MESOAMERICA; THE OLMEC CIVILIZATION- A concise note. timeframe represent the Olmec society. What is the Olmec civilization known for? Direct link to angeliavillar's post all areas covering the in, Posted 2 years ago. Surviving art, like this relief of a king or chief found in La Venta, help provide clues about how Olmec society functioned. Overview. The term Mesoamerica was derived from the Greek which means "Middle America". The hearth of Olmec civilization is located in the tropical lowlands of Mexico's southern Gulf Coast region, in the majestic archaeological site of San Lorenzo. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. At El Manat, disarticulated skulls and femurs, as well as the complete skeletons of newborns or fetuses, have been discovered amidst the other offerings, leading to speculation concerning infant sacrifice. The Olmec civilization is considered to be one of the earliest appearing civilizations in Central America . Some of the civilizations that developed in this region included Olmecs, Zapotecs,. The Olmecs were a full-fledged civilization because they were more organized and socially advanced than their predecessors. The Olmec people were born from the early farming peoples of the Tabasco region in modern-day Mexico. [80], Olmec religious activities were performed by a combination of rulers, full-time priests, and shamans. However, none of the heads are alike, and each boasts a unique headdress, which suggests they represent specific individuals. Facts about the Olmec Civilization. The earliest recovered Long Count dated is from Monument 1 in the. Olmec Civilization. If there is evidence of these volcanic eruptions, wouldn't this theory be accepted widely compared to the other theories? Frans Blom and Oliver La Farge made the first detailed descriptions of La Venta and San Martin Pajapan Monument 1 during their 1925 expedition. Thames & Hudson; 4th edition (20 October 2006). The Olmec civilization is what is known as an archaeological culture. They subsequently became a dominant agricultural and trading power. For example, numerous natural and ceramic stingray spikes and maguey thorns have been found at Olmec sites,[58] and certain artifacts have been identified as bloodletters. "Esta gran cultura, que encontramos en niveles antiguos, es sin duda madre de otras culturas, como la maya, la teotihuacana, la zapoteca, la de El Tajn, y otras" ("This great culture, which we encounter in ancient levels, is without a doubt mother of other cultures, like the Maya, the Teotihuacana, the Zapotec, that of El Tajin, and others".) The Olmec Civilization's Rise and Fall There are differing opinions regarding the Olmec timeline. Climate change may have been a factor, as well as internal strife. "Writing May Be Oldest in Western Hemisphere", American Association for the Advancement of Science, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, "From Stone to Symbols: Olmec Art in Social Context at San Lorenzo Tenochtitln", "Implications of new petrographic analysis for the Olmec "mother culture" model", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, "Mexico and the early history of magnetism", "Olmec Bloodletting: An Iconographic Study", Scientists Find Earliest "New World" Writings in Mexico, "Olmec Ritual Behavior at El Manat: A Sacred Space", Economic Foundations of Olmec Civilization in the Gulf Coast Lowlands of Mxico, "The Politicization of the Mesoamerican Ballgame and its Implications for the Interpretation of the Distribution of Ballcourts in Central Mexico", "The Cascajal Block: The Earliest Precolumbian Writing", "Petrographic evidence shows that pottery exchange between the Olmec and their neighbors was two-way", "Posibles correlaciones lingsticas y arqueolgicas involucrando a los olmecas", "Sources of Rocks Used in Olmec Monuments", Drawings and photographs of the 17 colossal heads, "Stone Etchings Represent Earliest New World Writing", BBC audio file. What is known is that it likely occurred in waves as sites were gradually abandoned. See also Pool (2007), pp. Discussion of Olmec culture (15 mins), Portal:Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Population history of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Painting in the Americas before European colonization, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Olmecs&oldid=1142167173, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Articles needing additional references from December 2018, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Serra Puche et al., p. 36, who argue that "While Olmec art sometimes represents leaders, priests, and possibly soldiers, it is difficult to imagine that such institutions as the army, priest caste, or administrative-political groups were already fully developed by Olmec times." [34][35], Seventeen colossal heads have been unearthed to date. See also Pool (2007), pp. The Olmec civilization was named after the Aztec word for their descendants, who inhabited Olman, or the "land of rubber." It is primarily known through the study of their architecture and stone carvings. What did the Olmecs do with the colossal heads? The Olmec people were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding regions from approximately 1500 BC to about 400 BC. The Olmecs cities are the first cities of Mesoamerica, nearly a millennium before the Mayan cities (Le Mirador). These cities, however, were used predominantly for ceremonial purposes and elite activity; most people lived in small villages. 8.). The first Olmec center, San Lorenzo, was all but abandoned around 900BCE at about the same time that La Venta rose to prominence. They lived in the tropical lowlands on the Gulf of Mexico in the present-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. [89] Studies of the Sierra de los Tuxtlas settlements, some 60km (35mi) away, indicate that this area was composed of more or less egalitarian communities outside the control of lowland centers.[90]. Photograph of a stone carving. OLMEC RELIGION OLMEC RELIGION . [1] They were the first Mesoamerican civilization, and laid many of the foundations for the civilizations that followed. Religious activities regarding these deities probably included the elite rulers, shamans, and possibly a priest class making offerings at religious sites in La Venta and San Lorenzo. Ann Cyphers, Archaeologist, Institute of Anthropological Research National Autonomous University of Mexico. Alternatively, the mutilation of these monuments may be unrelated to the decline and abandonment of San Lorenzo. The statues are recognizable in the videos that follow this article. Source for information on Olmec Religion: Encyclopedia of Religion dictionary. The Olmec civilization was one of several cultures that rose to prominence in Mesoamerica. [107], It is not known what name the ancient Olmec used for themselves; some later Mesoamerican accounts seem to refer to the ancient Olmec as "Tamoanchan". What do the colossal heads of the Olmec tell us about how their society was organized? 150, pp. Chalcatzingo, in Valley of Morelos, central Mexico, which features Olmec-style monumental art and rock art with Olmec-style figures. What kind of ecological disaster would have to take place in order to make your home unlivable. Miller and Taube (1993) p. 42. [34] This can be determined by wooden Olmec sculptures discovered in the swampy bogs of El Manati. See Cyphers (1999) for a more detailed discussion. Direct link to David Alexander's post If you can make it past t, Posted 3 years ago. The Olmecs appreciated the colossal heads, and put them on the ground. The Olmec culture was first defined as an art style, and this continues to be the hallmark of the culture. The Fall of The Olmec. [42] Explanations for the facial features of the colossal heads include the possibility that the heads were carved in this manner due to the shallow space allowed on the basalt boulders. The first Olmec pyramid was built at La Venta (- 1000) at the time of the founding of the Kingdom of Israel in Palestine and two thousand years after the construction of the . [44], Ivan Van Sertima claimed that the seven braids on the Tres Zapotes head was an Ethiopian hair style, but he offered no evidence it was a contemporary style. [87] And there is no evidence that San Lorenzo or La Venta controlled, even during their heyday, all of the Olmec heartland. Caso (1942), p. 46. This is one of the earliest uses of the zero concept in history. For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. This is because the Olmec culture is one of Mexico's oldest civilizations. You will soon explore the mighty group of the Olmec. Any dates for the start of the Olmec civilization or culture are problematic as its rise was a gradual process. That is, the origin of the Olmecs is not in Africa but in America, since they share the most abundant of the five mitochondrial haplogroups characteristic of the indigenous populations of our continent: A, B, C, D and X.[3], La Venta stele 19 with an early depiction of a feathered serpent, Carved travertine vessel with an incised pattern, 12th3rd centuryBCE, Olmec style bottle, reputedly from Las Bocas, 1100800BCE, Olmec-style painting from the Juxtlahuaca cave, Olmec-style bas relief "El Rey" from Chalcatzingo. Evidence of Olmec gods can be found in later Mesoamerican mythology as we know that Maya and Aztecs both worshiped feathered serpent deities such as . What are the Early, Late, and Terminal Formative periods mentioned in the article? Olmec artworks are considered among ancient America's most striking.[4]. The Olmec society was built on agriculture. The Olmec created massive monuments, including colossal stone heads, thrones, stela (upright slabs), and statues. But an argument against an Olmec origin is the fact that the Olmec civilization had ended by the 4th centuryBCE, several centuries before the earliest known Long Count date artifact. In fact, Olmec artifacts have been found across Mesoamerica, indicating that there were extensive interregional trade routes. Record your citations and notes in the inquiry log as you go. 2627, provides a great overview of this theory, and says: "The generation of food surpluses is necessary for the development of social and political hierarchies and there is no doubt that high agricultural productivity, combined with the natural abundance of aquatic foods in the Gulf lowlands supported their growth.". See Santley, et al., p.4, for a discussion of Mesoamerican centralization and decentralization. No one knows the exact origins of these people. The Olmec were the first major civilization in Mexico. As the first society known to have domesticated the cacao tree, the Olmec found the crop to be spiritually and culturally significant in addition to being a healthful and delicious foodstuff. [33] Infused with individuality, no two heads are alike and the helmet-like headdresses are adorned with distinctive elements, suggesting personal or group symbols. These provided evidence of considerable centralization within the Olmec region, first at San Lorenzo and then at La Venta no other Olmec sites come close to these in terms of area or in the quantity and quality of architecture and sculpture. The Olmec predominated in their lands from about 1200 BC to about 400 BC and they are, in fact, claimed by many to be the progenitors and mother culture of every primary element common to later Mesoamerican civilizations. There are no written records of Olmec commerce, beliefs, or customs, but from the archaeological evidence, it appears they were not economically confined. See, for example, Cyphers (1996), p. 156. Direct link to Ashley Elizabeth Miller's post How was the "Mesoamerican, Posted 3 years ago. [82], As Olmec mythology has left no documents comparable to the Popol Vuh from Maya mythology, any exposition of Olmec mythology must be based on interpretations of surviving monumental and portable art (such as the Seor de Las Limas statue at the Xalapa Museum), and comparisons with other Mesoamerican mythologies. and lasted until about 400 B.C.E. Some monuments, and at least two heads, were recycled or recarved, but it is not known whether this was simply due to the scarcity of stone or whether these actions had ritual or other connotations. For the Olmec, an early Mexican Gulf Coast culture (1500 to 400 BC), this plant had geological, nutritional, spiritual, and economic significance. Maize and other crops were a later addition to their foodstuffs. . Mesoamerica's first highly developed civilization, which archaeologists have named the Olmec, emerged about 1500 BCE in two distant areas of Mexico--the central highland valleys (particularly in Morelos and Guerrero) and the lowland forests of south and east (particularly Veracruz and Tabasco). It refers to the geographical area which extends its boundaries from Central Mexico through Central America including present-day territories or countries like Honduras, Belize, El Salvador and Guatemala. [27] Common motifs include downturned mouths and a cleft head, both of which are seen in representations of werejaguars. The Great Pyramid was the largest Mesoamerican structure of its time. It is believed that they first settled down in San Lorenzo. See Grove (1976) or Ortiz de Montellano (1997). Colossal heads (which can be up to 3m (10ft) tall); Rectangular "altars" (more likely thrones), Free-standing in-the-round sculpture, such as the twins from, This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 21:57. what do the colossal heads have to do with the way the Olmec civilization was organized. Five of six radiocarbon dates for the San Lorenzo phase fall within the 1200-900 B.C. From about 900 BC, their capital city moved to La Venta. Focused in the Gulf of Mexico, their impact and exchange movement spread from 1200 B.C., coming as far south as present-day Nicaragua. c. 1200 BCE The Olmec civilization springs from the grouping of ancient villages along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Realistic ceramic objects, such as this portrayal of an infant, illustrate the highly skilled artistic style of the Olmec culture. [45], Richard Diehl wrote "There can be no doubt that the heads depict the American Indian physical type still seen on the streets of Soteapan, Acayucan, and other towns in the region. Photograph of a realistic ceramic baby figurine. For example, Diehl, p. 170 or Pool, p. 54. A map of the Olmec heartland. The artist and archaeologist, Dates from Pool, p. 1. "Cleft" is an adjective indicating that something has been split or cut. Trading helped the Olmec build their urban centers of San Lorenzo and La Venta. Coe (2002), p. 69: "They wear headgear rather like American football helmets which probably served as protection in both war and in the ceremonial game playedthroughout Mesoamerica.". Direct link to Eleven's post What did the Olmecs do wi, Posted 3 months ago. In this region, the first Mesoamerican civilization emerged and reigned from c.1400400BCE. Indeed, three of these six artifacts were found within the Olmec heartland. [109], Partly because the Olmecs developed the first Mesoamerican civilization, and partly because little is known of them compared to, for example, the Maya or Aztec, a number of Olmec alternative origin speculations have been put forth. Archaeological evidence also suggests that they originated the Mesoamerican practices of the Mesoamerican Ballgamea popular game in the pre-Columbian Americas played with balls made from solid rubberand that they may have practiced ritual bloodletting. [102], Shortly after the conference, radiocarbon dating proved the antiquity of the Olmec civilization, although the "mother culture" question generated considerable debate even 60 years later.[103]. Hearing about the curious find while travelling through the region, Melgar y Serrano first visited the site in 1862 to see for himself and complete the partially exposed sculpture's excavation. [34] Before radiocarbon dating could tell the exact age of Olmec pieces, archaeologists and art historians noticed the unique "Olmec-style" in a variety of artifacts. A map of the Olmec heartland, the Tuxtla Mountains, and part of the Gulf of Mexico. It's now housed in the Parque-Museum La Venta, in Villahermosa, the capital of the Mexican state of Tabasco. The Olmec had an agricultural economy mainly based on the crops of maize corn beans and squash. Olmec culture was unknown to historians until the mid-19th century. Best known for their carvings of colossal stone heads, the Olmec were masters of monumental sculpture, and also produced an array of other distinctive artworks in stone, ceramic, wood, and jade. The role of the Olmec in Mesoamerican society is a matter of hot debate between archaeologists and anthropologists. Olmec-style artifacts tend to appear earlier in some parts of Guerrero than in the Veracruz-Tabasco area. The question of Olmec chronology came to a head at a 1942 Tuxtla Gutierrez conference, where Alfonso Caso declared that the Olmecs were the "mother culture" ("cultura madre") of Mesoamerica. The Tres Zapotes site, on the western edge of the Olmec heartland, continued to be occupied well past 400 BCE, but without the hallmarks of the Olmec culture. The Tuxtla Mountains, and each boasts a unique headdress, which features Olmec-style monumental art and rock with... # x27 ; s oldest civilizations cultures that rose to prominence in Mesoamerica it 's housed... 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