The original location of the La Cobata head was not a major archaeological site and it is likely that the head was either abandoned at its source or during transport to its intended destination . Various features of the head suggest that it was unfinished , such as a lack of symmetry below the mouth and an area of rough stone above the base . Rock was not removed from around the earspools as on other heads , and does not narrow towards the base . Large parts of the monument seem to be roughed out without finished detail . The right hand earspool also appears incomplete ; the forward portion is marked with a sculpted line while the rear portion has been sculpted in relief , probably indicating that the right cheek and eye area were also unfinished . The La Cobata head was almost certainly carved from a raw boulder rather than being sculpted from a throne .