Final answer:
La Venta was an influential Olmec city dating back to 1200 BCE, becoming a central hub by 900 BCE. It was a complex urban site with religious importance, featuring various monumental structures and supporting a large population.
Step-by-step explanation:
La Venta was a significant Olmec city established around 1200 BCE, located near the Gulf of Mexico. It rose to prominence by 900 BCE, becoming the central hub of the Olmec civilization, which is recognized as one of the earliest complex societies in Mesoamerica. The urban landscape of La Venta spanned approximately five hundred acres, potentially housing up to eighteen thousand people at its zenith.
The city's core featured an array of monumental structures indicative of its societal and religious importance, such as earthen mounds, plazas, a potential sports arena, various tombs, and grand stone heads and sculptures. These elaborations not only depict a sophisticated urban design but also suggest that La Venta was primarily a sacred site. Its architecture and organizational complexity marked a pivotal progress in the evolution of Mesoamerican civilizational and architectural patterns.