the Pacific coastal plain of Chiapas, Mexico, several miles through the Guatemala border, the astrological observatory in the Izapa civilization was located. Some think that the Izapa were the transitional culture relating to the older Olmec civilization along with the emerging Maya; others believe the Izapa were the Olmecs.

In 1519, Hernan Cortes, who conquered the Aztecs, discovered a chocolate ritual where 50 cups were filled with beans in storehouses each day and saw that cacao was used as currency. After the Aztecs were conquered, the Spanish adapted the culture in the Aztecs and started to drink hot chocolate. In the 17th century, the Spanish princess Maria Theresa brought the cacao beans on the French court where she married King Louis XIV, and chocolate became a delightful treat in European society.