Olmec

(noun)

Ancient pre-Columbian people living in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in what are roughly the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco.

Related Terms

Examples of Olmec in the following topics:

  • The Olmec

    • The Olmec were the first major civilization in Mexico.
    • Pre-Olmec cultures had flourished in the area since about 2500 BCE, but by 1600–1500 BCE, Early Olmec culture had emerged.
    • The Olmec likely grew crops such as:
    • This is the only known example from outside the Olmec heartland.
    • This sculpture is typical of the Colossal Heads of the Olmec

  • Colossal Heads of the Olmec

    • The first major Mesoamerican art, that of the Olmec, emerged during the Preclassic period along the Gulf of Mexico.
    • While Olmec figurines are found abundantly in sites throughout the Formative period, monumental works of basalt sculpture, including colossal heads, altars, and seated figures are the most recognizable feature of Olmec culture.
    • Seventeen confirmed examples are known from four sites within the Olmec heartland on the Gulf Coast of Mexico.
    • This is the only known example from outside the Olmec heartland.
    • It is believed that the Olmec colossal heads are depictions of powerful rulers.

  • Cultures of Mesoamerica

    • Mesoamerica was dominated by 3 cultures in the Pre-Classical (up to 200CE) to Post-Classical periods (circa 1580 CE): the Olmec, Maya, and Aztec.
    • There are three cultures that dominated the pre-columbian history of Mesoamerica: the Olmec, Maya, and Aztec civilizations.
    • The Olmec civilization, which flourished from 1200–400 BCE, defines the Pre-Classical period; the Olmecs are generally considered the forerunner of all later Mesoamerica cultures including the Maya and Aztecs.
    • Made from basalt rock from the Tuxtla mountains to the north, the Olmec used this rock to create altars, stelae, and colossal heads.
    • Each colossal head is rendered as a distinct individual and are thought to resemble different Olmec rulers.

  • The Maya People

    • It contained a masonry fragment strongly resembling a head in the distinctive Olmec style.
    • During this period, the Olmec culture reached its zenith, centered around the capital of La Venta in modern-day Tabasco near the early Maya centers.
    • Speakers of a Mixe–Zoquean language, the Olmec are generally recognized as the first true civilization in the Americas.
    • Their capital city of La Venta contains extensive earthworks and stone monuments, including several of the distinctive Olmec stone heads.
    • Several words entered Mayan from a Mixe–Zoquean language, presumably due to Olmec influence.

  • The Caral Civilization

    • This complex society arose a millennium after Sumer in Mesopotamia, was contemporaneous with the Egyptian pyramids, and predated the Mesoamerican Olmec by nearly two millennia.

  • Timeline

    • 1200 BCE: Olmecs build earliest pyramids and temples in Central America.

  • Teotihuacan

    • The flat, angular, abstract style, typical of Teotihuacan art, is in marked contrast to the curvilinear style of Olmec art.

  • Art of the Maya

    • Strong cultural influences stemming from the Olmec tradition and from Teotihuacan contributed to the development of the Maya city center and the culture's Classic artistic tradition.

  • The Classical Period of the Maya

    • The Maya developed a mathematical system that is strikingly similar to the Olmec traditions.

  • Aztec Religion

    • The Aztecs also worshipped deities that were central to older Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Olmecs.