Successor culture to the Olmec, centered in the Papaloapan River basin of south-central Veracruz. Epi-Olmec sites (Tres Zapotes, later Cerro de las Mesas, La Mojarra) developed a sophisticated Long Count calendar and hieroglyphic writing system (seen on the La Mojarra Stela and Tuxtla Statuette) unattested among the earlier Olmec.
Declined by the mid-3rd century CE as Classic Veracruz culture (centered on El Tajín and related centers) rose to regional prominence.
Standard English-language survey of Mesoamerican archaeology covering the Gulf Coast Olmec-to-Epi-Olmec transition and the emergence of Isthmian/Epi-Olmec writing.