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Transcription: [00:41:25]
{SPEAKER name="Gordon Ekholm"}
--lamented that time, but anyhow, he brought there a lot of knowledge of the Olmec. Caso and Covarrubias played an important role.

[00:41:37]
{SPEAKER name="Gordon Ekholm"}
Uh, also, as a matter of fact Caso and Covarrubias tended to be on one side of a gentle argument about the Olmec. They claimed, even at this early date, that the Olmec were definitely pre-classic. Obviously the earliest of the high cultures to them and many of the Carnegie people and others were inclined to think that the Olmec would eventually prove to be of the classic period. So there was a, there was a strong counterargument. Argument back and forth at this time as to the position of the Olmec. Thompson, who was at this conference, also later published a uh, a uh, a listing of various Olmec traits and other things trying to show that the Olmec were perhaps late classic in date.

[00:42:51]
{SPEAKER name="Gordon Ekholm"}
Another thing which made Mexican archaeology extremely active in the, in the 1940's was the fact that during war years and there were many Americans there. But I think this worked in combination with the situation that there were a number of very active and very well-educated Europeans there at the same time. It probably had a lot to do with the rapid development of the school of anthropology at this time. And the uh...

[00:43:44]