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The OLMECS
(Earliest Civilization)
The Olmecs were a culture of ancient peoples -1300-400 B.C. - of the East Mexico lowlands. They are often
regarded as the Mother Culture of later Middle American civilizations. The Olmec people called themselves Xi
(pronounced Shi).
GEOGRAPHY
Q: Were
the
Olmecs
the only
people
living in
this region
at the
time?
The Olmecs lived in very fertile region of Southeast Mexico near present day Veracruz. Olmec civilization
developed around three main rivers that created great farming opportunities and allowed for large
civilizations to prosper. In this way, the geography was similar to other early civilizations such as those that
inhabited the Nile River in Egypt, the Indus river in India, and the Yellow River in China.
OLMEC CENTERS (cities)
The great Olmec centers that soon developed at La Venta, San Lorenzo, and Laguna de los Cerros, and the
smaller centers such as Tres Zapotes, were not simply vacant religious sites, but dynamic settlements that
included artisans and farmers, as well as religious specialists and the rulers. The Olmec architecture at San
Lorenzo, for example, includes both public-ceremonial buildings, elite residences, and the houses of
commoners. Olmec public-ceremonial buildings were most typically earthen platform mounds, some of
which had larger house-like structures built upon them. At La Venta we can see that after 900 B.C. such
platform mounds were arranged around large plaza areas and include a new type of architecture, a tall
pyramid mound.
(Example Olmec City)
P: I predict
that the
Olmec cities
will get too
big for the
environment
to support.
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WRITING
The Olmec Writing is Unique. The Olmec had hieroglyphic writing systems. Olmec is a syllabic writing system
used in the Olmec heartland from 900 BC- AD 450.
The Olmec people introduced writing to the New World. The Olmec script is a logosyllabic script. The Olmec
had both a syllabic and hieroglyphic script. The hieroglyphic signs were simply Olmec syllabic signs used to
make pictures. There are two forms of Olmec hieroglyphic writing : the pure hieroglyphics ( or picture
signs); and the phonetic hieroglyphics, which are a combination of syllabic and logographic signs.
(Example of hieroglyphics)
BALL GAMES
Rubber ball games have great antiquity throughout the Americas, and the recent discovery of several rubber
balls at the Olmec site of El Manati, near San Lorenzo, confirms that the game was played by the Olmec.
Archaeologists working at La Venta twenty years ago discovered what they hypothesized were the remains
of a ball court there, and it is possible that such ball courts were also part of the architecture at Olmec
centers.
(Ball Game Goal)
(Ball Game Court)
MONUMENTS - STONE HEADS
In 1862 a colossal stone head was discovered in the state of Veracruz along the steaming Gulf Coast of
Mexico. In the years to come, artifacts from the culture later termed Olmec turned up at widespread sites in
Mexico and adjacent Central America, with the greatest number of characteristic themes being present in
the region of the original discovery.
Monuments were also an important characteristic of Olmec centers. Today they provide us with some idea of
the nature of Olmec ideology. The colossal heads are commanding portraits of individual Olmec rulers, and
the large symbol displayed on the 'helmet' of each colossal head appears to be an identification motif for
that person.
Colossal (huge) heads glorified the rulers while they were alive, and commemorated them as revered
ancestors after their death.
Altars were actually the thrones of Olmec rulers. The carving on the front of the throne shows the identified
ruler sitting in a niche that symbolizes a cave entrance to the supernatural powers of the underworld. That
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scene communicated to the people their ruler's association with cosmological power. Upon these alters
humans were also sacrificed to Olmec gods. This is the earliest evidence of human sacrifice, but not the last
as later cultures (Aztecs, Toltecs, etc…) would also use it.
(Colassal head)
(Human Sacrifice)
The colossal heads also reflected the Olmec practice of skull elongation (deforming skulls at birth to make
them longer).
Decline
It is not known with any clarity what caused the eventual extinction of the Olmec culture. It is known that
between 400 and 350 BCE, population in the eastern half of the Olmec heartland dropped precipitously, and
the area would remain sparsely inhabited until the 19th century.
This depopulation was likely the result of very serious environmental changes, such as a volcano eruption,
that made the region unsuitable for large groups of farmers. It is also proposed that the population centers
simply became too large to the environment to support. The region was over-farmed leading to a loss of
food and water. This is a consistent theme with many early civilizations, especially in Mesoamerica (Present
day Latin America).
Directions:
As you read, annotate (make notes) next to each paragraph one of the following. Use everyone at least once:
W= Who is talking
Q= Question
A= Audience
IR= Initial Reaction
E= Explanation
PC= Personal Connection
S=Summarization
P= Prediction
Ask a partner two of your questions from your annotations (notes):
My Partner__________________________________
Question 1:
My Partner’s Response:
Question 2:
My Partner’s Response: