First Civilizations of the
Americas: The Olmec
Chapter 2 / Section 3
The Bering Strait Land Bridge
The Bering Strait Land Bridge
Bison and Caribou
1) Where do the first people of the
Americas come from?
 The
last Ice Age (100,000-8,000 years
ago)  land bridge b/w Asia and North
America (the Bering Strait)
 Hunters
and gatherers, probably pursuing
bison & caribou, crossed the bridge as
glaciers receded (20,000-13,000 B.C.E.)
2) Isolation
 Civilization
of the Western Hemisphere is
distinguished by its isolation from the rest
of the world
 Over
thousands of years, humans spread
throughout the Western Hemisphere
 Adapted
to polar extremes, tropical rain
forests, mountains, deserts, woodlands,
and prairies
3) The First Civilizations
 The
Olmec in Mesoamerica (Mexico and
northern Central America)
 The
Chavin in the mountainous Andean
region of South America
Mesoamerica
The Olmec in Mesoamerica
The Chavin in the Andes
What made the rise of these
civilizations possible?
 The
domestication of new plant varieties
 The introduction of new technologies
 Limited development of trade
 Social
stratification & urbanization.
 Active community participation by political
& social elites (associated w/ religion).
What did the elites do?
 Organize
laborers to construct irrigation &
drainage ditches
 Clear forests
 Farm on floodplains & hillsides
 Urban centers w/ religious structures &
elite housing.
Mesoamerica
Geography of Mesoamerica

It is a land bridge between North and South
America

A range of active volcanoes run through the
middle of the Central American land bridge, like
a backbone

That range is called the Central Highlands

Volcanic ashes created fertile soil, which is
used for farming
Physical Map of Mesoamerica
“Cleaned-Up” Satellite Image of
Mesoamerica
Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala

8,373 feet
 19 miles
from
Guatemala
City
 Last erupted
in 2010
The Environment
The mountain ranges break the region into
microenvironments: temperate highlands,
tropical forest, rainforest, drier scrub forest
 Amerindians developed specialized
technologies that exploited native plants,
animals, & minerals (obsidian, quartz, jade).
Obsidian, Quartz, Jade

Contact across environmental boundaries 
trade & cultural exchange

Trade, agricultural surplus, & population growth
 urbanization & political & religious elites

Mesoamerica was never politically unified

Shared common cultural elements: technology,
religion, political organization, art, & sports
The Olmec
The Olmec
(1200-400 B.C.E.)
 Near
the tropical Atlantic coast of today’s
Mexican states of Veracruz & Tabasco
advances in agriculture  urban
development
 Early
How?
 Gathering
& fishing
 Domestication of staples: corn, bean,
squash, & manioc
 Surplus food
 Craft specialization & social stratification
 Political & religious elites
 Prestige & authority to organize labor for
irrigation, drainage, & political/religious
monuments or buildings
Corn, Bean, Squash, Manioc
Olmec Cultural Centers:
 San
 La
Lorenzo
Venta
 Tres
Zapotes
Olmec Cultural Centers
San Lorenzo
La Venta
Tres Zapotes
The relationship among them is
unclear:
 Rival
city-states, OR
 Dependent centers of centralized political
authority, BUT each center:
 Developed
independently
 Exploited & traded specialized products
(salt, cacao, clay, & limestone)
 Was eventually abandoned, defaced, &
buried
Salt, Cacao, Clay, Limestone
Why were the centers abandoned?
 Rebellions
or civil wars
 Conquests
 Rituals
associated with the death of a ruler
 Large
earthen mounds dominated Olmec
urban centers:
- Collective ritual and political activities
- Foundation for residences of elites
 City
layout aligned with the paths of
certain stars:
- Belief in the significance of astronomical
events
Olmec Earthen Mounds
La Venta Religious Site
Olmec Religious Pyramid
Olmec Social Structure
1) Political & religious elite: kings
- Houses decorated by fine crafts
- Fine dresses
2) Merchants: traded in obsidian, jade, & pottery
3) Skilled artisans: high-quality crafts (carved jade
figurines, necklaces, ceremonial knives) &
decorated buildings with sculptures
4) Laborers: construction work; lived in small
stick-and-mud huts
Olmec Art
The Power of Rulers

Colossal carved stone
heads believed to
memorialize individual
rulers (11 ft tall)

The best-known
monuments of Olmec
culture
Urbanization & the growing power of the
religious and political elite were shared broadly
by society.
HOW?
Example: collective labor
 Increased food production
 Made food production more reliable
 Diversified diet
 Spread of religious beliefs (clay figurines)
Olmec Religious Beliefs







Religious rituals to control commoners
Bloodletting and human sacrifice
Polytheism
Deities had dual characteristics:
- male & female
- human & animal
Representations of powerful animals: jaguars
(rulers), crocodiles, snakes, & sharks
Skinchangers
Shamans & healers
Olmec Jaguar-God
Role of Shamans
 Practical
advice about rain (essential for
agriculture)
 Urban planners (astronomical layout of
cities)
 Development of a form of writing
 Calendar to organize ritual life &
agriculture
Olmec Ball Game

The rules of the ballgame are not known
 Similar to racquetball, where the aim is to keep the ball
in play
 Ball courts vary considerably in size, but all have long
narrow alleys with side-walls against which the balls
could bounce
 In the most widespread version of the game, the players
struck the ball with their hips, although some versions
allowed the use of forearms, rackets, bats, or hand
stones.
 The ball was made of solid rubber and weighed as much
as 9 lbs, and sizes differed greatly over time or
according to the version played
 The game had important ritual aspects, and major formal
ballgames were held as ritual events, often featuring
human sacrifice. The sport was also played casually for
recreation by children and perhaps even women.
Ball Court
Human Sacrifice After Ball Game
Was the Olmec Civilization an
Empire?
Probably NOT.
Reasons:
- Limited technologically & agriculturally 
- No significant military power 
- No conquests
BUT!!!
- Olmec products and images (jade carvings of
jaguar-god) in a wide area  the Olmec had
cultural influence over others.