In 1940 Matthew and Marion Stirling found basalt altars at the site of La Venta.
Matthew Stirling was an ethnologist and archaeologist that was sent on expeditions to the Mexican Gulf Coast area to further research the Olmec culture. It was in then years around 1940 that he found with his wife, Marion, several sculptures and monuments in that area. In 1940 he found several altars in La Venta.
