The Olmec Civilization
The Olmec CivilizationThe Olmec were Mesoamerica's first civilization. They were
located in Laguna de los Cerros, tres Zapotes, San Lorenzo, La Venta,
and the Tuxtla Mountains, in Mexico. The purpose of this report is to
show how the Olmec lived, their beliefs, and their spectacular art.
The Olmec were a mother culture to later civilizations. The
culture of the Olmec started in Mexico's Gulf Coast between 1200 and
1400 B.C , approximately between the Trojan war, and the golden age of
Athens, and ended about 3000 years ago. The Olmec were among the first
Americans to design ritual centres and raise earthen pyramids. On the
pyramids there were statues which were strategically placed as a
shrine. As the Olmec culture gradually developed some Olmec villages
grew strong and powerful, while others were less fortunate. The
villages shared their resources, such as rubber and basalt. The Olmec
had different social ranks, from workers such as fishers, farmers,
traders and specialists such as artisans and sculptors, to rulers.
Rulers were individuals who had the power to float basalt down the
river and to commission colossal statues and other public work. The
Olmec farmed and ate corn. They also ate shellfish, fish, turtles,
beans, deer, and dog. Perhaps the most spectacular trait of the Olmec
were that they used hieroglyphs. They used hieroglyphs to record
dates, events, and to tell stories. Although the Olmec were hard
workers they still had time for a ceremonial ball game.
The Olmec had many beliefs. Among these beliefs were chaneques
which were dwarf trixters who lived in water falls. They also had
their own beliefs in cosmology. The Olmec had natural shrines devoted
to the hill on which the shrine was located...
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